ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- This week marks one year since Clay County firefighters intentionally burned down a home that had become too painful to look at.
The house on Gano Avenue in Orange Park is where 7-year-old Somer Thompson was killed in 2009. Police say Jared Harrell abducted the young girl while she was walking home from school and killed her inside his mother's home. Her body was later found dumped at a Georgia landfill.
"I'm so glad that the house, the trash, is gone," said Diena Thompson, Somer's mom.
Thompson was able to get ownership of the property from the Harrell family after her daughter's death and decided to turn the space into something beautiful.
In April 2015, the land was turned into Somer's Garden -- the first public food forest in Northeast Florida. The food forest concept is a low maintenance way of growing fresh, organic food and has become trendy in recent years. But what makes this garden different from most is that it's open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"These food forests will eventually be completely self sustaining," said Jolinda Kohl with Bringing Food Forests to Northeast Florida.
She said this is the first of many public food forests the group wants to bring to the First Coast.
The garden produces a plethora of fruits, vegetables and herbs including strawberries, blueberries, carrots, potatoes, squash and even beans.
"I think that Somer would just think this place was magical and would want to frolic through here and play. It makes me think of her but in a good way," Thompson said.
Somer's favorite color is sprinkled throughout the garden. There's a purple ribbon tied to this fence, purple food and plant markers on the ground, and even purple cabbage.
"I hope that she's smiling down and that she's the one that sends the butterflies and makes the stuff grow; her and God," Thompson said.
Neighbors say the garden is proof that good can come out of evil. Domestic violence survivor Penny Daley explains.
"I had no place in the world and now it seems like I finally do. I finally can be apart of something that makes the world a little better," Daley said.
She brings her young son Jason to the garden's monthly maintenance day.
"This is our garden. This is our work. This is our blood. This is our sweat. This is our tears. This is something we created," she said.
These days, Thompson is continuing her work with the Somer Sunshine Foundation -- educating adults and children on what to look for when it comes to people who prey on children.
"No matter how many birthday candles I blow out, or how many eyelashes I wish upon or shooting stars, the fact of the matter is that a monster came into my life and took away my baby," Thompson said.
While she she can't bring her daughter back, Thompson says she can use her voice to help other families avoid the same tragedy that happened to her.
If you'd like to volunteer with Somer's Garden, the next maintenance day begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. The address is 1152 Gano Avenue in Orange Park.
