Photo by Erick Olsen

For the last two years, the Green Team of the Norfolk Church of Christ dreamed of planting a pollinator garden on church grounds. When a team member suggested the garden could also serve as a memorial for Eve Thew, everyone agreed that a pollinator garden would be a perfect way to honor someone who embodied beauty, both inside and out. Thew, who was a long-time church member as well as a beloved wife, mother, and artist, died in February 2020 and she was known throughout Norfolk and beyond for her kindness and never-ending enthusiasm toward anyone she met.

The garden became a reality this past July. The Norfolk Conservation Commission recommended native plant species. Peter Coffeen and Stephen Getz provided a stone which John Bascetta engraved. Members and friends of the church met on a Saturday morning to plant the garden along the stone wall between the church and Battell Chapel. As the garden grows, all are welcome to stop by, visit the garden, and think of Eve.