Bertina A. Nick Memorial Garden

Bertina A. Nick Memorial Garden Dedication Ceremony

The Bertina A. Nick Memorial Garden is a garden oasis that honors Bertina.  It is a place for reflection, meditation, and rejuvenation; it is an outdoor classroom area for Adams Academy students to participate in environmental education sessions; it is a habitat for songbirds and other wildlife; and it is a garden for the communities on either side of College Creek.  Our work with numerous local groups helps to build bridges throughout the greater community as well as from one side of College Creek to the other.

The planning and dedication ceremony, held on November 3, 2005, was a great team effort and a truly multi-generational effort, involving Adams Academy students, Glenwood seniors, and all ages in between.  The moving tribute honored the late Bertina A. Nick for her contribution to J. Albert Adams Academy and the greater community. The dedication ceremony was attended by over 100 people, including several members of Bertina’s  family. Bertina’s daughter Makietta Nick and grandson DiMario Walker, Adams Academy principal Jeff Tillar, assistant principal Shawn Ashworth, students, Vince Leggett, Zora Lathan, Carl Snowden, Elizamae Robinson, and several others made remarks.  Mayor Ellen Moyer, County Sheriff George Johnson, Chip Dordan with Anne Arundel Medical Center, Frank Dawson with the Department of Natural Resources, and many other dignitaries also made remarks.  After the dedication ceremony, refreshments were served at the Glenwood Senior Center.

The Bertina A. Nick Memorial Garden symbolizes the life and vitality Bertina brought to the greater community.

The circular grove was created by covering turf grass with paper (turf blocker) and wood chips, and features a pathway which leads toward a clearing in the center with several large native ironstone boulders, donated by Anne Arundel County Waste Management Services, suitable for sitting and enjoying the plantings and wildlife. The garden is adjacent to the Biolog Rain Garden and Wildlife Habitat Demonstration Site, and birds and other wildlife are frequently observed from this location.

The garden was installed with the help of members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, Single Volunteers of Baltimore and Annapolis, and youth and leaders from the Juvenile Drug Court program. Vince Leggett suggested the garden concept; and Corinne Irwin and Zora Lathan designed the garden.

Pictures:

Click on the thumbnail image below for a larger picture and description

  

 Size: 1,075 square feet

 Plant List:

• White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
• Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
• Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
• Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
• Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
• Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
• False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa)