Honoring and remembering the precious babies who are gone too soon can be done in many ways. The Still Remembered Project has been blessed to have adopted a Trolley box garden (the corner of W Monroe Street and Brightwood Road) in Bethel Park as a way to not only beautify the community, but hold a special place for our babies in a sweet, tender garden.
In the spring of 2022, Michele Riggio, our Still Supported project lead, approached the SRP board about the possibility of adopting a garden as a way to help families through their grief and create a place for them to come to reflect and remember. It was such an amazing idea and God truly helped it all fall into place.
Shortly after Michele had the idea, she reached out to Mayor Jack Allen of Bethel Park, and Michele and Lauren McLean, our executive director, met with Jack to share more about SRP and the SRP mission. Knowing that trolley box gardens are limited, they asked for the opportunity for SRP to adopt one if/when one came available. Luckily, that was the case and our SRP trolley box garden was born!
The generous donation of mulch from Evy True Value Hardware the last two years has helped our garden look amazing! With the Evey’s team helping to deliver and our volunteers’ will to spread, we have been able to keep the garden mulched since we started.
Early summer of 2022 was the beginning of cleaning out our special spot and that was a task in itself! We weeded, cleared and started planning how we could make this special spot not only a place for remembrance but a way to raise awareness. With the direction and dedication of Michele and her team of garden volunteers, we quickly transformed our trolley box with planting butterfly bushes, flowers, added painted rocks and pavers accompanied with fresh mulch! Our Still Supported support group painted the rocks and pavers in honor of their babies to be placed in the garden. Small garden decor started to show up adding to the tender ambiance of our little garden.
Since the initial clean out of the garden, the SRP garden team has made incredible efforts to theme the garden with the seasons. The festive decor not only represents many babies who are being remembered but also adds so much joy and life to the garden. We have had life size wooden snowmen, Christmas trees of all sizes, festive lights, pumpkins, hearts and so many more items!
Many families have donated to the garden in a variety of ways. Not only were plants, holiday and garden decor donated, this past summer we added a custom beautiful planter bench and additional planters to the space. Families are often there sitting and reflecting or just tending to the garden. Many families don’t have a gravesite or place to remember, and this garden represents that sacred area for them.
Last summer (2023) we added painted bricks in a heart shape and fairy lights. With the help of the team of Volunteers they are always coming up with new, creative ways to add special touches to our space.
We can’t thank Michele, the team of garden volunteers and our community enough for their ongoing support! Even neighbors who live right next to the garden have been so generous in making this dream garden a reality. Our organization has received many messages and notes sharing how the community has appreciated the efforts of SRP in creating such a beautiful area for many to enjoy.
You can find the Still Remembered Project’s lovingly adopted Trolley Box Garden at the corner of W Monroe Street and Brightwood Road in Bethel Park. This special space was created to both brighten the community and offer a peaceful, heartfelt place to honor and remember our babies with love and care.
