Press release:
A decorative arbor has been constructed at the site of the Batavia Peace Garden located behind the new Court House adjacent to Tonawanda Creek. The arbor is part of continuation plans to extend the Peace Garden along Main Street. It marks the entrance to the Batavia Peace Garden Memory Walk. Barb Toal, a co-founder of the Peace Garden, first had the vision to expand the Peace Garden several years ago. The Peace Garden Memory Walk was created in 2016 and is dotted with flowering trees and benches paying homage to deceased loved ones who have touched the lives of Peace Garden volunteers. Visitors can walk along the path and read their individual stories at each site.
Toal “Our community is very supportive of this beautiful garden. I reached out to several local businesses for their support and the response was overwhelming. Tri-County Welding built the structure and donated the steel. Select Collision painted the structure. The labor for the arbor was financed by Chapin Manufacturing. The concrete base was donated by Western New York Concrete and the installation was completed by The Bridge Addiction Recovery Group, Ron Burroughs, and Toal Plumbing. This garden is truly blessed by the generosity of our community and we are so grateful for that because it takes a village to keep this garden going and maintained. Volunteers are always welcome and appreciated to help with all our activities. Discussions are underway to connect the Peace Garden Memory Walk to the existing Ellicott Trail Toe Path. If and when that happens it will complete our vision.”
