The DFA December Committee Meeting was delighted to have Brian Bainnson, ASLA, PLA, Principle of Quatrefoil Inc. to present the project he developed, the Portland Memory Garden. Brian is a landscape architect as was his father. He attended RISD and then moved out to Portland, Oregon. The Portland Memory Garden is designed for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory issues. It also provides respite for their caregivers and is open to the entire community. The Garden is fully fenced and enclosed, featuring restrooms, looping paths, wide walkways, lots of seating, tinted concrete to reduce glare, concrete sloping raised garden beds, lighting for nighttime with transition so that shadows don’t cause falls, and good benches with arms so as to see to the next bench throughout the garden. Brian talked about the funding, the master plan, how the site was selected, and how the garden is managed and maintained after it was dedicated in May 2002. He also shared about his knowledge of the coalition operation, the programs and uses, the choose of planting, and the conditions of other memory gardens in the U.S. The presentation and the following Q&A was truly engaging and knowledgable.

This Spring DFA Committee is going co-host many interesting events, such as a panel with WIA Committee, an event with NYCHA, and student presentations with different schools. The complete meeting agenda with an extended list of ideas from previous meetings and events in formation for Tafel Hall panels can be accessed here. Also, we were going to have a member potluck/get together at the January meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone on January 25!