Rendering by artist Dick Mitchell
“It’s been fourteen years in the making,” says Jay Martin of the Cancer Survivor’s Park. “And Arbor has played a key role in the vision of the park since its beginnings.”
It all started with the late Tom Keith, former President of Arbor Land Design. Tom had an educational background in civil engineering, but after realizing his passion for design, he went back to school and obtained a second degree in landscape architecture. According to Jay, Arbor has always been a landscape architecture-led firm, treating the landscape as a “living and breathing thing.”
And that’s exactly how Arbor Land Design has treated the design of Cancer Survivors Park. The purpose of the park is to provide healing and hope, as well as to celebrate and honor those who have survived cancer. “That happens in a myriad of ways,” Jay explains. “For example, there are areas of the park that address different aspects of what survival means.”
Since Tom’s passing, all Arbor associates have put their hearts into the park in some way. They consider the park to be a way of honoring those who have survived cancer, but also a way of honoring their late president. Tom was once quoted saying:
There’s a rhythm to a garden — a continuity that offers hope and a sense of peace. A stroll through a garden invigorates the spirit and re-anchors us within the cycles of life.
Cancer Survivors Park is located between Church St. and Cleveland St, right next to the Chamber of Commerce building. To learn more about the park or to see an interactive map, please visit www.cancersurvivorspark.org/.