Project Overview

A place to pause, reflect, and heal.

Through the tragic shooting incident of November 7, 2018, where 12 lives were taken, and 248 survived, the Healing Garden was conceived. The result is a shared vision between the City of Thousand Oaks, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and Conejo Recreation and Park District of space for all community members, to assist healing and to provide a place for contemplation, meditation, and prayer. The natural setting through the use of water, foliage, and stone is designed to relieve, engross, and comfort our community.

Description

The Healing Garden is in a central location in Thousand Oaks, at its most popular park, Conejo Creek North.  The park’s upper pond supplies an anchoring component to the space, with mature specimen Oaks providing a screen from other park activities, while preserving a strong linkage from the pond to existing park walkways and community gathering areas.

The Borderline twelve are represented by a fountain feature with twelve vertical jets centered in the existing pond which signifies the broader community.  The water feature is one of three main elements of the healing space.  A passive contemplation area is provided to the South of the pond with peaceful shoreline seating divided by simplistic landscaping surrounding the space to create a unique outdoor room, that offers various foliage and flowering plant material.  Plant species were selected to complement existing plant selections while inviting wildlife such as butterflies and birds.  Embodying the natural surroundings of the region, a large specimen Oak will be planted bordering the garden area that provides additional canopy.  One natural boulder will be centered at the shoreline plaza entry and will introduce visitors to the Healing Garden.

Additionally, the Borderline twelve will be signified by twelve large natural granite stone slab benches located along the plaza connecting the shoreline of the pond to an existing walkway.  The granite materials were hand-selected to represent the strength of our community.  The plaza paving is a linear concrete paver that runs parallel with the granite bench orientation that directs a visitor’s vision to the pond element.  The pavers will be a blend of several colors mirroring that of the granite stone.  A unique color will designate two hundred forty-eight pavers in the scheme representing the number of survivors from that tragic night.

To the North, the active existing Lakeside Pavilion provides space for community events and other gatherings.  Augmenting and providing additional structure to the existing stage at the pavilion will be a series of natural granite boulder massings, totaling twelve boulders in number.  One of the boulders will overlook the pond feature and will introduce visitors to the Healing Garden.