Forget Me Not: Grave Gardening at the Woodlands Cemetery

Event: fb://event/275443645388665
Free; Pre-Registration required; limited seating
(sign up on our website)
Hosted by: Friends of Historic Easton Cemetery and the Marx Room at the EAPL
As many of you know, the Easton Cemetery has a group of volunteers that care for many of our French gardens and urns. We were inspired to launch our gardener program after learning about the very successful work being done at the Woodlands, a 54-acre cemetery founded in 1840 on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
Join Woodlands’ Facilities and Landscape Manager, Robin Rick at the Easton Public Library on Saturday, March 9th at 11:00 am.
Hear the story of the founding of The Woodlands’ Grave Gardener volunteer program in 2015, as well as the historical context out of which it grew. Today, The Woodlands boasts a roster of 150 volunteers! We’ll see what many Grave Gardens look like today after 8 years of the program, and highlight some of the plants and gardeners that make them thrive. This is also a great time to learn about the Easton Cemetery’s Grave Gardening volunteer program and how you can utilize the Marx Room at the Easton Public Library to do research on our permanent residents.
This is also an opportunity to meet some of Easton Cemetery’s grave gardeners and learn how you can utilize the Marx Room to research the notable residents whose graves you tend. For our existing gardeners, this is a good time to sign up for the 2024 season. For those of you who don’t know about our grave gardening program, you’ll be able to meet our program leaders and hear about volunteer opportunities.
About Robin Rick:
Robin Rick is the Facilities and Landscape Manager of The Woodlands in Philadelphia, PA. The site is the 18th c. estate and pleasure garden of William Hamilton, a 19th c. garden cemetery, and a modern day 54 acre green oasis for Philadelphia residents. Robin manages the care of The Woodlands tree collection, grounds, and infrastructure working with contractors, building conservation professionals, interns and volunteers on the careful repurposing and ongoing maintenance of The Woodlands historic structures and landscape. In this role Robin utilizes her education and experience as an architect and professional gardener. She began her involvement at The Woodlands as a Grave Gardener volunteer and now has the pleasure of supporting this innovative scheme bringing life to 19th c. burial monuments designed as gardens. Outside of work Robin is involved in neighborhood tree planting and care and in the management of her family’s farm.