Gift for rain garden cultivates hope for the future

Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence loved Auburn. He loved his community. And more than anything, he loved his wife, Maggie, and daughter, Julia. 

He graduated from Auburn in 1990 with a degree in public administration and was well known throughout the area for his service to others and his roles as a firefighter, photographer, volunteer and county commissioner. Lawrence died in 2020 after a battle with COVID-19. His Auburn story details a life well lived with far-reaching influence throughout the region. 

“Johnny believed in living every moment and not putting things off,” Maggie Lawrence said. “I’m more of a planner so some of his ideas would catch me off guard. But for him, it was natural. He was just very much about living life large and pursuing dreams.”

In the Beginning

Young broadcast journalist Maggie Crowder had no idea how her life would change when she set out to interview Auburn’s fire chief in 1985. Prior to the interview, firefighter Johnny Lawrence offered to carry her equipment. She declined his offer.

“In 1985, camera equipment was a lot bigger and heavier than it is now,” she said. “Even still, I told him, ‘No, thanks. I’m not letting you carry my $40,000 camera.’”

She also declined his two subsequent requests to have dinner with him. It was his third request that won her over and the rest is history — a history she treasures. They would’ve celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary the year he died.

Through photos, news clippings and memories she holds dear, Maggie Lawrence shares her favorites — like the story of him manning the grill at the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center (KPNC) during the long-running S’more Fun with Mom event.

“He loved volunteering at the nature center,” she said. “In so many ways, it was part of our family. Our daughter, Julia, practically grew up there between summer camps, Girl Scout meetings and being a junior counselor.”

Lawrence was a regular fixture at the KPNC, part of Auburn’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, serving in a variety of roles from advisory board member and advocate to grill master and problem-solver. Although no one experienced his impact — or his loss — more profoundly than his family, the community also mourned his passing. The absence of his big heart and huge personality left a tremendous void that prompted his family and the community to grapple with the question: How do we honor such a life?

The answer came easily for Maggie Lawrence when she discovered an opportunity to give to the new KPNC Environmental Education Building, creating the Johnny Lawrence Memorial Rain Garden.

“Johnny would want people to know they can have an impact in their community,” she said. “He would want them to see all the ways — big and small — you can make a difference. And I hope this space bearing his name and telling his story will encourage others to give to this wonderful project.”  

Building the rain garden is an act of love for Justin Carlson, owner of the Potting Shed Garden Center, who has been like a son to Maggie and Johnny Lawrence.

Justin Carlson, rain garden designer and close Lawrence family friend, and Maggie Lawrence

New Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building

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Joy in the rain

The Johnny Lawrence Memorial Rain Garden is a key feature of the KPNC Environmental Education Building. Creating an enhanced connection with natural resources at the KPNC, the facility will also support and expand the center’s research and outreach programs.

“There’s nothing like this building in the community or at any other Auburn University facility statewide,” said Michael Buckman, the KPNC’s manager. “It’s really an incredible resource for everyone at Auburn — students, faculty and staff — and the community.”

The education building includes indoor and outdoor instructional spaces and interactive features such as a discovery corridor — where visitors will be able to regularly see the KPNC’s amphibians and reptiles — in addition to nature trails, collaborative and study areas with Wi-Fi and a variety of interpretive and engaging environmental education displays.

Maggie Lawrence considered supporting some of these other unique spaces in the new building. But the rain garden — designed with beautiful natural elements, reflection space and sustainability in mind — had special meaning.

“The rain garden directs water into the garden instead of flowing down the street. It guides it to help the garden grow and flourish,” she said. “It does beautiful things. It recharges. It grows.”

Buckman was thrilled she chose the rain garden to honor her husband and his guiding principles of devotion to family, service to others and joy in all things.

“Johnny was always this dedicated, wonderful and friendly person,” he said. “And the rain garden will be designed as a beautiful, welcoming place for people to socialize and relax in nature. So, it has a tangible link to who Johnny was.”

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KPNC to host grand opening celebration

The Kreher Preserve and Nature Center will host a public grand opening celebration and open house for its new Environmental Education Building on Dec. 7 and 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A way ahead

Maggie and Julia Lawrence continue building the life they began before tragedy struck in 2020. Julia graduated from Auburn in 2022 with a degree in poultry science and now works for international poultry producer, Pilgrim’s. Maggie retired from Auburn University’s Cooperative Extension System and accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

They travel. They attend Auburn football games together. They share new experiences and sweet memories. They look to the future.

But they never forget.

The Johnny Lawrence Memorial Rain Garden is about the future as much as it is the past. That’s what philanthropy does. It honors legacy but builds futures. And that’s what was important to Maggie Lawrence.

“The nature center is this kind of quiet, hidden gem at Auburn. It flies under the radar,” she said. “Johnny loved it there and he would love that we’re part of creating better classrooms and better spaces for future generations.”