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Aly's Memorial Garden
2024 Main Street Award: Organization
Best Public-Private Partnership
The Craft Family
The Weil Family
Brian Daniels
Landscape Design
Gateway Church
Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation
Aly’s Memorial Garden is a vital part of the community’s ongoing efforts to balance urban development with environmental stewardship. Created in memory of 11-year-old Aly Craft, the garden is a designated site on the Butterfly Highway, a statewide conservation initiative aimed at supporting pollinators by planting native species. Honoring Aly’s love for nature, poetry, and dance, the garden strengthens Downtown Goldsboro’s mission of being an historic downtown while also being lively and full of economic and cultural vitality.
This garden provides an essential habitat for butterflies, bees and other pollinators creating sustainable and eco-friendly green spaces. With its proximity to the Paramount Theater, where Aly often danced, the garden creates a harmonious blend of cultural arts and environmental awareness, embodying Downtown Goldsboro’s vision of fostering diversity, vibrancy and a since of community. This project highlights the importance of green spaces in urban areas, offering residents and visitors an inspiring place to pause, reflect and reconnect with both nature and the arts.
The success of Aly's Memorial Garden is partnership. Aly Craft's mom, Natalie reached out to a downtown Goldsboro board member seeking a unique way to honor her daughter's life. When presented to the board, the Design Committee took the opportunity to create a meaningful project that would engage a number of public groups and add much- needed sustainability. What started as a minor update to an underutilized space, grew into a year-round attraction, with a wide variety of native pollinators, colorful sculptures, inviting seating and pathways, lighting, and a Little Free Library.
Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation Committee’s annual budget of $5,000 was available for this project, but the majority of the investment in Aly’s Garden was in-kind. The City’s municipal service district budget was used to purchase sustainable outdoor furnishings from a local furniture store. Trees, shrubs, hardscape materials and design services were provided in-kind by Landscape Design.
Over 200 volunteer hours was put into Aly’s Memorial Garden which included tree removal, landscape, lighting repair and installation of a pet waste station. A number of donors contributed plant materials including American Meadows, Baker Creek, Princton High School FFA and Casey Garden Center along with a decorative metal panel from Dailco and graphic design services from AccuCopy.
The estimated total in-kind contributions were $32,000. The 200 volunteer hours equated to savings of over $6,000.
Aly’s Memorial Garden has become a hub for downtown foot traffic, contributing to both the social and economic vitality of the area. The proximity to local businesses, such as coffee shops and restaurants, makes the garden an ideal location for enjoying a meal or drink in a beautiful, relaxing setting.
