Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – Aug. 16, 2021 – How Can I Memorialize a Loved One in Burlington?

Welcome to the Mayor’s Monday Mailbag, an initiative Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and the Mayor’s Office has launched to share weekly answers to questions from the public we’ve received through our main email inbox at mayor@burlington.ca or the Mayor’s social media platforms.At the end of the month, we’ll publish a roundup of those most pressing questions we’ve received in the weeks prior.Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – Aug. 16, 2021QUESTION:“I would like to memorialize a loved one in Burlington. Does the City offer any opportunities to do so?”ANSWER:Losing a loved one is never easy. The City of Burlington has several ways to help residents and the community memorialize someone who has passed away.Parks Amenities Recognition and Celebration Program:This is most often referred to as the Memorial Bench Program -- however, it is not only for benches, as the amenity can be another type of park furnishing (such as a bike rack, picnic table or sun shelter). The memorialized amenity can be located in a City park, along a bikeway or sidewalk, or an open space maintained by the City.Most requests are for a bench, where the cost ranges depending on the model that is determined by whatever the bench standards are in the park location. In 2021, the cost for the most commonly-used bench model has been $5,394. Please note the price is updated annually to accommodate increased costs of the bench purchase and delivery.If a resident or community member requests an amenity other than a bench, the City will work out the associated cost for them.For more information, please visit burlington.caRotary Tree Park / Memorial Forest:This program is run by Rotary Club of Burlington Central and includes the donation of a memorial tree in the Rotary Tree Park/Memorial Forest -- the current location to donate memorial trees is Maple Park (the previous location was in Central Park).The minimum donation for a new tree is $700, and $1,000 for a mature tree. For more information, please visit rotarycbc.ca/trees or click this link: Rotary Memorial Forest Brochure-2021.This program also does memorial bench that would also be located in Maple Park. While Central Park can no longer accommodate memorial trees, there is still room for memorial benches here as well.The cost of the donation bench within the Memorial Forests are set by Rotary Club.Adopt a (Flower) Bed:The City of Burlington's Roads, Parks and Forestry Department runs a program called Adopt A Bed. It's an annual program where a sponsor pays an annual fee for a flower bed in a traffic island. A sign is placed in the flower bed and is visible to drive-by cars. The sponsorship can be renewed from year to year. The annual cost can range from approximately $200-$1,600, depending on the size of the flower and upkeep.For more information, please visit: www.burlington.ca/en/your-city/AdoptaFlowerbed.aspRELATED LINKS:

• Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – Aug. 9, 2021 – I Mixed Vaccines & Am Having Trouble Booking Travel. What Can I Do?
• Mayor’s Monday Mailbag — July 2021 Roundup — Fireworks regulations, Millcroft Greens development, lifting of mask mandate & high-rises at Holland Park site
• Mayor’s Monday Mailbag — June 2021 Roundup — Development applications, vaccine supply & gunk on the beach

—*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor’s Media and Digital Communications Specialist