A garden to remember: community dedicates garden to Sudbury, Ont. councillor

Twin Forks Playground in New Sudbury will soon have a community garden named after Fabio Belli, a popular Sudbury politician who died in 2014.

The Ward 8 Community Action Network will dedicate their garden to Belli on Saturday, May 14, in what the late councillor's wife calls a "wonderful gesture."

The garden will be for residents of the community to plant and tend fruits, vegetables and herbs of their choice.

Susan Belli says the announcement came as a bit of a surprise, as her husband didn't have much of a green thumb.

"But he was sold on the wonderful outcomes a garden could provide for the community," she said.

In his time as city councillor, Belli was also a vocal proponent of improving local parks, and encouraging families to get involved intheir neighbourhoods.

• Hear Susan Belli discuss what Fabio would want to plant in his garden.

The garden will also feature a picture of Belli, a symbol that Susan says will be helpful for her two daughters, who were 4 and 6 years old when their father died.

"I understand why it was important for [the residents of Ward 8] to have a visual reminder," Susan says, "and it will be close to our house, something my daughters and I can go visit."

Although the two years since her husband's death have been difficult, gestures such as these remind her of the impact Belli had on the community,

"It still feels like yesterday," Susan says, "and in other ways it feels like a lifetime."