Hi everyone. It's been months since I've been on Fodors, as we have done very little traveling since our last baby was born. We have managed to see Thomas the Train in Chattanooga and attend my sister's wedding in New Orleans, but that is about it. Good to see the crowd is still around!

I run a nonprofit organization and we have been working with our city to create a garden/park to honor and remember those affected by cancer. Our city has asked us to do some homework and find similar places so we can figure out how they have handled potential issues.

Our plan includes a space to highlight gynecologic cancers, which is the focus of our group, and the rest of the space is dedicated to cancers of all types. People can buy bricks in honor or memory of their loved ones to put in the sidewalks. It should be a place to celebrate milestones (years of survival, etc) and reflect on those we have lost.

Many cities have monuments to specific causes. Many private businesses have parks and gardens for issues related to their practice. But this would be a public space which will be designed, created, and maintained by a private organization.

Is there anything like this in your city? Any help to get me started on research would be appreciated!

The Boston Public Garden I believe is both public in ownership and in maintenance. There are small monuments to ether and to 9/11 victums.

My next door neighbor has zero social skills and is a huge user. When we moved in our oldest kids were 3. We'd set up a baby pool, and the next thing you knew, her daughter would be over in a bathing suit (w/out the mom, of course). A few Sat. we invited the daughter for pancakes for lunch, and that turned into every Sat. the kid would come over expecting lunch. It would be 11am and she didn't have anything to eat and the mom would still be in bed. (Dad ignored her).

Mom would brag how dad would charge her daughter's school supplies to his corporate account. She'd go to store closing sales and buy toys for 50% off and then take them to Toys R Us, claim they were a gift, and get a store credit for 100% of the retail price. Lied about having a disabled kid to get a ride pass at Disney.

Informed everyone at back to school nite she left her 8 y.o. daughter home alone with her 2 y.o. daughter.

Told a friend she would like to invite her to her daughter's bat mitzvah, but not her husband b/c they didn't like him.

When my oldest son was diagnosed with (very mild) ADD, told me, "oh my gosh, now you have TWO kids with learning issues!" (yes, but your daughters have no social skills and can't keep any friends. It's alot easier to deal with learning differences than to deal with 2 girls who are constantly having drama moments and carrying on about every little thing).

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea!

I am an idiot. I meant to post this to the weird neighbor thread.

TKT: Thanks. I will look into that.

Karens: That's so funny! I hope you cut and pasted it on the right thread...what a laugh!

Any more park/garden recommendations for me?

Is this space in an existing park, or are you acquiring land for park development? What is the structure of your local government - do you have a separate incorporated park district?

I have some experience in developing and installing similar parks, but it's too much to get into on a public forum. A lot will depend on the cooperation you get from your public officials.

Run a focus group or public forum to get a variety of input from the community or patients' families IN ADVANCE. Let people know that this is the time for input, not halfway through construction.

You should probably have a landscape architect's plan and a budget in place before you seek any official action. (The favorite decision of a lot of boards is, "let's send it back for more study.") Be specific about what you need from the city.

Who will be in charge of the project, and how will you handle cost overruns? You should have a cushion of at least 20% over your budget.

It's really important to get the right people involved, ones with experience, time, and an eye for the bottom line. These projects can easily spiral out of control and leave hard feelings.

patg--agreed wholeheartedly! We've been working with the city and other groups on this plan for almost a year already. I didn't put all this before because I didn't think it was necessary for the question, but we have held input meetings, developed guidelines, hired a landscape architect, accommodated for ADA, budgeted for and hired landscpae installation and maintenance. The city is being very gernerous and cooperative but we are all concerned about doing this right. Therefore we are trying to work out kinks as best as we can ahead of time. It's complicated, as you can imagine.

Now back to the original question: can anyone recommend similar places I can research? We've already done a few comparison studies, but I thought posting here might bring up even better ones.

WELCOME BACK BAMAKELLY!

Thanks, Starrsville!

I don't know, but I'll check into it.

Regarding "bricks" - The bricks at Centennial Park come to mind as do bricks in front of the chapel at a Methodist camp in the mountains. People bought "fish" for the Georgia Aquarium. You can locate your brick on the ground or fish on the wall using a kiosk at each location.

Don't know about privately funded public park. Will brainstorm and ask others.

Sounds like a great idea!

Hi bamakelly!
The Portland Japanese Gardens are not for profit and absolutely amazing and beautiful. http://www.japanesegarden.com/ I have included their site so you can browse it and perhaps get ideas on what they do that you can do. Good luck on a wonderful project.

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is a joint venture of the Minneapolis Parks Board and the non-profit Walker Arts Center.

However, if you at the stage where you are dealing with local laws and insurance concerns, it's better to contact the non-profits in your home state, as practices vary by state and region.

BamaKelly, it's not cancer, but in San Francisco there is an AIDS memorial grove in the Golden Gate park, maybe you can get some ideas from there?

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