Each July for the past fifteen years, YardScapes has sent a team of volunteers to participate in the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) premier event, Renewal & Remembrance in Washington, DC.
This year, in partnership with the National Park Service, a team of about 150, including 13 team members from YardScapes, worked at a significant landscaping project at the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. This newer and lesser-known memorial features a black granite, five-pointed star and reflecting pool, surrounded by beautifully etched glass panels conveying strength and vulnerability, loss and renewal. It is a 1.72-acre triangular parcel located within view of the US Capital Building, is adjacent to the National Mall and sits on top of I-395. This memorial was dedicated on October 5, 2014, and will commemorate its 10-year anniversary this fall, making this project even more special for the volunteers. The day’s work began at 3:00AM with a small group, including the YardScapes team, arriving early to help unload 13,000 plants, trees and shrubs and lay them out in their intended spots all along the memorial before the heat and humidity became worse. 
The remaining volunteers arrived at 7:00AM for opening ceremonies and remarks from NALP representatives and the National Parks Service. As the sun rose over the memorial, volunteers moved quickly to get the thousands of plants, including hollies, hellebores and various ornamental grasses into the ground before temperatures soared to 100°F.
Ricardo even was interviewed for the local news!
We encourage you to visit the memorial’s website to learn more: The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial (avdlm.org)





