Claire St. Peter
URI Internship Year:
2022
Graduation Year:
2024
Claire is a rising junior at Yale College planning on majoring in Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Justice. She hails from the Kansas City area and is passionate about equitable access to green spaces and environmental education within diverse communities. She is also interested in climate justice and resilience in urban spaces. She cannot wait to spend this summer as a Greenspace intern working alongside and learning from the New Haven community and URI team.
Group
Valley St Intergenerational Organization
Greenspace Log
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08/03/2022 |
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This afternoon marked the final Greenspace workday of the summer at the Bradley Street Pocket Park. A group of 8 volunteers got together to do some final plantings, mulching, and edging at the site. 2 new Manhattan euonymus shrubs and 3 Virginia creeper vines were planted along the site's back fence. More pine mulch was spread in and around the new plantings and the remaining pea stone was spread along the sidewalk on Bradley Street. Over 5 workdays, volunteers got a ton of new plants in the ground and were even able to lay some beautiful pea stone along the borders of the green space to tidy it up! |
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08/02/2022 |
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This afternoon a large group of neighbors and friends gathered at the Orchard Street Community Greenspace for a cookout to celebrate a very wonderful summer! Paul Hawkins manned the grill while Lenora, Katie, Eva, Helene, and Todd set up tables and chairs and laid out snacks and drinks. Coach Solo and several kids from Get 'Em Boy boxing gym walked over to enjoy some good food and good company. This summer was the first time that the Get 'Em Boy volunteers engaged with the green space, but it certainly won't be the last! The cookout was the perfect way to wrap up another successful Greenspace season. |
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08/02/2022 |
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At the final Greenspace workday of the summer, David expanded the perimeter of the Tom Holahan garden and mulched it in its entirety. Barb watered the 2 new Amelanchier trees atop the College Woods park entrance and all of the plants in Orange Street bed. It was a blast working with volunteers at East Rock Park this summer! |
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07/30/2022 |
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This Saturday was the last Greenspace workday of the summer. A group of 6 dedicated volunteers planted 2 inkberry and 2 white spirea shrubs above the community garden beds in the back of The Shack. This summer, volunteers planted a row of 10 shrubs that will separate the grass at the top of the site from the 12 garden beds below. The group spread pine bark mulch and used rocks to create beautiful borders around the new shrubs. They also watered all 10 shrubs and the new Cherry blossom tree in the front yard. It was safe to say that the last workday of the summer was a success! |
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07/29/2022 |
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Today marked the last Greenspace workday of the summer. Cathy, Marion, and Sandy met at the Brownell Street beds to rake out leaves and other debris and spread a fresh layer of pine mulch. The trio also watered new plantings in these beds and those on Hobart Street. Here's to another successful summer for the East Edge Gardeners! |
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07/29/2022 |
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This morning a group of 5 volunteers had a very successful final planting session at the West River Peace Garden! The group planted a series of 10 shrubs (4 Virginia sweetspire of the "little henry" variety and 6 potentilla) as well as 5 butterfly weed perennials. All of these plants are very attractive to pollinators like bees and butterflies including Monarchs. It is important to the group that the Peace Garden is hospitable to pollinators and this morning they took a big step towards making that vision a reality. Once the new plants were in the ground, the group spread pine bark mulch around them and gave them plenty of water. It was a wonderful last workday of the summer. |
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07/28/2022 |
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Today a group of 9 hardworking volunteers came out for the final Greenspace workday of the summer! Together volunteers planted 3 more hostas and 2 inkberry shrubs at the site. The group also watered and weeded the garden beds on site and began spreading a large pile of woodchips at the back right of the park. It was a great summer at the Farmington Canal Trail green space . Doreen and the rest of her crew will continue to keep up the good work throughout the year. |
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07/28/2022 |
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A big group of volunteers worked really hard this afternoon to plant a Cherry blossom tree in front of The Shack! It took the group several hours to plant the tree, mainly because the rocky soil made it very difficult to create a hole large enough for the tree's root ball. Honda ended up calling in some back up in the form of an excavator machine that made it possible for volunteers to finish digging the hole. From there, the group worked quickly to move the tree from the truck into the newly dug hole. We wrapped up the workday by creating a woodchip donut around the base of the new tree and giving it plenty of water! It was a long but rewarding afternoon that will be remembered for a long time! |
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07/27/2022 |
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This afternoon volunteers Tara, John, Kevin, and Ben met at the Bradley Street Pocket Park for a successful planting session. The group added 8 new perennials to an existing bed along the chain link fence bordering the property. Ben came up with the idea of edging the green space to keep soil and other debris from spilling over onto the sidewalk along State Street. The group made this vision into a reality this afternoon by replacing a section of soil bordering the sidewalk with a layer of pea stone. Another great workday in the books for Bradley Street! |
