Riverbend’s Remembrance Gardens

 


Independent developer Gary Bradley has been active in his Austin, TX, community since the late 1970s, having donated the most parkland of any developer in central Texas history. One of Gary Bradley’s major accomplishments was his land donation to the pastor Dr. Gerald Mann, who built Riverbend Church on the property. From there, the two created an innovative cremation cemetery, Remembrance Gardens at Riverbend, which provides an innovative alternative to classical cemeteries by inviting a form of remembrance that does not require a traditional grave.

Located in Austin, TX, Remembrance Gardens is a gorgeous piece of land in and around the Riverbend Canyon. Its Memorial Pavilion is a sheltered area with traditional niches for urns and memorial walls designed for remembrance and quiet meditation. The Terrace Garden is a collection of pathways winding through the canyon, past waterfalls and quiet pools. The Rose Garden, overlooking the waterfalls, provides bench niches, memorial pavers, and ground interments for ashes.

The gardens provide an innovative alternative to classical cemeteries by inviting a form of remembrance that does not require a traditional grave.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Preserves the Nation’s Beauty

 


Gary Bradley of Austin, TX, has spent decades at the forefront of the area’s real estate development industry. He has also contributed to a number of charitable causes, including the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He has served as a major donor to the center, and his development at Circle C Ranch intersects with its eastern portion. Gary Bradley’s contributions to the center exemplify his commitment to his Austin, TX, community.

Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, was the force behind a prominent national campaign designed to beautify America. Her idea was a simple one: that the creation of beauty in unattractive urban landscapes in particular would help people achieve better emotional health and contribute to everyone’s well-being.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center honor continues that tradition. Working with the goal of preserving and promoting beautiful, healthy landscapes, the center serves to educate people of all ages about wildflowers. The center got its start in a project Mrs. Johnson founded with actress Helen Hayes in the early 1980s. Two decades later, it became a research unit of the university.

Today, the center remains an active participant in conservation efforts. It additionally sponsors youth education programs, including Camp Wildflower, which gives elementary school children the opportunity to learn to be botanists and conservationists through participation in a range of investigative outdoor activities.