Hospital garden receives award

Though the garden has been in existence for almost two years, on March 19, the Springfield Hospital Centennial Garden received a Vermont Public Places Merit Award for 2014.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/hospital-garden-receives-award

Hospital Garden Receives Award Submitted by VT Journal on Tue, 03/24/2015 - 2:06pm By LAUREN DRASLER The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -Nearly all residents of Springfield have utilized Springfield Hospital’s services at one time or another. Whether it’s visiting a loved one that’s in the hospital, or going to a doctor’s appointment, Springfield Hospital is perhaps one of the most familiar buildings in the community. However, one place that the hospital has to offer that may often go overlooked is the Springfield Hospital Centennial Garden, which was completed in the summer of 2013. Though the garden has been in existence for almost two years, on March 19, the Springfield Hospital Centennial Garden received a Vermont Public Places Merit Award for 2014. A press release stated that “the Vermont Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Vermont Planning Associations, the Vermont Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vermont Section and the Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Council jointly announced the winning submittals to the 2014 Vermont Public Places Awards.” According to the same press release, the Vermont Public Places Awards were created to honor Vermont’s public spaces. The press release also stated that “these groups initiated the Vermont Public Places Awards to recognize special public spaces, the corridors that connect them, or networks of public spaces, which have been defined or enriched by planning or design, as well as regulations that promote positive, public uses and benefits.” The Springfield Hospital Centennial Garden was among nine public places that received Merit Awards. Five other public areas in Vermont received Honor Awards. The garden was designed by Terrigenous, a landscape architecture company in Chester, Vermont. Engineering Ventures, Woodbury’s and Gurney Brothers also contributed to the construction and design of the garden in 2013. Director of Development for Springfield Hospital, Larry Kraft said that the Springfield Hospital Centennial Garden was an add-on to a larger sidewalk project that had been in the works for many years. “Every year, there is an annual giving campaign to raise money for a project at the hospital,” Kraft said. “During the 2012 – 2013 year, the project was to build a sidewalk from Park Street to the Hospital’s entrance at Ridgewood Road. The sidewalk was built for safety reasons, but it is also aesthetic.” Though the sidewalk was the main project, Kraft said that once the sidewalk was completed, there was an open grass space, which was then turned into the Centennial Garden. “The sidewalk ends at the hospital, and at the time of its completion, there was an empty grass space right out front that wasn’t landscaped,” he said. “So, it was decided that a garden could be designed for that space. Terrigenous designed it, and local businesses like Woodbury’s and Gurney Brothers helped as well. Plantings were put in it, and there are also benches for people to sit.” Kraft said that he thinks the garden adds to the hospital’s appearance. “The garden definitely makes the outside of the building more attractive, and it gives people a place to enjoy the outdoors, while visiting the hospital,” he said. “We’re happy to have this space. We had the centennial ribbon cutting in the garden, and we’re very happy with the garden. In nice weather, the garden is an additional space for visitors to rest, wait or just sit outside.”