SHANNON KATHLEEN COLLINS
Heather Putnam, Ph.D., Co-Director, 2015-2016
SHANNON COLLINS MEMORIAL GARDEN
Long-time resident and business owner Shannon Kathleen Collins ardently supported Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center and her legacy lives on through the Shannon Collins Memorial Garden. The goal of the garden is to celebrate the legacy of Shannon Collins and promote her ideals of education, community, and youth and women’s empowerment. We envision working with longtime sponsor of the Garden, Lelo, and many other supporters in the Santa Cruz community to build a multi-functional space that will fulfill the mission of the Center through the space and potential related programming, while at the same time raise community engagement with the Center both physically and financially. Stage 1 of the project will focus on the funding development and physical construction of the Garden over 18 months, while Stage 2 will focus on working with the Center’s Board and staff to deepen linkages between Center programming and the Garden.
The Garden will include various features fulfilling different functions. It will include community garden plots that will be available to both Center participants – helping to fulfill nutrition needs for participating families – as well as community members for a fee; a tranquility/reflection garden with benches, a water feature, and a memorial plaque to Shannon Collins; a small amphitheater/open air contained space suitable for public events, talks, and Center programming activities; a children’s garden with interactive garden features; a brick or tile patio where bricks/tiles will honor supporters of the Garden and the Center; and paths throughout for wandering and reflecting.