 The Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center is currently experiencing a shortage of outlets for Veterans, their families, and employees to provide emotional relief, physical relief, and restoration. A number of Dole VA Veterans and their families have requested a proposal for an on-campus garden to meet these needs. The Dole VA Medical Center Memorial Peace Garden will serve to enhance our mission of “improving the health and well being of the Veterans we are honored to serve.”
Purpose
The Dole VA Memorial Peace Garden will provide an opportunity for therapeutic gardening for Veterans, their families, and employees. This will provide a restorative environment in which employees can enjoy during their breaks and/or lunch period(s). In addition, interactive raised bed garden spaces can demonstrate and educate visitors about the economical, nutritional, and psychological benefits of food gardening.
" Nature heals the heart and soul, and those are things the doctors cannot help. That's what this garden is all about — healing the parts of yourself that the doctors can't."-Deborah Burt
Location/Design
The Memorial Peace Garden will be located on the land just North of Building 5. This will be accessible to all Veterans, family members, and staff. The garden would be designed to be handicap accessible and "soft" barriers including decorative bushes would be planted along the border to protect from people gardening too close to the adjacent road. The garden will be a non-smoking environment as well as therapeutic. It will be passive as well as interactive. A space that is accessible for all Veterans, their families, and employees.
Click here for a photo of the garden area
Resources/Cost
The garden will be paid for solely by donations. Memorial paver bricks are available to purchase to place within the garden at a cost of $50 per brick. This price includes the engraving of the brick (4x8 red clay pavestone) and a slight cost that will help offset upkeep and replacements of plants/ supplies for the garden. Any profit from the cost of the bricks will be used to pay for the initial installation of the brick area to be established. Additional profit above the installation cost of the memorial brick area will be placed into a "garden" account and used strictly for the maintenance, cost, and upkeep of the garden.
Donations/Volunteer
For more information or to order your memorial brick paver please contact Laura at 316-737-2380 or email at: LDN3188@gmail.com. For information about volunteering at the garden please contact H. Barrus at heidi.barrus@va.gov.
Maintenance
The proposed garden was designed by a landscape architect to be very low maintenance. However, as with any garden there will be a need for weekly upkeep. A core maintenance team has been developed to provide the maintenance upkeep. Others are welcome to assist with the maintenance as desired, but the core team will ensure maintenance will be done weekly. Maintenance will be done by volunteer employees on their off-duty hours at their convenience and/or others who wish to participate.
Timeline
The proposed timeline for each step of the garden installation process is as follows.
- July-August 2012
- October 2012
- Media blitz (Website, Twitter, Facebook) for additional donations
- Erect fencing around area
- Garden area mapped/marked for excavation and concrete installation
- Grading and excavation by Lawnworks
- Form Laying by Holland Paving
- Irrigation installed under sidewalk areas by SSI Irrigation
- Concrete Pouring by Cornejo Construction
- Installation of irrigation under garden area by SSI Irrigation
- Topsoil Deliveries by multiple donors
- Backfil and Grading by Lawnworks
- Raised bed garden installation by Lowe's
- Garden shed and Wheelchair ramp installation by The Home Depot Foundation
- Benches placed in marked areas
- TBD
- Garden planting (trees, plants, flowers delivered and planted)
- Flagpole(s) installed
- Memorial pavers installed
- Sculpture delivered and installed
- Ribbon cutting and Dedication ceremony
*** Timeline subject to change as weather/availability of resources allows. ***
Thanks to our donors!
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- Lawnworks Inc.
- Garden design plan, labor, garden preparations
- Rice-Foster Associates
- Cornejo Construction
- 3000 lbs of concrete for paved areas
- Holland Paving
- Lay concrete forms and oversee the concrete pour
- Lowe's
- Labor to build 24" tall raised bed gardens and all materials for them
- Hong's Landscape and Nursery, Inc.
- SSI Sprinkler systems
- Labor for installation of irrigation system
- Tree Top Nursery
- Hillside Nursery
- Dutch's Greenhouse
- Brady Nursery
- Sedgwick County Extension Agency
- All planting tools necessary for planting day
- Charlene Schneider
- Master Gardener volunteer to oversee initial Garden planting day
- Andrla's Landscaping Supplies
- Aggregate Sand and Gravel
- Central Sand Co.
- Schuette's Dirt Works
- Ryan Tree and Lawn
- Key Construction
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