A group of Newtown municipal employees gathered in the courtyard at the Municipal Center for a brief ceremony during the late morning of Friday, October 2 to acknowledge October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Employees were encouraged to wear pink and remember those affected by the disease.

This year’s gathering also included the dedication of Tammy’s Garden. The recently established garden is a memorial to the late longtime Land Use department employee Tammy Hazen, who died in December 2015.

As employees assembled in a light drizzle, Newtown Health District Administrative Assistant Maureen C. Schaedler asked for everyone’s attention.

“It’s October again, and we are gathered as a group to honor and acknowledge those we love who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, those who are survivors, as well as those who have passed,” she said.

“We are honoring Tammy Hazen today, our friend and co-worker,” she added. “Her breast cancer diagnosis and death left a sizable hole in the lives of her family, of her friends, and her workplace.”

Her voice breaking, Schaedler said she and others “remember fondly her smile, her hugs, and her laughter.”

Schaedler also recalled that her late friend and co-worker had often commented that it would be nice to be able to look out from her work window and see flowers. Layered in a pink zip-up and a deeper pink T-shirt, Schaedler stood in front of one of the collections of aster plants that now dot the center of the courtyard, part of Tammy’s Garden.

“Tammy is smiling now, and your tribute to her is lasting,” she said.

The garden was formally launched in October 2019, when members of Protect Our Pollinators (POP), joined by additional volunteers, put nearly 500 plants into the ground in the courtyard that faces First Avenue.

Employees of Newtown Parks & Recreation were also key in starting the garden last fall, using machinery to prep garden beds and move some of the larger trees and bushes into place. The garden includes small shrubs, more than 330 perennial plants, and multiple ferns, grasses, and bulbs.

Last week, POP Co-Chair Mary Gaudet-Wilson thanked everyone for their help.

“This garden,” Gaudet-Wilson said, “serves two purposes. One, it’s to honor Tammy. It’s also meant to be a pollinator garden, and is part of the Pollinator Pathway.”

The pathway she mentioned is a collection of pesticide-free public and private properties that provide native plant habitats and nutrition for bees, butterflies, and other important pollinators. Several Fairfield County towns have established similar corridors. POP launched its local efforts in April 2019.

Sarah Middeleer, who designed Tammy’s Garden, was also in attendance last week. She offered her thanks for the gift of the space and all the support she and the others received for its creation. She and others, she said, hope to eventually have a formal plaque installed to honor Hazen.

“We’re just so happy to have a spot to remember Tammy and honor wildlife,” she said.

Acknowledging that a few of the plants were struggling, Gaudet-Wilson drew laughs when she reminded the guests that “as everyone who has a garden knows, it’s an ongoing challenge.”

The brief event included additional moments of gravity. After Schaedler made her opening remarks, three additional members of Newtown Health District made statements related to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Suzette LeBlanc reminded the group that one in every eight American women have the risk of being diagnosed with the disease.

Laurel Shaw offered that the “single most important tool” to fight breast cancer is screenings.

Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert then pointed out that other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer. Men are also susceptible, she added.

“Of all the things we don’t have control over in our lives, there are a lot things we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” she said. “Understanding the risks and keeping up with good health care are among them.

“Let’s take control of the things we can.”