Carlos Velazquez
URI Internship Year:
2021
Graduation Year:
2022
Carlos is a rising second year at the Yale School of the Environment studying Environmental Management with a focus on ecosystems conservation. He is interested in integrated landscape management and its applications to community resilience. Carlos graduated with a degree in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech and came to Yale to explore other areas within the environmental field while deepening his engineering knowledge and Mandarin language proficiency through the Tsinghua joint degree program. He is excited to be working as a Greenspace intern with URI this summer and to get to know different communities in the city of New Haven.
Group
Fair Haven Neighbors In Action
Greenspace Log
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08/07/2021 |
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For our last group activity of the summer, we all got a good workout by bringing in wheelbarrows of stone dust and repaving the paths in the park. While working, we reminisced about the beginning of the season, and marveled at all we have been able to accomplish together. Definitely a bittersweet ending to a great summer. |
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08/07/2021 |
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The last planting activity of the Ward St. Neighbors' first greenspace season was a resounding success! A Japanese Tree Lilac and Cherry tree were planted to the delight of neighbors who are looking forward to the beautiful flowers set to bloom next spring. The group was extremely proud of the amount of work they were able to get done in such a short time and are excited for next year's season. |
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08/06/2021 |
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We had great turnout at our last meeting of the season! Cindy's husband came out to weedwack, Armando and Joseito both came out to help mulch and plant, even Chris Ozyck made a guest visit to help us fix some of the broken stone benches. All in all a very productive ending to a short yet impactful community greenspace season. |
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08/05/2021 |
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To close off a succesful season, the Friends of Quinnipiac River Park group celebrated with a potluck! Virginia brought some exquisite rice and peas and pasta salad, Noy brought some decadent chicken skewers, Thomas brought delicious empanadas, and I brought some dessert. We all enjoyed each other's company and cooking and celebrated a job well done in the park. |
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08/03/2021 |
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For the last meeting of the season, Ed and I got together one last time to prune trees and weed tree pits. We had a great time talking, telling each other stories, and getting our hands dirty. |
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07/31/2021 |
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Today we continued planting to fill in empty spots and give the park design more continuity. There is now a beautiful hydrangea in the northwest corner of the park . |
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07/31/2021 |
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Since we were not able to plant last week, this week the Ward St. Neighbors group ambitiously took on 2 tree plantings instead of one. Picks and shovels in hand, neighbors fought valiantly through the tough soil and had two trees in the ground in no time. The two new trees, a Japanese Tree Lilac and American Hornbeam, are now beautifying the opposite side of the street giving the neighborhood a more balanced look. |
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07/30/2021 |
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Today we focused on restoring the central planting bed. One wheelbarrow at a time we brought in fresh mulch and gave the greenspace a "fresh coat of paint" if you will. Not to mention the perennials we planted two weeks ago will be much happier now. |
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07/28/2021 |
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Today the group gathered by Grand Paint to steward the trail including weeding and pruning. We also gave the newly planted shrubs a much needed drink of water. |
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07/24/2021 |
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Two important milestones were reached today, we filled in the space that had originally been occupied by the large leaf hostas at the front of the park, and more importantly, John finally got his rosebush! We also transplanted some more hostas and planted another Yucca and Sedum. |
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07/23/2021 |
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Cindy and I did some pruning and weeding of the shrubs along the entrance path and the side planting box. The mosquitoes were fierce but we powered through regardless and left the greenspace looking a little bit nicer than it was before. |
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07/22/2021 |
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Class is in session! Today, we had Dennis Riordan, a representative of the Audubon society, visit the park and talk to the group about all things birds—food, habitat, species id, etc. He helped us figure out ways in which to make the park more attractive to our feathered friends. Afterwards, we performed maintenance and planted perennials in both the pollinator garden and the newly installed berry garden. |
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07/21/2021 |
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Continuing the work from last week, Kevin and I planted more shrubs along the trail near Grand Paint. Six shrubs later, the trail is looking richer and greener than ever! |
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07/17/2021 |
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On a hot and sunny Saturday, a group of determined neighbors banded together and planted a Crabapple tree for Ms. Doris in honor of her nephew which had recently passed due to gun violence. As the group is no stranger to planting trees, the job was done in less than 30 minutes after which we decided to do more maintenance work up and down the street. Ms. Doris provided us with refreshing drinks to help fight off the midday heat. |
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07/17/2021 |
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Today was a planting day! We transplanted a couple of variegated liriope, and put in 6 new Black-eyed Susans, 3 Cone flowers, 2 Yucca plants, and 2 Sedums. The plants transplanted last week are doing well. We also mulched and weeded different areas in the park. |
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07/17/2021 |
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We planted our first tree of the season last week! We put a Honeylocust in front of 105 Ward St. and had a great time doing community building. Alder Ron Hunt even came out and helped us plant! Cindy and her mom who was visiting from Mexico prepared cold drinks for all the volunteers. |
