VA’s Grotto gardens earn national recognition

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will honor community volunteers and the Dayton VA Medical Center for the restoration of the historic Grotto and gardens on the grounds of the sprawling medical campus.

The Advisory Council is set to present the Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation at a Tuesday, March 8, ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Dayton VA, the American Veterans Heritage Center, and the Ohio State University Extension, Montgomery County master gardener volunteers are the recipients of the award.

The project restored the Grotto grounds, planted 32 memorial trees and will install a 35-foot fountain in one of the ponds on site, among other restoration efforts.

“Dayton, Ohio, has a stunning history of American ingenuity and patriotic support,” Milford W. Donaldson, ACHP chairman said in a statement. “I am inspired by the cooperation of the partners to persevere to restore the Grotto space and the historic landscape at the VAMC.”

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