“Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.”
- John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, (1938), p. 337.
site of Healing GardenIt feels right. A healing garden and the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP) go together like stamps on envelopes. They don’t just coexist, they fit. One completes the other. The Nissequogue River State Park, located on the grounds of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center, has a lot of history to overcome. The park is littered with dilapidated, deteriorating, graffiti laden buildings that once provided shelter to society’s most fragile and rejected people - those with mental disabilities. Great brick buildings, dating back to the early 20th century that once exemplified strength and commitment, now are just hollowed out facades decaying and putrid. A reminder of just how fragile and difficult our world can be.
And yet the NRSP is undergoing a transformation, a blighted antiquated psychiatric
center is being transformed. A park is taking shape. A marina is coming to life, buildings are being demolished,;)
Finesse Landscape Design delivering boulders for the garden wild life is returning, and people are visiting. Hikers, bicyclists, walkers, runners, cross country skiers are returning and taking ownership of their park. The State, through funds secured by Senator John Flanagan, has been at work removing the most dangerous of the buildings from the property. There is more to be done, but there is hope where there hasn’t been hope in a long time. The NRSP Foundation, a group of local residents, has been prodding the State every step of the way to preserve the park with its beautiful vistas and open space and to turn it into a place of pride for the Kings Park community, Smithtown and New York State.
Enter the Commack - Kings Park Rotary Club (CKPRC). Rotary is no stranger to offering hope. In fact, offering help and hope is what the Rotary is about. Whether it is fighting disease as in the eradication of polio, building
;)
Finesse Landscape Design creating the focal point of the gardenwells in areas without clean water, providing heart surgery for children, Rotary is there helping people to help themselves. A healing garden to help people get through challenging times or just to reflect, a no-brainer for members of the Commack - Kings Park Rotary Club. Teaming up with the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation (NRSPF) and working with New York State Office of Parks, Preservation and Historical Sites, the CKPRC, with a lot of help from professionals will be creating a garden at the NRSP. Joan G. McGillicuddy, Surrogate Gardener and breast cancer survivor, created and donated the design for the garden focusing on native species that would compliment the theme of healing, tranquility and nature. Eric Hagenbruch, a Saint James resident and owner of Finesse Landscape Design, donated all the work involved in the construction of the garden and more. Recognizing the beauty;)
Charles Reichert, owner of the Fort Salonga IGA kicked off fundraising with a $1000 donationand compatiblity of a tree at the site, Eric and his crew cleared the tree of weeds and overgrown foliage exposing a most beautiful and unusual tree aptly named by Eric “The Tree of Life”. Funding for the project came from donations from people throughout the town of Smithtown, with a major donation being made by Charlie Reichert of IGA.
The healing garden will be completed in the next week with the dedication on Wednesday, July 31 at 7:15 pm. In conjunction with the dedication, there is a wine and cheese tasting event being hosted by the Commack - Kings Park Rotary Club. Funds raised at the event will be used to enhance the garden. Invitation
The “Healing Garden” is a gift to the people who visit the park. It is a gift of beauty and hope and it is a gift of serenity and unlimited possibility.
Nissequogue River State Park is located at 799 Saint Johnland Road, Kings Park, NY 11754. It is open seven days a week from sunrise - sunset. There is a fee for parking. For information