BLOG.JESSIEKEITH.COM: World Trade Center Memorial Disappointment

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In 1995, Jessie became a Master Gardener, accepted a job as a landscape designer and had a farmer's market booth selling garden flowers. The following year she attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where she graduated with honors in 1999 with a BS in Public Horticulture. At Purdue, she worked for two years as garden intern at The Purdue University Horticulture Gardens and was mentored by Dr. Harrison Flint and Dr. Michael Dana. She also served as undergraduate teacher’s assistant in woody and herbaceous plant identification and introductory horticulture classes.

In 1999, she accepted a yearlong position as the curatorial intern at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA under the tutelage of celebrated curator and author, Dr. Tomasz Anisko. Graduate school at Michigan State University followed. There she studied systematic botany and completed her MS degree in the winter of 2003. Shortly after graduation, she accepted an internship at The American Gardener magazine, the journal of The American Horticultural Society, where she received guidance from editor-in-chief, David Ellis, and distinguished scientist and horticulturist, Dr. H. Marc Cathey.

Jessie taught horticulture for two years at Williamson Free School in Media, Pennsylvania before pursuing a career in garden writing and plant photography. She began to work as content editor for Learn2grow.com in 2007 and has written articles for publications such as The Old House Journal, The Green Scene, What’s Up! Annapolis? and The Herbarist. She most recently served as one-time horticultural editor for Wilder Quarterly.

Today, Jessie lives in Wilmington, Delaware with her husband Knut, daughters Franziska and Gabriella, two geriatric cats, and thousands of garden plants.

BLOG.JESSIEKEITH.COM: World Trade Center Memorial Disappointment

World Trade Center Memorial Disappointment

I’ve had three first hand experiences with the World Trade Center Site. I first visited it on the six month anniversary of the attacks. Clean up was still underway but that evening the city shone 88 search lights upwards to form two columns where the buildings had been. The inspirational installation was called Tribute in Light (http://bit.ly/nvfG0) and remained lit from March11 to April 14, 2002 (it is still lit on 9/11 anniversaries). Three years later,while an intern for The American Gardener magazine, I had the idea of writing about the plans for the 9/11 memorial garden. I was disappointed and surprised that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was unwilling to discuss plans for the site at that time. Finally, last weekend (2/20/10) my husband and I visited again to see what progress had been made. After ten years, it is still a big, empty, gaping hole (all 16 acres of it). What an unseemly tribute to the fallen.

The base of a new skyscraper on the World Trade Center site is all there is to see after 10 years of work. Great wars have been fought and won in that time guys. Get the lead out!

Our confusion and disappointed was fortuitously cleared up when were turned home that Sunday evening and flipped on 60 minutes. Bureaucratic power struggles,lack of vision, lack of follow through and limited money have led to this national disgrace. The original vision of Reflecting Absence, the design of the National September 11 Memorial Competition winners Michael Arad and Peter Walker, has been whittled away by all parties involved, from real estate mogul, Larry Silverstein, to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a cascade of incapable politicians and other city entities. What was once a grand, inspired design is now much less than it was. Billions have been spent and the city has almost nothing to show for it.

There is little to see at the 9/11 site save the National 9/11 Museum (bit.ly/3JXY7Z), which was small but very well done.

Most would agree that this is a national disgrace. It must be especially heart-wrenching for those who lost loved ones in the attacks.Ground Zero should not remain Ground Zero in perpetuity. Several are trying to create a voice to inspire all decision makers involved to get cracking. The Families of September 11 remain committed to seeing this project to fruition (http://bit.ly/90Oe4e), The Twin Towers Alliance was created to forward the memorial effort (http://www.twintowersalliance.com/),and separate online petitions abound (http://bit.ly/dhE1po,http://bit.ly/c6Uont, http://bit.ly/a3LxLv). Other interest groups, like Save the Survivors Stairway (http://www.savethestairway.org/)and Save the Facades (http://bit.ly/9tcGW4), hope to save remain pieces of the towers for future generations.

If you feel as committed to seeing the National September 11 Memorial completed in a timely fashion appropriate to both the magnitude of the tragedy and need for national healing then please get involved and petition!