Mt. Olivet Cemetery Rejuvenated Landscape with Help from BrightView
At the 127- year old Mt. Olivet Cemetery, every tombstone and memorial has a story to tell. When the cemetery’s team needed a partner to help maintain an environment that provided a fitting tribute to the lives remembered within, they enlisted BrightView. Together, Mt. Olivet and the BrightView team modernized the irrigation system and rejuvenated the landscape maintenance program, all without disturbance to the cemetery’s burials and services. See how the resulting transformation ensured this extraordinary sanctuary will continue to share remarkable stories for years to come.
(For the full transcript, see below.)
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Video Transcription
Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Gary Schaaf, Mount Olivet Cemetery:
Mt. Olivet is 127 years old and was originally consecrated by Bishop Match ̶ the first Bishop of Denver in 1892. When I first arrived, it was quite obvious that we had some significant issues with our irrigation system and it had been headed in the wrong direction for a couple years. What I wanted to happen was when somebody drove through our front gate, they understood that they were at a place where people cared and that it was sacred. You can't do that if the grass is dying, and if there's weeds, and if things aren't kept up. Our primary importance is so folks understand when they come here that there are people that care and understand the significance of the lives that have been lived and that they take care of the folks that are buried here. We weren't doing that.
Chris Perry, BrightView Development:
The Mount Olivet project was a complete redo of the irrigation system. The irrigation system was archaic. The goal was to design a state-of-the-art system that was fully functional through computers and get the grounds looking as beautiful as they are today. We do all the lawn care here for the cemetery which includes mowing, string trimming, fertilization, some water management, and tree needs.
Schaaf:
Our collaboration with Brightview has been critically important.
Perry:
The biggest challenge was logistics. There are multiple burials and memorial services every day that we have to work around. We would move our staff around to make sure that we respectfully did not interrupt those services
Schaaf:
It's been it's been a pleasure to work with BrightView throughout this process. They helped us transform something that was not carrying out our mission into something that exceeds expectations.
Perry:
Over the last three years, we have turned this cemetery into a beautiful sanctuary. When people come through the front gate they say it's beautiful, and that's the goal.
Schaaf:
Our revenue generation has improved significantly in the area of about 15% a year over the last three years. I get multiple people saying that not only is it back to where it was but it's never looked this good.
Perry:
I think myself, the archdiocese, and everyone else that travels now throughout this area thinks this place is absolutely beautiful.
Schaaf:
BrightView been partners with us every step along the way and have led to a transformation. Those are big words, and I don't take them lightly, but that's the truth. We have transformed the grounds into a place that represents the significance of what it means when somebody trusts our loved one in our care.
