A Ceremony at the Children's Memorial Garden, Fairfield

The Children’s Memorial Garden is a small garden (17x27 feet) in front of the Solano County Health and Social Service Dept. on Beck Avenue in Fairfield. Solano County Master Gardeners created this lovely garden in 2007. Carolyn Allen designed the garden and a crew of Master Gardeners dug holes and placed 1 and 5 gallon plants. The garden has evolved into a mini-sanctuary which the Solano Master Gardeners maintain. It is an educational garden with signs naming unusual plants and pests (such as spittle bugs).

On Friday, April 26^th, the annual memorial ceremony was held in front of the garden. The Children’s Memorial flag had been displayed over the garden all month. The flag shows a chain of children holding hands with one child missing.

A group gathered consisting of county workers, Supervisor Linda Seifert, a couple of Master Gardeners, a minister and some loved ones to honor the twenty-two children in Solano County who died in 2012. The list consisted of two male teenagers who had died as the result of gunshot wounds, two female teenagers from an auto accident, three children as results of medical complications and fifteen babies (from SIDS and premature births). What made this event visually poignant was seeing the blanket with shoes from each child displayed, including the tiny knitted socks belonging to the babies.

Everyone attending was invited to fill out a cardboard cutout of a child attached to a stick and place it in the soil. Many wrote their message and silently placed their personal memorial. Later this month as the Master Gardeners work in the garden, the faded and water worn paper tributes will be collected as part of the maintenance of the garden.

The Children's Memorial Garden (photo by Sharon Rico)