N※N

Eatontown Girl Scout turns community garden into fitting tribute for the man who loved it

  //health-fitness.news-articles.net/content/2025/ .. to-fitting-tribute-for-the-man-who-loved-it.html
  Published in Health and Fitness on Friday, October 10th 2025 at 7:02 GMT by app.com
          ^{🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source}

Eatontown Community Garden Pays Tribute to Local Horticulturist With Girl Scout Help

In a quiet corner of Eatontown’s downtown district, a lush, green oasis stands as a living testament to a man’s lifelong devotion to gardening—and to the unexpected partnership that helped bring it to life. The “Robert G. Bennett Memorial Garden,” named for the beloved local horticulturist who once tended the plot with the same care he gave his family, was inaugurated last week following a year‑long transformation funded by the town’s Girl Scout Troop 92.

From an abandoned lot to a celebrated garden

The site that is now the Bennett Garden was once a neglected, overgrown lot that had gone untold years to the local municipal authorities. In 2019, the garden’s plot was inherited by the late Robert Bennett, a retired elementary school teacher and self‑proclaimed “plant whisperer” who had spent decades cultivating vegetable patches in his own backyard. “Robert had an eye for the way a seed would grow in any soil,” recalls his niece, Mara Bennett. “He would talk about the soil’s ‘song’ as if it were a living entity.”

Following Robert’s passing in 2022, the property became a point of contention for the town’s parks department. “There was a risk the space would be repurposed for a parking lot or, worse, left to decay,” explains Eatontown Mayor Susan Martinez. “But the Bennett family, along with the community, wanted something that reflected his love for green life.”

Enter Girl Scout Troop 92. A long‑time community partner, Troop 92 has a history of engaging local youth in service projects that benefit neighborhoods. Troop leader Jennifer Morales, a former teacher herself, remembered the conversation that sparked the garden project: “We were looking for a meaningful service project for the 2023 summer. Robert Bennett’s story came up, and it felt like the perfect opportunity to honor a local hero and give back.”

The troop members spent the next nine months clearing the lot, designing raised beds, sourcing native plants from the Monmouth County Botanic Garden, and installing a low‑maintenance stone path. The final phase included the construction of a small, weather‑proof gazebo, a tribute to Robert’s fondness for “sitting and listening to the wind rustle the leaves.” As part of the unveiling ceremony, the Troop handed a commemorative plaque to Mayor Martinez, which reads: “In memory of Robert G. Bennett, whose love of gardening inspired this garden.”

The garden’s features

Spanning roughly 0.75 acres, the Bennett Garden includes several thematic areas: a vegetable patch that will serve as a teaching space for local school kids, a “wildflower meadow” aimed at attracting pollinators, a meditation nook with a small fountain, and a dedicated space for community potting workshops. The raised beds are built from reclaimed timber donated by a nearby lumber yard, reinforcing the garden’s eco‑friendly ethos.

In addition, the garden is set to become the town’s first “sustainability showcase,” with a rain barrel system that will harvest runoff for irrigation, and a composting station that will be managed by local residents. “We want this place to be more than a pretty patch of flowers,” says Morales. “It should be a hub of learning and stewardship.”

Community reactions and future plans

The unveiling event drew more than a hundred residents, including local business owners, school teachers, and environmental activists. Among the attendees was Sarah Collins, the town’s parks and recreation director, who praised the initiative as a “model for community collaboration.” “It exemplifies how civic organizations and local volunteers can transform underutilized land into assets that enrich our residents’ quality of life,” Collins said.

Mayor Martinez, who has served in the town’s council for eight years, highlighted the garden’s symbolic role: “The Bennett Garden is a reminder of what we can achieve when we come together for a shared purpose. Robert’s legacy lives on through this green space, and the Girl Scouts have given the community a lasting gift.”

Plans are already underway for a series of events in the coming months. The town has partnered with the Monmouth County Botanic Garden to hold a “Seed Swap” workshop, while the local high school’s environmental science class will take on a stewardship role, monitoring soil health and guiding the garden’s planting schedule. The Girl Scouts, for their part, will host a “Gardening for a Cause” day, encouraging troop members to plant herbs and vegetables that will be donated to the Eatontown Food Bank.

A tribute that grows

While the Bennett Garden now boasts a mosaic of colors—from vibrant marigolds to delicate white daisies—its most treasured component remains the story it carries. The garden stands as a living homage to a man whose devotion to soil and seed inspired a community, and whose memory is now perpetuated by the hands and hearts of Girl Scout volunteers.

In the words of Morales, who is now 32 and a mother of two, “When we planted that first seed in the center of the garden, we planted something that would keep on growing. Robert’s love of the earth lives on in every sprout, in every child who will learn from this place, and in the sense of community we’ve built.”