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07/26/2022 |
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Today a big group of volunteers met at the Orchard Street Community Greenspace to plant some new perennials, spread more mulch, and water, water, water! The group planted 7 coreopsis and 2 catmint perennials along the left hand side of the site. Volunteers spread pine bark mulch around the new plants and watered them. The group of regular volunteers really enjoyed having so many young people engaging with the space! |
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07/26/2022 |
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This morning was the last Greenspace workday for the Youth @ Work team. Adner, Janyla, Keturah, and Janaysha worked with David and their leader Maria to spread woodchips over the large garden bed behind the Trowbridge Center. The group already weeded the area earlier this summer and after receiving the new layer of mulch this afternoon, the bed is all ready for new plantings! It was a blast working with the Youth @ Work team these past few weeks. East Rock Park is better off thanks to this hardworking bunch. |
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07/23/2022 |
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Another large group of youth volunteers worked at The Shack this Saturday morning to make more progress towards their planting goals. The group continued to dig a large hole for a cherry blossom tree that will be planted in the front of The Shack. Several volunteers also dug out smaller holes in preparation for 4 more shrubs to be planted in the back along the top of the 12 garden beds. Digging these holes was hard work, but it will be well worth it once the new plants go in the ground! |
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07/21/2022 |
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This morning a group of 11 youth volunteers met at The Shack to begin digging a large hole in preparation of the planting of a cherry blossom tree next week. While some volunteers dug, others worked out back near the garden beds to spread a large pile of woodchips in order to suppress weeds. You can find this dedicated group of youth volunteers helping out around The Shack on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings for the next few weeks! |
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07/20/2022 |
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A group of 4 volunteers met at the the Bradley Street Pocket Park this afternoon to do some serious planting! The group planted 2 Manhattan euonymus shrubs and 3 Virginia creeper vines along the chain link fence at the back of the property in hopes of creating an evergreen wall there. 2 coral bells, 2 hostas, and 2 variegated liriope were also added to the collection of colorful perennials already on site. |
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07/19/2022 |
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Today a large group of volunteers gathered for the most well-attended workday of this summer! The group worked hard to plant 3 new white azalea shrubs along the left hand side of the site. As usual, volunteers laid some more cardboard at the back of the site and spread another layer of pine mulch to fight off Japanese Knotweed. With so many hands, the workday flew by! Join us next Tuesday from 4-5pm at 715 Orchard Street for more hard work and community building. |
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07/19/2022 |
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Today was a great day for Friends of East Rock Park and their Youth @ Work team! 8 volunteers gathered at the College Woods entrance to the park to plant 2 Amelanchier trees! It was a long, hot workday but in the end it felt good to see the trees in their new home. Come join us next Tuesday, July 26th from 9-11am! We will gather near the Trowbridge Center. |
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07/15/2022 |
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Millie, Frank P., and Frank C. met Claire at the West River Peace Garden this morning. While Claire and Frank P. watered plants and finished limbing up the evergreens on site, Millie and Frank C. walked around the neighborhood passing out flyers with information about Peace Garden workdays and other ways to get involved with the site. They accomplished their goal of making new connections with people who live nearby. Another successful workday in the books! |
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07/15/2022 |
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Jim, Marion, and Sandy met at the Brownell Street garden beds this evening to plant 1 azalea shrub, 1 day lily, and 2 variegated liriope. Jim also worked hard to unload 1/2 a yard of pine mulch that will be spread in the beds during a future workday. The East Edge Gardeners will NOT meet next Friday, July 22nd due to the extreme heat. Hopefully we will be back in action at the Edgewood Mall the following Friday (7/29) from 5-6pm. |
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07/14/2022 |
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Today Quinn and I spread several yards of woodchips around the site's 12 garden beds in order to combat the variety of large and fast-growing weeds on the property. Quinn will be working at The Shack for the next month helping with the Greenspace project amongst several other responsibilities. There will not be a workday this Saturday, but new volunteers should come join us for a cherry blossom tree planting the following Saturday, July 23rd from 10:00am-12:00pm! |
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07/14/2022 |
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Today a group of 6 volunteers planted 9 wide brim hostas and 2 green velvet boxwood shrubs! A series of 3 hostas were planted under 3 different trees on site and the 2 shrubs were planted on either side of the walkway that intersects the community green space. Come join us next Thursday from 5:30-7:00pm to plant more boxwood shrubs in order to create a natural border between the site and Shelton Avenue. |
