It has been more than five years since 20 children and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The tragedy shocked the nation and memories of the victims continue to inspire memorials in the local community. 

At nearby Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), students, faculty, staff, and members of the community have worked to create a Remembrance Garden, featuring a SCSU Alumnae Sandy Hook Memorial to honor the memory of the four alumni educators who were lost that day and to pay tribute to social justice, a key area of focus for SCSU. 

While she was a student at the university, Carlene Barnes, a 2013 graduate, created a conceptual design for the memorial that was selected in a juried competition. The unique design combines art and physical spaces, bringing visitors together and featuring delta-shaped stones symbolizing change and underscoring the belief that supporting others begins with small steps. 

Barnes and the SCSU staff teamed with Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio in Vermont to complete the design. The garden features a sculpture lined with four fiber-optic lighting strands representing the four alumnae lost during the Sandy Hook massacre and the light they brought into the world. 

“The garden creates a setting of peace and tranquility with a beautiful wooden sculpture that reminds us of our alumnae’s courage and sacrifice,” said Joe Bertolino, SCSU President. “This space will serve as a place of inspiration and motivation to break the cycle of violence and build a better society for generations to come.” 

BrightView partnered with the university to bring the design to life and install the Remembrance Garden, a part of a larger SCSU Reflection Garden that is a first-of-its-kind physical expression of the university’s five core values: dignity, respect, kindness, compassion, and civility.  

“There were many hands involved to make this project a reality and we were honored to be a part of it,” said Justin Wolf, Branch Manager at BrightView. “We began with planning conversations and then moved to prepping the site, helping to manage the project and completing hardscape for what is now the garden’s Area of Compassion.” 

Wolf and his team joined with several community partners to provide donated materials and philanthropic support over an eight-month process that included open dialogues with students, faculty and staff. 

“We could not have had a better or more dedicated partner than BrightView, who performed the work with such care,” said Dr. William Faraclas, faculty member in the Department of Public Health and co-lead of the Reflection Garden Council. “It was clear they understood the significance of the garden and embraced the spirit of this project.” 

Carpentry students from nearby Eli Whitney Technical High School built a curved bench to face the wooden sculpture. The sculpture itself was designed by artists Rich Duca and Meredith Bergmann and constructed at Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine. 

Many SCSU faculty are brainstorming ways to incorporate the garden into their curriculum. The garden will serve not only as a space for personal reflection and remembrance but for scholarly and creative activities as well. 

“The Remembrance Garden, created with the indispensable help of Justin Wolf, Nick Vincenzo and the rest of the BrightView team, is going to be a center of activity on our campus,” Faraclas said. 

Industry roundup: BrightView aids in Sandy Hook memorial installation, Total Landscape Care
BrightView installs garden to honor Sandy Hook victims, Lawn & Landscape

Children in Anaheim have a new playground to enjoy in Pearson Park, thanks to the work of local volunteers, including BrightView.

Through the work of the Anaheim Family YMCA, the City of Anaheim, Disney, and KaBOOM!, roughly 300 volunteers came out on Feb. 24 to install a new playscape and landscape.

“We service more than 37 parks for the City of Anaheim and we have a good relationship with the City Supervisor for the parks,” said Gerardo Herrera, BrightView Account Manager. “Last year, the city asked us to help out at a different park and so they reached out to us again this year.”

A 10-person team of BrightView volunteers took part in the community event, helping with some planting projects and teaching those in attendance how to install plants and trees.

“We were the experts in landscaping, so we were asked to break-off into groups and go to different sections of the park for planting, applying mulch, raking sand courts, and more,” Herrera said.

The all-day project saw roughly 300 volunteers come out to renovate the park.

KaBOOM! donated the new playscape while the volunteers, made up of teenagers, community members, and city officials, installed the pieces, along with the landscaping.

“For me personally, I always like to volunteer my time whenever I can for projects like these, especially if it’s in the community where I work,” Herrera said. “As BrightView, we want to give back to the community whenever there is a chance and the City Supervisor knows he can count on us. It feels good to help out.”

The damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, estimated at more than $125 billion, is the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. The storm brought with it record flooding, devastating Hilliard Elementary School in East Houston.

