The Phoenix Garden
Project Overview
The Phoenix Garden project presents a vision for a therapeutic, agriculturally productive, educational, and ecologically positive space at San Mateo County’s Youth Services Center. The Center serves troubled and disadvantaged youth participating in Court-ordered Probation Department Programs, youth in the foster care system, and families in need of mental health services.
The Phoenix as Metaphor
For millennia, the phoenix has served across cultures as a powerful symbol of death andrebirth. Consumed by flames then miraculously resurrected from its own ashes, this mythical creature resonates with humankind’s need for hope and the possibility of redemption.
For disenfranchised youth entering the detention system, the symbol of the phoenix is especiallyrelevant. Juvenile detention may seem a ery endto dreams of a better future, but the goal of the Phoenix Garden is to demonstrate, symbolically and through well-designed spaces and programs, that redemption is possible for all, regardless of past mistakes. The County takes a truly rehabilitative and therapeutic approach to juvenile corrections, and this should be evidenced in its surroundings.
The Phoenix Garden is also the rebirth of a landscape. From the ashes of an old building –a relic of an era de ned by a punitive approach to juvenile detention – a productive, socially and ecologically beneficial garden will emerge. Much like personal transformations, this landscape transformation will be gradual, drawing on the support and hard work of a community and utilizing natural processes. As youth in the system begin their own journey of redemption, the landscape will grow and transform with them. (Willa Caughey, 2016)
Origins of the Phoenix Garden—A Timeline
1950s
The original Youth Services Center complex, an inhospitable collection of concrete buildings surrounded by chain link, was constructed.
2006
Inspired by her year-long permaculture certification program, Clinical Services Manager Toni DeMarco and her classmate Tracy Parker developed a new vision for the site of the original Youth Services Center. Their plan was conceptual but programmatically rich, successfully integrating permaculture principles, Toni’s clinical expertise from her work with juvenile detainees, and the progressive and ambitious goals she held for the Center.
2010
After a more modern, accommodating, greener (LEED Certified) building complex was constructed just to the north, the old building was demolished, leaving the 5.5 acre plot to be recolonized by opportunistic grasses and wild flowers. Consistent with Toni and Tracy’s vision, an agreement was struck with neighboring open space groups: no building would be constructed on the site again in order to expand the valuable wildlife habitat in the region.
2011
The Phoenix Garden Steering Committee was formed in order to study the feasibility of the 2006 concept plan and discuss funding. Bay Tree Design created a revised concept plan based on the 2006 drawing.
2016
With plans still in flux, the first tree planting event took place in February, engaging male and female youth from juvenile camps, staff, the non-profit City Trees, and community volunteers. The plan is further revised.
The Phoenix Garden Wouldn’t Exist Without the Support of:
Dr. Scott Morrow
Toni DeMarco
Regina Moreno
