Someone shared online that the people who did this have no idea how strong we are. And to that I say, oh yes!
Little do the criminals know how strong and resilient we all are. We will repair the damage and make the garden beautiful again. No amount of darkness can keep us down... we know darkness; we've conquered it before, and we will again.
NOV 23, 2023
Dear Rowan Tree Family,
It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I share the news that our Angel Memorial Garden has been vandalized.
Five of our beautiful trees were chopped down by someone, for no reason other than to destroy.
The police are here at the memorial with me and a police report has been filed. The area has been cleared as best as I could manage, so the memorial is accessible, but I wanted everyone to be informed so you aren’t caught unaware by the heartbreaking scene, especially as today is Thanksgiving Day and our memorial event is coming up next weekend (Dec 2).
I’m trying to find compassion for the person who did this, because they must have a lot of pain in their hearts. But I’m more concerned with you, our Rowan Tree family, those who dedicated these trees with us all those years ago, and anyone who comes here to mourn this week.
My focus is on making sure you know that we will buy new trees to replace the ones we lost and we will make our garden whole again, but for now, it’s hard to see.
With love, and on behalf of the RTF Board,
Corinne O'Flynn
Executive Director
Update Nov 23, 2023:
Many of you have asked how you can help. At this time, we don't have a plan, except that we want to replace the trees with equally mature trees. If you would like to donate to support that effort, you can do so here on this site, using the donate buttons above. We will keep this page updated as things progress and replacement tree plans are underway. Thank you.