The floodwater pooled in hallways and classrooms, ruining furniture and supplies, leaving the district no choice but a major overhaul of the building. All 600 students were transferred to a nearby school.

Recently, an event, sponsored by Recovery Houston, BrightView, OJB Landscape Architecture, and Numotion, brought 640 volunteers from across the country together to restore the campus grounds of Hilliard Elementary.

Scott Blons, Technical Director at OJB, and his team assisted with plant selections and BrightView Landscape Development’s Dallas and Houston teams donated 3,000 shrubs, 300 trees, mulch and gravel to the project. The BrightView teams also coached 30 volunteer teams to install the new landscape which includes an outdoor classroom, community garden, picnic area, and a play space.

“The grounds were dated and needed upgrades even before the hurricane,” said Garrett Brock, Project Manager with BrightView Landscape Development. “The new landscape provides a warm welcome to students and visitors and will help kids get involved in outdoor activities.”

Staff at Hilliard Elementary said they are delighted with their beautiful new campus and it has served as an inspiration for the community. The school’s interior was also renovated and the refurbished campus will be ready for students to return for the 2018-19 school year.

“We were thankful for the opportunity to assist with the supplies and materials, and help beautify the campus, but the real hero is Recovery Houston for managing hundreds of volunteers, most whom were non-Houstonians,” Brock said. “They are doing amazing work to rebuild this community and it was special to be a part of it.”

This project is the latest effort in BrightView’s response to the three major Atlantic hurricanes. Immediately following Harvey, one of BrightView’s Houston teams found their office flooded and worked out of their trucks to clean-up debris and respond to client sites. Other team members left their homes and conducted a rescue mission in flooded neighborhoods. The company’s Florida teams were out assessing the damage while Hurricane Irma was still active in the state. BrightView also matched employee donations from across the country to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Industry roundup: New campus plans created for CHOA, Total Landscape Care

Team members from BrightView’s Landscape Development, Landscape Services, and Tree Company service lines teamed up to build a child safe recreational area at Ruby’s Place (now know as Restorative Pathways), a nonprofit organization in the Northern California city of Hayward that provides shelter and support services for families and individuals directly affected by domestic violence and human trafficking.

Ruby’s Place’s Children’s Program provides therapeutic services for children by assisting them in their development and relationships by engaging in play therapy in a positive environment.

Despite their importance, the shelter’s three children’s playgrounds were neglected and unsafe areas and went completely unused. This area is the only space available within the protected facility for more than a dozen children to play in.

BrightView teams removed the existing structures from the three playground areas and transformed the space by supplying and installing new underground drainage, concrete walkways, security fencing and gates, wood planter boxes, a synthetic turf kick-about soccer field, an outdoor area for families with an overhead shade trellis along with a low-water usage irrigation system and drought tolerant trees, shrubs, and groundcovers.

“It has been so rewarding to see all of our BrightView team members from different service lines come together to give back to our community for such a worthwhile cause,” said Skip Stevens, Vice President and General Manager at BrightView Landscape Development. “It’s very rewarding to be able to provide a play space that is safe, fun, and a positive environment for the children and families at Ruby’s Place.”

BrightView team members worked with Ruby’s Place and HomeAid in Northern California and partnered with contractors, vendors, suppliers, and donors to make this community outreach event a success for all involved.

Later this spring, BrightView team members, HomeAid, contractors, and donation partners will return to the family shelter and join the Ruby’s Place staff and families for an “all hands in” volunteer event to fix-up other areas of the shelter by painting buildings, cleaning windows, and more.

Project roundup: OTL chosen to work on Butterfly Pavlion, Total Landscape Care
Companies in the News: BrightView rebuilds recreational area for nonprofit; Brandt completes construction of new lab; Lawn Doctor of Grand Rapids under new management, Landscape Management

Forest Lake Estates in Zephyrhills, Fla., a 55-and-over community, now has a memorial park dedicated to military veterans and first responders. The park features a flag representing each branch of the military, a veterans memorial wall, a commemorative plaque, a first responders fire pit, paver walks, and new landscaping. The memorial park was officially opened during a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony over Veteran's Day weekend, which saw more than 600 community members, including 75 veterans and first responders, in attendance.

(For the full transcript, see below.)

