PARKLAND, Fla. _ A tree planted outside City Hall. A moment of silence. An act of kindness.
Throughout South Florida, tens of thousands of people gathered in schools, parks and workplaces Thursday to take part in special activities to remember and honor the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre one year later.
The students and staff killed in one of the worst school shootings in the country were Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Scott Beigel, 35; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Aaron Feis, 37; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Christopher Hixon, 49; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alexander Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; Peter Wang, 15.
Two moments of silence were observed: at 10:17 a.m. to honor the 17 who died and at 2:21 p.m., the time the shooting started.
About 1 in 8 students _ about 400 out of 3,300 _ showed up at the Parkland school Thursday, said Eric Garner, the broadcast journalism teacher at Stoneman Douglas.
For many, the day was one of sorrow mixed with glimpses of hope, Garner said.
"It's such a day of incredible mixed emotions," he said. "There's so much loss and so much strength that's happened since then. So many people, their lifetime mission has come out of this moment."
When classes resumed two weeks after the shooting last year, a heavy weight encompassed the school, Garner said.
"The weight has gotten less," he said. "But it's still there. We need the trial (of the shooter) to happen. We need the (freshman) building to be gone. We need policies put in place that are going to keep us safe. There's still a long way to go. But at least we're better than we were right after the shooting."
Superintendent Robert Runcie spoke to a gaggle of reporters outside the Parkland school, repeating a practice that became common in the first days after the shooting. He looked tired and his voice was weaker than usual.
He said he believes the community can heal by people putting aside differences. "Although we mourn the lives that we lost through a horrific act of hate and anger, I also believe we must celebrate the possibilities of what can be through love and support," he said.
He made no mention of the push for stricter gun laws, a talking point that put him at odds with some conservative families at Stoneman Douglas. He had voiced a robocall the day before asking parents to not allow students to participate in walkouts for gun violence.
Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset at all local and state buildings, installations and grounds throughout the state.
"On this solemn day, our state mourns the lives of the seventeen souls lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one year ago," DeSantis said Thursday. "Since that tragic day, the Parkland community has demonstrated tremendous courage and resiliency, reminding us just how strong and united Floridians can be in the face of such devastating loss."
Hundreds of Stoneman Douglas students and parents flocked to Pine Trails Park in Parkland after the school day ended early.
Some students clung to one another, tears streaming down their cheeks, as they stood in silence in front of 17 heart-themed panels dedicated to each of the victims.
The Parkland Hearts Art Project was born when thousands of paper hearts came in from around the world, inscribed with messages of encouragement and love.
"You are amazing, you are brave, you are strong," said one on the panel representing Alaina Petty. Another for Meadow Pollack read, "Always in our hearts." And one for Alex Schachter said: "Our hearts are heavy but our pride is strong."
Jeff Seward, a Lighthouse Point resident, said he could feel the pain of the parents and kids as he walked through the memorial.
"It's heartbreaking," he said. "People are still grieving. It takes time to heal deep wounds. I'm here just to show support and love for the lost students and staff _ and the parents."
In Coconut Creek, which borders Parkland, more than 120 people gathered Thursday morning on the grounds of City Hall for a tree-planting ceremony in honor of the 17 victims.
The "Tree of Life," a 20-year-old lignum vitae donated by a nursery in Homestead, is just one small way to honor the 17 whose lives were lost, Vice Mayor Sandra Welch told the crowd.
That fateful day is a reminder to everyone that all that life is fragile, Welch said.
"Don't put off to tomorrow what you can say or do today," she said. "And to our children, give them all the hugs you can every single day."
Coconut Creek Commissioner Becky Tooley urged everyone to love one another "every darn day" and to remember those who are still in pain from the events of that day.
"They need our love and they need our hope," she said. "Because without hope, we can't have healing."
Coconut Creek resident Norm Shulman, his tiny dog Monte in tow, watched the ceremony.
"Most of my friends have kids who went to Stoneman Douglas," he said. "It was a shot in the heart for everybody. I wanted to pay my respects and pray that it doesn't ever happen again."
Candlelight vigils are planned across South Florida, including Pine Trails Park near Stoneman Douglas High.
Broward school officials designated Feb. 14 as a Day of Service and Love at Stoneman Douglas and schools throughout the district. Security was heightened in all district schools, and activities were restricted to internal parts of campuses.
More than 200 students and staff from Stoneman Douglas gathered at Pine Trails Park to assemble meal kits for Minnesota-based Feed My Starving Children to help feed malnourished children in more than 70 countries around the world.
Stoneman Douglas grad Brendan Epstein, 19, showed up to help along with his kid brother Jordan, a freshman at the school.
Epstein, of Parkland, lost four friends last Valentine's Day: Joaquin Oliver, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup and Nick Dworet.
"I feel like last year it was a day of tragedy," he said. "And today we're all here to help out for a good cause. We're not going to let what happened last year pull us down."
A team from the Coconut Creek-based charity Food For The Poor helped pack meals at the event hosted by its longtime partner Feed My Starving Children.
Volunteers hope to pack more than 700,000 meals on Thursday and Friday.
Food For The Poor employee Denise Michael, whose daughter graduated from Stoneman Douglas last year, was helping pack meals on what for many will be a difficult and painful day.
"We need something like this to unite us instead of divide us," she said. "It's a peaceful way to help poor children in other countries."
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, the Democrat whose district includes Parkland, said the tragedy has prompted the community to find ways to "turn their pain into artistic expression and activism. The courageous families have started foundations and non-profits, worked through local and state government and school administration, all in their work to make sure such tragedy never befalls another family or community."
