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
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Ontario reveals highest public sector salaries in sunshine list
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.