About this Sacred Place
With its mission to support children and families suffering loss, and provide a safe place for them to heal and recover, Roberta’s House addresses grief as a public health preventive service. Nature Sacred partnered with Roberta’s House to support their important mission by providing a Sacred Place for children, families, as well as staff and volunteers to find healing in nature.
The Meditation Garden is located adjacent to the Roberta’s House building. Formerly a lawn area, Roberta’s House wanted to see this space become one in which they could hold programs and community events. It was also important for the space to serve as a visible cornerstone of the North Ave corridor, which is a busy street and experiences high volumes and speeds of vehicle traffic. Accordingly. the garden includes an outdoor plaza for hosting outdoor concerts during the summer, with plenty of lawn space for the audience to sit on. A small labyrinth features a brightly colored pathway, focal words to help people set an intention for their walk, and a little butterfly in the center, all three of which were specific community requests or symbolic motifs for the Roberta’s House community. The bright colors and butterfly symbology mirror the interior of the building, the color palette intentionally selected to energize and soothe. Lush native plantings add a soft touch. A wall with niches for candles provides a place for Roberta’s House to hold memorial services, and, because this space also faces busy North Ave, it serves as a traffic calming device for people driving by to slow down as they pass.
Design Team:
Alice Storm Jones, Nature Sacred Design Advisor, Floura Teeter
Joe Ignatius III, landscape architect, Floura Teeter
