Through its master planning effort for Atlanta’s Freedom Park, SWA Group is participating in "Flowering Forest – A Tree Tribute to Civil Rights Leader John Lewis," a collaborative, living memorial to the late Congressman and Civil Rights leader, to be located in the park. John Lewis was instrumental in establishing Freedom Park, which is located at the heart of where the national Civil Rights movement was born.

The living memorial to Lewis is the culmination of a three-day volunteer planting project that took in mid-February in which 300 blooming trees were planted at his namesake plaza in Atlanta. The Freedom Park Conservancy, Trees Atlanta, and The National Center for Civil and Human Rights all participated in the event.

SWA assisted with the overall vision of the tribute. Landscape architects at SWA also assisted with the selection of the 300 trees which consisted of mostly native varieties of redbuds, magnolias, dogwoods, yellowwoods, buckeyes, fringe trees, and other flowering species. Each species symbolically represent a different stage in Lewis' life and legacy.

"Sometimes it takes 300 trees to make a statement. It’s exciting that the public is so engaged and that landscape architecture can contribute so meaningfully to the civic discourse. A vision for the future of cities does not necessarily come from the eye of a designer but can emerge from public dialogue," said SWA principal Natalie Beard in a statement.  "Freedom Park is a great example. It has a promising future of transforming the city by being even more connected to its communities."