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Every July, while most Americans are soaking up the heat of summer, a quiet and powerful ritual unfolds on the rolling green hills of Arlington National Cemetery. It’s not a ceremony with flags and bands. It’s a workday. Volunteers arrive with the sun, wearing ball caps, pushing wheelbarrows, and tending to turf like it was their own family’s plot. 

A Volunteer Tradition Nearly Two Decades Strong

The Renewal & Remembrance event, organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), brings together hundreds of green industry professionals from across the country. They don’t come for recognition. They come with gloves on and heads down, ready to work.

For 26 years now, these volunteers have spent a day each summer providing landscape enhancements at Arlington National Cemetery and, more recently, the National Mall. From planting seasonal color to repairing irrigation lines, their work is real, physical, and necessary.

Kenny Crenshaw has been part of it for more than 20 of those years. For most of those years, Kenny and his associate Don Zerby of Ecolawn in Cleveland Ohio served as the turf leaders for the event, managing logistics, labor, and equipment.

“It’s hard to believe that two decades of volunteerism have passed,” Crenshaw said in a prepared statement. “I’m honored and humbled to continue this commitment in our nation’s capital; to pay tribute to our country, our veterans, and our ideals with other landscape industry professionals throughout the U.S. We consider what we do to be a gift to the Arlington National Cemetery  and the National Mall. We feel that we can meet the needs of a few things that did not make the budget or need to be done on short notice”.

Work That Speaks Louder Than Words

The scope of the volunteer work at Arlington is both impressive and understated. Every year more than 400 people volunteer between the two locations – Arlington Cemetery and the National Mall. The work includes everything from topdressing lawns to planting new greenery.

Last year Irrigation repairs were completed near the Columbarium Courts and Arlington House (Lee-Custiss House). Lightning protection was installed on historic trees, including those in Section 13 – where Civil War soldiers are buried and areas surrounding memorials like those for nurses and Confederate soldiers.

It’s not glamorous work, and that’s precisely why it matters.

The Return of the Children’s Program

One of the highlights of the annual event is the Children’s Program. This offers kids a hands-on chance to connect with history.

The children plant flowers, listen to stories from historians, and participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It’s a simple act, but for many of the children, it may be their first tactile understanding of national service and memory.

The decision to include children is an important one. It signals that this work – this quiet kind of service – isn’t just about maintaining appearances. It’s about teaching reverence. About handing down responsibility.

A Changing Landscape, a Steady Commitment

With the National Mall now part of the effort, the event has grown in both scope and significance. About half of the volunteers are expected to be stationed there – planting, cleaning, and maintaining one of the most heavily visited public spaces in the country.

There’s a draw to this kind of work that isn’t easily explained in words or pictures. It’s about showing up for something bigger than yourself.

The Man Behind the Effort

Those who know Kenny Crenshaw know he’s not one to seek the spotlight. His business, Herbi-Systems, has been quietly serving the Memphis area for decades. His work ethic speaks for itself. And yet, his consistency in returning to Arlington every year has made him something of a fixture at the event.

In 2022, he was invited to give the Dedication of Work speech at the opening ceremony – a gesture of recognition from an organization that values action over applause. Crenshaw also previously helped lead efforts at Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery, another resting place in the D.C. area for military members.

What makes his story compelling isn’t that he leads – it’s how he leads. This year he will be working at the FDR Memorial on the National Mall. 

Landscapes That Teach Us Something

It’s easy to overlook the role of landscape in shaping national identity. We think of buildings, statues, and documents as the vessels of history. But walk through Arlington on a summer morning, and you’ll realize the trees, turf, and flowers speak too.

They tell stories of sacrifice, yes – but also of care. Of the people who tend to the places others visit only once a year. And of workers like Kenny Crenshaw, who use what they know, soil, grass, trees, and  irrigation, to maintain the dignity of those who can no longer speak for themselves.