Svavar Garðarsson from Búðardalur has brought 200 flowers to Seyðisfjörður in an attempt to bring colour and life back to the area following a series of devastating landslides late last year, RÚV reports.
Svavar told RÚV that the landslides were not only a shock to the impacted zone—but to the entire nation. Hundreds of families were evacuated due to risk of landslides that occurred over several days in December 2020. Some of the displaced were never able to return home.
His journey of over 550 km from Búðardalur in West Iceland brought these flowers to Seyðisfjörður all the way in the east as a much needed extension of summer. He created flower gardens around large rocks that were deposited during the landslides as well as in some places where homes once stood.
While Svavar was out planting, a woman walking with children stopped and said to him, “Thank you for planting flowers in my garden. My house was right here.”
Already well-known in his town of Búðardalur for adorning the area with his plants, Svavar was awarded the West Icelander of the Year (Vestlendingur ársins) in 2017 for his efforts in bringing beauty to his home locale.
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