Garden aims to provide comfort amid loss

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/05/2025 (214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People who have lost loved ones due to substance-related harm will soon have a garden where they can go to reflect and remember in a peaceful, quiet setting, says Antoinette Gravelle-Ouellette of Moms Stop the Harm.

“Gardens always bring peace, and this will be a contact of healing for people to have a time of solitude and to honour those who are gone too soon,” said Gravelle-Ouellette.

The idea for the Brandon Gone Too Soon Garden was planted about five and a half years ago — and even though it may have gone dormant, it never left Gravelle-Ouellette’s mind.

Last year, she started to have conversations with the Riverbank Discovery Centre about an available area beside the Labyrinth of Peace, on the northeast corner of the centre grounds along Kirkcaldy Drive.

“We have a space that’s 10 feet by 60 feet where we’ll put flowers and plants that were approved by the Riverbank,” said Gravelle-Ouellette, adding, “But we’re not planting yet. First we have to prepare the soil, rototill it and most importantly, an Indigenous Elder is going to bless the land for us.”

The land dedication is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday. The public is welcome, and volunteers are encouraged to bring their own chair and gardening tools.

“Some of our members love to garden and get their hands in the dirt, and that also provides a kinesthetic healing. But it will be up to our gardening committee to say when we can start planting,” Gravelle-Ouellette said.

Some of the flowers approved by the Riverbank Discovery Centre include bleeding heart, forget-me-not, iris, forsythia and cora bells. Marigolds will help keep the deer away, said garden committee member Pearl Smith, who was drawn to Moms Stop the Harm because of personal circumstances.

“Both my son and my daughter have had issues with substance use, so I needed some support, because it’s a hard road,” Smith said.

“I wanted to do more, so I got involved with the advocacy group. We try to do things that the public can see to reduce the stigma against people who use drugs, and to help those who are mourning their children or loved ones.

“And I love gardens and flowers, so I made a little plan, and everyone thought it was pretty good. So here we are,” Smith said, motioning to the grassy area that will eventually become the garden.

The committee will also be posting a wish list of additional plants it requires on its Facebook page: Brandon and Area Gone Too Soon and Substance Use Awareness. Volunteers will be asked to water and weed the garden as well.

Gravelle-Ouellette said she has no doubt that the garden will provide many people with what they need. Some may even leave “trinkets for their loved ones.” She is confident that the area will be kept clean by “community care.”

Gravelle-Ouellette said she is also certain that more people need to understand harm reduction, and that providing support for families who are affected by substance abuse is vital.

“I don’t think people understand the importance of meeting people where they’re at. We need to do better at preventative measures,” she said.

In 2024, there were 570 suspected substance-related deaths in Manitoba, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The previous year, there were 568. In 2022, there were 467 deaths.

“People forget that these are not numbers — these people have families. They have a mom, a dad or maybe siblings, co-workers or friends that loved them,” said Gravelle-Ouellette.

“For every death in our community, I would say it impacts a minimum of 10 plus people. And those people are left to grieve without resources or ways to try and understand. We need to support the stresses and struggles of families. When we heal together, we heal as a community,” she said.

Besides planting the Brandon Gone Too Soon Garden, Gravelle-Ouellette and members of the committee hope to eventually place something called a wind phone close by.

A wind phone is an unconnected telephone where visitors can hold a one-way conversation with loved ones who have died. It was created by a garden designer in Japan in 2010. The following year, when an earthquake killed more than 15,000 people, the designer made the wind phone available to the public.

There are more than 375 wind phones around the world, according to the website https://www.mywindphone.com/.

For more information about the Brandon Gone Too Soon Garden, including volunteering opportunities, email brandongonetoosoon@gmail.com.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» enviromichele.bsky.social