Bass River, Nova Scotia
Inspired by her visit to Canadian war memorials in Europe, Dr. Ewing committed to creating a local memorial in Bass River, Nova Scotia. On July 1, 2008, the Cobequid Veterans Memorial Park opened with financial support she had gathered from all levels of government and businesses. With a mission to promote education, remembrance and peace, Dr. Ewing designed the park based on three, interlocking gardens—the Garden of Sorrows, the Garden of Remembrance and the Garden of Hope—laid out in the shape of a Celtic flower. The park also now features eight monuments dedicated to military service, peacekeepers, merchant mariners and forgotten heroes—animals and their handlers who served in the war. Since the park opened, Dr. Ewing has chaired its committee, organized and spoken at its events featuring students, Veterans, serving military personnel and police. She reaches out to those with an interest in the park in order to share military history, and coordinates with volunteers to maintain the park’s Facebook page and website. In addition to her busy practice as a family doctor, Dr. Ewing continues to engage her community in commemoration. She is intimately involved with the annual events, including Holocaust Remembrance Day, International Day of United Nations Peacekeeping, Canada Day and Remembrance Day and continues to help maintain the park’s gardens. In 2013, the Cobequid Veterans Memorial Park was selected as the best memorial park in Canada by the “Communities in Bloom” program.