News Flash

Village of Westmont
Date Issued: April 25, 2017

On Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, the Village of Westmont and Village of Clarendon Hills held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the Richmond Education Gardens and Apiary.  “Now that we’ve formally announced our plans, the real work begins,” said Jill Ziegler, Westmont Community Development Director. “Our groundbreaking ceremony was very successful, and now we’re excited to move forward on this project. We plan to have project updates throughout the year.  We will have several large installation projects and volunteer opportunities over the next several years while we complete Richmond Gardens.”

The groundbreaking ceremony featured several guest speakers including Westmont Mayor Ron Gunter, Clarendon Hills Trustee Paul Flood, and Clarendon Hills Community Development Director Dan Ungerleider.

Education and student participation will be an important aspect of Richmond Gardens.  One of the highlights of the groundbreaking ceremony presentation was a speech by Westmont Jr. High School 7th grade student Pranav Viswanath. “The very idea of sharing the beauty and usefulness of nature with the whole community, will put us in the right spirit to truly understand, appreciate, and give back to the world around us as well,” said Pranav.  “So today, let us all take a pledge to go a little more green in our own lives, everyday.”

Richmond Education Gardens & Apiary is located just east of the Township Highway Department Facility at 318 E. Quincy Street in Westmont. The site of the project is jointly owned by Clarendon Hills and Westmont.  Once completed, Richmond Gardens will provide a new place in our communities to promote education programs about natural and organic gardening methods and our environment and will feature an apiary, a rain garden, educational displays regarding water conservation and the importance of pollinators, and more.

BRICK PAVER INITIATIVE 
& PROJECT FUNDRAISER

The Richmond Education Gardens & Apiary has launched an engraved brick fundraiser.  This program is one of the easiest ways residents and businesses can support the development of our community education garden.  Each brick will be permanently displayed at the garden for all to see and enjoy. To learn more about the brick paver fundraiser and other aspects of the project, please visit RichmondGardens.org or email us at info@richmondgardens.org.

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