This summer, three ALCC member companies pitched in to help community members build a memorial garden for victims of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. Betsy Wagner of Wagner Equipment helped identify the garden as a community service project for the Emerging Leaders Committee of the Colorado Contractors Association. Along the way, she reached out to the ALCC community to join the effort.

In addition to Betsy Wagner’s work in fundraising and organizing, Wagner Equipment donated equipment for the project and invited employees to volunteer their time. She sought labor and irrigation knowledge ALCC members. Bloom Floralscapes supplied a crew for a week, and Rain Bird donated materials. Working with project manager Darian Ledezma, they prepped the site for a large volunteer working day.

The memorial garden is one half of a larger memorial project. The reflection garden is organized by the City of Aurora, while the memorial garden is led by victims’ families. In the memorial garden, there are 13 benches that represent the 13 individuals who lost their lives in the shooting. Sculptures will be installed at the site, and there will be an additional planting effort in spring 2018.

There are still opportunities for landscape industry members to support this project. For the spring 2018 project, the garden needs:

• 10-15 shrubs
• 2-4 trees
• 25-30 perennials
• 113 yards of Washington cedar mulch (any med-dark brown shredded cedar will work)

Volunteers will also be needed to install the plants and apply the mulch next spring. If you are able to volunteer or donate materials, please contact ALCC at 303 757-5611 to be connected with project organizers.