Team members from BrightView and Forest Lake Estates were joined by more than 600 Forest Lake community members, including 75 veterans and first responders, to dedicate a new memorial park. The project was recently completed after months of planning and construction.

Management at Forest Lake Estates in Zephyrhills, Fla., reserved a scenic lakeside location for the park. BrightView donated the design, irrigation, hardscape installation, and landscape installation in the heart of the age-qualified housing community and coordinated efforts with our local and national vendors to receive all materials at no cost.

“This all began when we were asked to relocate some flag poles and it has snowballed into an amazing project,” said Keith Wilson, Vice President and Regional Sales Leader at BrightView. “There are a lot of service members and first responders in Forest Lake Estates and the Zephyrhills area and our team is proud to give back to those who served.”    

The park features a flag representing each branch of the military, paver walks, a memorial wall, a commemorative plaque, new landscaping, and a first responders’ fire pit area.

Witnessing how our team, the Forest Lake team, and other partners all rallied to bring this vision to life was really something special.
- Keith Wilson, BrightView Vice President and Regional Sales Leader

The memorial was officially opened during a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony on Veteran’s Day weekend. Guests included Zephyrhills Mayor Gene Whitfield, retired U.S. Air Force Gen. David Scott, Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Fossa, Pasco County Sheriff Tait Sanborn, and leaders from both BrightView and Forest Lake Estates.

“We have a lot of veteran residents who live at Forest Lake Estates and we were looking for a way to honor not only them but the veterans and first responders in the Zephyrhills community,” said Steven Bagiardi, General Manager of Forest Lake Estates.

The park will serve as a place of remembrance to honor the many veterans and first responders who reside in the Forest Lake Estates community and beyond. Residents of the community will be able to purchase and dedicate bricks on the walkway and memorial wall with proceeds going toward maintaining the park.

“We worked to create a beautiful park and memorial that will only become better with time,” Wilson said. “Witnessing how our team, the Forest Lake team, and other partners all rallied to bring this vision to life was really something special.” 

The memorial park at Forest Lake Estates is one of several projects BrightView teams across the country have completed to give back to our nation’s heroes. See some of the other projects BrightView has completed this year or view more photos from this project. 

About Forest Lake Estates:
Forest Lake Estates is an age qualified community that offers residents resort-style amenities, beautiful landscaping, and a convenient location. The 894-site community is positioned in the suburban city of Zephyrhills in Pasco County, known statewide for its natural springs, major shopping centers, medical facilities, and famous Gulf Beaches just 45 minutes away. Community activities are plentiful at Forest Lake Estates, with shuffleboard, billiards, tennis, pool volleyball, putt-putt golf leagues, and a fully stocked fishing lake. For more information, visit www.myMHcommunity.com.

BrightView teams up with community to build memorial, Landscape Management
BrightView creates memorial park for Florida community to honor veterans, first responders, Total Landscape Care
BrightView dedicates memorial park in Florida, Lawn & Landscape
Forest Lake Estates Dedicates Veterans, First Responders Park, Zephyrhills Free Press

A project that has taken months of planning and preparation by BrightView Landscapes was completed with the help of more than 200 volunteers from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Orange County’s Helping Hands Committee. The group partnered with Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and had committed to enhancing facilities in Mission Viejo, Calif.

Oso Lake in Mission Viejo has a campground that is used for various activities by more than 40,000 children each year, including the BSA and other organizations. The committee had a vision of turning an open space into an outdoor classroom and native garden where children could earn sustainability badges. With the help of BrightView’s Design, Development, Tree Care, and Maintenance teams, the garden became a reality.

BrightView designed a 22,000-square-foot garden with trails that includes several different ecosystems blending together as they would naturally in California. The garden features plant communities, including Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral, Riparian, Oak Woodland, and a Meadow area.

“People often have a misconception that California native plants are all succulents and dry landscapes, but there is so much more,” said Humberto Delgadillo, Designer at BrightView responsible for designing the garden. “This garden will introduce visitors to California’s native plant communities and motivate them to get involved in conservation and environmental stewardship.”

In addition to the design, BrightView teams provided grading, equipment, and labor while sourcing the donation and installation of a fully solar-powered irrigation system. Lines were set up to bring a water source to the new garden. BrightView’s Tree Care, Design Group, and Development teams donated $4,000 to purchase all plant materials needed for the project at a discount.

