Close to their hearts: Park project to honour lives taken in Nova Scotia mass shooting
Two families linked by the Nova Scotia mass shooting are now coming together on a project designed to remember and honour their loved ones, transforming where they died into a place of peace for the families and the community.
Kristen Beaton, a VON health-care worker who was pregnant with her second child, and Heather O’Brien, who was a VON nurse, were both killed on the same road by the shooter on April 19, 2020.
Soon after their deaths, each family erected memorials on Plains Road near Debert, N.S.
The idea behind “Heart's Haven Memorial Park” is to connect the sites as a memorial tribute - a 16 acre park that would include walking trails, gardens, a playground, and a picnic area. The land would be owned by the Municipality of Colchester.
“I think it’s something everybody kind of wanted from the beginning,” says Darcy Dobson, daughter of Heather O’Brien.
“Anybody who’s been victimized by a violent crime, they really want their loved ones to be remembered for how they lived, not how they died,” she says. “The park will really encompass how both these women lived."
Dobson says creating a memorial area has also been a “passion project” for her father, who has spent countless hours clearing the wooded area and doing work refurbishing a gazebo at the site.
“We’ve had a lot of support from Marie Benoit,” says Nick Beaton, husband of Kristen Beaton. “She’s been a big help.”
Benoit is District 9 councillor for Colchester County.
When asked which feature of the proposed park is most meaningful to each of them, Dobson says the gardens and the gazebo stand out.
“My mother was a meticulous gardener, she loved her gardens. So for me, it’s definitely going to be that ability to walk the walking trails through the gardens,” says Dobson.
For Beaton, it’s the playground.
“The big thing for me and [my son] Dax, it will be the playground. When I tried to think of what Kristen would want to represent her, basically everything was about Dax to her, so we come up to have a playground for him and others in the community,” says Beaton.
“I think we’re going to call it Dax Man's Playground," adds Beaton, referring to his late wife’s term of affection for their son.
The estimated cost of the project is $250,000, which Beaton and Dobson are hoping to raise through donations.
“The outpouring of people that I know personally that have reached out, from monetary donations, to signs, to people saying, ‘I’m willing to put in the manpower,'” says Beaton. “We need any help we can get.”
“We definitely need some boots on the ground. We need as much help as we can get to get this off the ground and running for our community,” adds Dobson.
The hope is to have Heart’s Haven Memorial Park completed by August.
This April will mark two years since 22 people, and an unborn child, were killed in Canada’s worst mass murder.
Beaton says the park gives them a positive a goal.
“It’s to focus on some good out of such a horrible spot,” he says. “Kristen would smile pretty big at how much everyone is helping and how much is going into this park,” says Beaton. “For me, it’s part of the healing process for sure.”
Anyone who wants to donate or contribute to the creation and completion of Heart’s Haven Memorial Park is asked to email Colchester County District 9 Councillor Marie Irving-Benoit at mbenoit@colchester.ca .
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.