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07/16/2021 |
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We finally had our first workday of the season! A good group of 8 people gathered at the greenspace to plant 4 Hostas, 4 Brunnera, and 3 Black-eyed Susans. The neighbors are excited for the new splash of color and the future of the greenspace. |
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07/15/2021 |
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The Quinnipiac River Park group added a brand new feature to the park this week! Six berry bushes were planted surrounding a Serviceberry tree providing a space for birds to forage. We worked a bit overtime but the group was excited about the final result. |
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07/14/2021 |
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Rose and I gave the Junipers at the canoe launch some much needed maintenance and weeded the planting bed. We also watered the agastache blue fortune that we put in the previous week. As night began to fall, the Quinnipiac River glistened from the rays of the setting sun marking the end of a succesful workday at the garden. |
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07/14/2021 |
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With a surprise guest appearance from fellow URI intern Musa, the Mill River Trail group returned to the southern portion of the trail to plant some salt tolerant shrubs to attract more birds, bees, and butterflies. To our delight, the ground was actually fairly easy to dig up, which made for a more pleasant experience overall. |
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07/10/2021 |
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Seeing the success of the newly transplanted hostas, the Rainbow Park group decided to move around more plants that were being affected by the sun. We also spent some time weeding and mulching the garden as well as talking about plants that we would want to see in the park. |
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07/08/2021 |
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Through conversations about July 4th fireworks, canadian geese, and trees talking to each other, the Clifton St. River Garden group succesfully planted 3 perennials with beautiful purple flowers and 1 golden euonymus shrub which helped fill out space, and provide nice continuity and contrast to the garden. |
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07/07/2021 |
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The battle against Knotweed rages on! Loppers in hand, the Mill River Trail group sprung into action and pushed back the opposing forces until they were forced to retreat, leaving behind beautiful vistas of the Mill River. |
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06/26/2021 |
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The first activity of Fair Haven Neighbors in Action focused on canvassing, handing out fliers, and trying to recuit new members for the group. But that doesn't mean we didn't get our hands dirty! Ed and I walked through the neighborhood picking up trash and pruning street trees while having interesting conversations about the history of the neighborhood. |
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06/26/2021 |
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Ward St. Neighbors' first ever planting activity was a resounding success! The Blessing family added some color and interest to the base of their existing willow tree with mulch and a couple perennials. Noel and Cindy were very happy with the final look. And to top it all off, curious neighbors approached us and expressed interest in participating and planting trees in front of their homes. |
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06/26/2021 |
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With what seemed like record turnout, the Rainbow Park group set their ambitions high and transplanted 4 large hostas that were being burned up in the full sun. Now in a shady spot at the back of the park, the plants should be much happier. The group is also excited to pick out new plants to put in their place. |
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06/24/2021 |
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In our first planting activity of the season, the Friends of Quinnipiac River Park group got to work on the pollinator garden, planting various flowering perennials for the butterflies and bees. Various owners of memorial trees also joined us and planted around and mulched their trees. |
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06/23/2021 |
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The Clifton St. River Garden group had a wonderful time pruning, weeding, and mulching the garden by the canoe launch. As we worked, a couple that lives up the street came down and asked us about our work and expressed interest in volunteering on future ocassions. The group is getting larger by the week! |
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06/23/2021 |
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The Mill River Trail group valiantly took on a tall order of invasives removal near the northern end of the trail. Despite the intimidating amount of knotweed, we made good progress and opened up two vistas of the river for trail users to enjoy. |
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06/19/2021 |
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The Rainbow Park group is going strong, waking up bright and early to steward the park. We were donated some beautiful day lilies which we planted after knocking back some of the spiderwort along the edge of the park. We also weeded and mulched both inside the park and outside in a neigboring tree pit. Community members engaged in cheerful conversation about the potential for new plantings in the upcoming weeks. |
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06/17/2021 |
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The Friends of Quinnipiac River Park group had a great first maintenance and stewardship meeting! We pruned most of the trees south of the pollinator garden and did some work in the garden itself. I'm sure the bees appreciate the extra care given to their flowers, even if they weren't excatly keen on showing it. |
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06/16/2021 |
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The Clifton St. River Garden group had a wonderful start to their summer stewardship season! Inspired by the newly painted storm drain art down by the canoe launch, the group planted vibrant flowers at the corner garden. They also added mulch to the garden and pruned some of the flowers and shrubs. |
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06/16/2021 |
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The Mill River Trail group met on a nice Wednesday afternoon, among flocks of geese and goslings, to remove Knotweed and other invasives growing alongside the trail. No longer obstructed by plants, the river is looking more beautiful than ever and provides nice vistas for trail users. |