On Oct. 7, BrightView team members led a group of 200 volunteers from IREM to install the garden.

The Boy Scouts plan to use the space as a tool to teach members about careers in landscaping and horticulture and to educate them on various native ecosystems. BrightView plans to regularly send team members from various areas of the industry to speak to groups at the garden about their profession.

“We were beyond excited to partner with IREM Helping Hands and the Boy Scouts of America on their Oso Lake project,” said Autumn Rau, Vice President and General Manager at BrightView. “This garden was designed and installed with the intent to have a hugely positive impact on many children for years to come.”

The Boy Scouts of America have decided to name the garden after BrightView because of the effort put forth BrightView teams to make it happen.

This garden will introduce visitors to California’s native plant communities and motivate them to get involved in conservation and environmental stewardship.
- Humberto Delgadillo, Designer at BrightView

BrightView creates interactive learning garden for Boy Scouts of America, Total Landscape Care

Over a span of three days, more than 25 BrightView volunteers worked to design and install a sensory and healing garden for the Denver Children’s Home (DCH), an organization that restores hope and health to traumatized children and families through a comprehensive array of therapeutic, educational, and community-based services.

The garden was previously an empty piece of land across the street from a school, but now features outdoor seating, touch-friendly plants, and designated spaces for artwork that children and staff can enjoy. DCH was looking to transform a vacant space into a relaxing and interactive environment next to an outdoor classroom. The rest, including the design and direction, was completely up to BrightView’s team.

“I have always had an interest in sensory gardens, so being able to design one and now see the resulting impact it has on these children is very rewarding,” said Leigh DuFresne, Landscape Designer at BrightView. 

DuFresne focused on including different textures and colors in the design to bring the area to life and create a unique, touchable garden.

BrightView teams from across Denver worked together to get all materials donated and split the project into three phases with each branch responsible for different steps in the process. BrightView's Denver South team did the demolition and installed boulders, Denver West installed flagstone and pathways, Denver East installed the plants and mulch, and Denver North helped with all three phases.

In total, the teams installed 10 tons of Crusher Fines Breeze, flagstone, mulch, 230 perennials, 10 trees, and 13 shrubs. The Denver East team also has added the garden to its weekly maintenance schedule.

BrightView and DCH took part in a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 12 and will work together to make sure the new garden continues to thrive and help DCH better serve children in need of assistance programs. 

“Everybody involved has been very excited to lend our expertise and to make an impact for these kids and families,” DuFresne said.

BrightView creates healing, sensory garden for Denver Children's Home, Total Landscape Care

With floodwaters rising throughout Houston from Hurricane Harvey, BrightView’s John Shollar and Juan Garcia took it upon themselves to help their community anyway they could.

Donning their BrightView safety vests, the two – joined by a few friends – went out into the flooded streets with a large, inflatable raft to help any person they came across who was trapped by the water.

“My family brought me up to help everyone,” Shollar said. “Juan is one of my crew leads and he told me he wanted to go out and volunteer the next day, so I told him I would go with him.”

Where Shollar lives had only a couple of inches of rain on the ground, so he and Garcia met at a location closer to the BrightView Katy branch, where the two work.

As the small group ventured through the neighborhoods, the water continued to rise on them. At one point, it had reached a depth to where Garcia, who nearly six feet tall, could no longer walk.

Once that happened, they two decided it was time to head back to higher ground.

It felt good to go out there. People needed help – they lost their homes, their clothes. I wasn’t affected by it like that. Every little bit helps for those in need.
- John Shollar, BrightView Production Manager

“While we were out there, we did worry about getting a cut while wading through the water because there was sewage flowing in it,” Shollar said. “When we finished, we all washed off extremely well and made sure we didn’t have any scrapes.”

All-in-all, the Shollar and Garcia rescued a family of four, a couple, and a woman with her two cats and brought them safely to dry land.

“It felt good to go out there,” Shollar said. “People needed help – they lost their homes, their clothes. I wasn’t affected by it like that. Every little bit helps for those in need.”

 BrightView team members set out with an inflatable raft to join rescue efforts and help their community anyway they could. They rescued a family of four, a couple, and a woman with her two cats.

(For the full transcript, see below.)