PHOTO BY NOELLE E. C. EVANS Volunteers via United Way s early session of the Day of Caring clean up the garden beds of the Remember Garden at Highland Park this past Thursday.
With spring in bloom at Highland Park, volunteers are beautifying one garden bed that serves as a living memorial to hundreds of people whose remains were discovered in an unmarked mass grave.
Among them is Gillian Conde, vice president of DePaul, a nonprofit organization that provides support services and housing for people with special needs, including mental illness. As she and others clean up the garden, she plans a tiny periwinkle vinca vine next to a wooden bench.