Volunteers put up 215 crosses bedecked with childrenB次元官网网址檚 clothing at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum in Langley on Tuesday morning.

A sign explained the display offers visitors a moment to reflect on the memory of the children found at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

B次元官网网址淪hould you choose, take time to remember, honour and reflect on the tiny souls, their families and the community,B次元官网网址� the sign read.

It was the idea of Cecilia Reekie, a former Langley school trustee and self-described B次元官网网址渋nter-generational survivorB次元官网网址� who said she was inspired by the sight of crosses with clothing when she visited Kamloops after news of the discovery broke.

B次元官网网址淭hey were somebodyB次元官网网址檚 babies,B次元官网网址� she told the Langley Advance Times.

B次元官网网址淎nd sadly, thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be more.B次元官网网址�

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Reekie said she selected clothing that the children wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have worn, because they were in uniform.

One in particular touched her, a tiny white dress with orange trim and a ribbon on the front, which exactly matched the colour seen during the annual Orange Shirt Day held to recognize and raise awareness about the residential school system

Reekie praised the and Township of Langley parks staff for their B次元官网网址渁mazingB次元官网网址� assistance.

Foundation Executive Director Susan Cairn, who took part in the installation, said the crosses represent B次元官网网址渢he magnitude of the atrocity.B次元官网网址�

Cairns said the 215 B次元官网网址渘ever had a chance to grow up, to have a 10th birthday, or graduate, or be mothers, fathers [or] grandfathers.

Langley City Coun. Rosemary Wallace, a director with the foundation, joined in the volunteer effort.

B次元官网网址淭his is a very important message,B次元官网网址� Wallace commented.

B次元官网网址淚t gets right in your gut and your heart.B次元官网网址�

Volunteer Una-Ann Moyer, a former aboriginal support worker in the Langley school district, said the crosses make a visual statement that a number does not.

B次元官网网址淭his, to me, is powerful,B次元官网网址� Moyer commented.

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It was an opinion shared by Langley City resident Judy Goldsmith, a board member on the , who said seeing the crosses filling the green space in the front of the park makes them more than B次元官网网址渢his number in our head.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hese kids were somebodyB次元官网网址檚 babies, and they canB次元官网网址檛 be forgotten,B次元官网网址� Goldsmith said.

Reekie said she expects the crosses will be up B次元官网网址渋ndefinitely.B次元官网网址�

In May, the TkB次元官网网址檈mlups te Secw茅pemc First Nation confirmed the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School had been found using ground-penetrating radar.