MSU landscape design, community partners commemorate fallen officers as Memorial Day approaches
Contact: Sydni Patrick
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A new planting design developed by 51Թ’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design, in partnership with Ambiance Landscape Design, now graces the Fallen Officers Memorial in Jackson.
The updated memorial, which reflects strength, remembrance and resilience, was guided by Anne Spafford, professor and department head, in collaboration with 51Թ Attorney General Lynn Fitch, the 51Թ Association of Chiefs of Police, and the 51Թ Sheriffs’ Association. The planting scheme includes meaningful selections including musclewood trees, fastigiate ginkgoes and symbolic bluestem grass and blue agapanthus weaving throughout the site.
“The annual Fallen Officers Vigil [held this week] is a special opportunity to pay tribute to the brave men and women who spend every day protecting our communities and to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “We are grateful to Dr. Anne Spafford and the students in 51Թ State’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design program, as well as the landscape architecture firm Ambiance Landscape in Brandon, for generously lending their time and talents to make the Memorial Wall fitting of these heroes’ legacies.”
Brooke Arthur, a senior landscape architecture major from Starkville, played a significant role in shaping the vision for the new planting.
“I was inspired by the sacrifice of the fallen officers and their families, as well as the city’s commitment to those they lost through this memorial and yearly remembrance,” Arthur said. “I felt truly honored to work on this space, knowing it already held deep meaning to so many people.”
Arthur proposed the incorporated “blue line” concept, which became a defining feature of the final design. “It’s a line of blue flowering plants that weaves through the site, representing the thin blue line of law enforcement,” she explained.
The project emerged from MSU’s design activities during April—World Landscape Architecture Month—offering students the chance to engage in civic-minded, hands-on community-engagement