Sacred Places
Juvenile Agency Volunteer Auxiliary Garden
A town square in a courthouse courtyard, built by the young people sentenced to it.
WHERE
Elkton, MD
SETTING
Neighborhood
PARTNER INSTITUTION
Juvenile Agency Volunteer Auxiliary
Visit
Where it is
129 E Main St, Elkton, MD 21921
What happens here
JAVA clients perform community service in the garden as an alternative to being assigned to the detention system, learning new skills alongside community groups from the Cecil County Arts Council to the Elkton Business Council to local Master Gardeners. Unity Square gives quiet space for reflection during stressful court appearances and commemorative events, and hosts arts and entertainment events, wedding celebrations, and holiday parades.
HOW IT CAME TO BE
An alternative to detention.
Drag to see the transformation.
01
The Need
JAVA was looking for new opportunities to counsel and support at-risk youth. The centrally located courtyard of the Cecil County Courthouse was not yet a town square.
02
The Vision
JAVA partnered with several community and civic organizations to envision and create a new town square there. The premise is reciprocal: as clients grow in their capacities and contributions to Elkton, so does Elkton's commitment to sustaining an inclusive society, welcoming of all who demonstrate a commitment to bettering themselves, each other, and their community.
03
The Transformation
One thing was already there. A mosaic mural wall surrounds the site, made by a local artist with a special connection to the space before it became a Sacred Place, and it stayed. Added to it are a central pergola, various native plantings, and a large tree sculpture gifted by a local blacksmith in homage to his mentor, himself a well-known local blacksmith and community member now passed.
WHO TENDS IT
Giulia Hodge
Firesoul, Juvenile Agency Volunteer Auxiliary Garden
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