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07/12/2022 |
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The Orchard Street volunteers had another amazing workday today. Eva, Helen, Paul, Katie, and Lenora laid more cardboard over recently weeded soil at the back of the site and spread another yard of pine mulch to make it difficult for Japanese Knotweed to take over the space yet again. The group finished off their workday by planting two more pink azalea shrubs along the ride hand side of the site. That makes for 6 new azaleas in total this summer! Come join us next Tuesday from 4-5pm at 715 Orchard Street for some hard work and good conversation. |
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07/12/2022 |
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Today 4 Youth @ Work volunteers Adner, Janaysha, Janyla, and Keturah, along with their group leader Maria had their first official Greenspace workday of the summer! The group worked hard to weed the garden bed next to the Orange Street ranger station and till the soil in preparation for eventual plantings in the newly clear soil. Join Friends of East Rock Park Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:00am! The group usually gathers near the bed on Orange Street. |
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07/08/2022 |
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Today 5 volunteers gathered at the West River Peace Garden to plant the first perennials of the summer! The group added 10 new cone flowers (purple, red/orange, and white varieties) to the left side of the semi-circular garden bed. The cone flowers are an excellent companion for the milkweed already in the bed. The two plants will work together to attract a series of pollinators to the site and make for some awesome butterfly and bee watching! |
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07/02/2022 |
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Today, 8 hard working volunteers gathered at The Shack to plant 6 new shrubs at the top of the site just above the garden beds. The group planted 3 inkberry bushes and 3 white spirea bushes. Anyone interested in helping beautify this green space is welcome to join the group during their next workday on Saturday, July 16th! |
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07/01/2022 |
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Claire joined Sandy and Marion to plant 4 daylilies and 6 purple salvia in the two beds on either side of Hobart Street. The group also replanted several daffodil bulbs that were discovered in the beds when digging holes for the new perennials. |
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07/01/2022 |
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Two new volunteers came out to the West River Peace Garden this Friday to continue weeding the two garden beds and pruning the evergreen trees on site. The group has made significant progress over the past month -- the site is nearly clear of weeds and all leaves and other tree debris has been cleared from the beds to make way for new plantings. Join us next Friday from 9:30-11:00am on the corner of N Frontage Road and Ella T. Grasso Blvd to participate in the first plantings of the summer! |
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06/30/2022 |
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Today volunteers moved a series of daylilies from underneath 4 different trees and relocated them to the site's Urban Oasis. Then, they planted 3 new hostas underneath one of the trees. After finishing these plantings, the group picked up trash in the Urban Oasis. During their next workday on Thursday, July 14th from 5:30-7:00pm, volunteers will finish planting hostas around the 3 remaining trees. Come join in on the fun! |
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06/28/2022 |
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The group met for two hours this week to lay a yard of pine mulch and plant the first plants of the summer! Volunteers planted 4 pink Azalea bushes in a sunny spot along the right hand side of the lot. This area used to be the site of a large tree that was recently removed by the city. Its removal has made a lot of room for new shrubs and perennials like the Azalea bushes. The group's next workday will be on Tuesday, July 12th from 4-5pm at 715 Orchard Street. New volunteers are always welcome to join in on the fun. |
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06/28/2022 |
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Today 5 volunteers met at East Rock Park for the second workday of the summer. The group finished weeding the College Woods park entrance and planted several canna bulbs at the top of the bed. |
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06/24/2022 |
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Another successful East Edge Gardeners workday! Jim, Cathy, and Sandy finished weeding the western most garden bed on Pendelton and Edgewood Ave and laid a fresh layer of pine mulch. |
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06/24/2022 |
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Volunteers worked together to rid the site's evergreen trees of most of the invasive vines climbing their trunks! The group took another big stewarding step and will be ready for new plantings in no time. New volunteers are always welcome to help restore the West River Peace Garden during weekly workdays on Fridays from 9:30-11:00am. Come one come all! |
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06/23/2022 |
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Today the group set out to weed the site's Urban Oasis of all of the invasive Mugwort that had sprouted up over the past year. Chris Ozyck joined the group to cut down poison ivy climbing up several trees on site. |
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06/21/2022 |
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5 volunteers gathered this morning for Friends of East Rock Park's first workday of the summer! The group rid the College Woods park entrance of several types of weeds including mugwort and garlic mustard and rescued existing shrubs and perennials from bittersweet vines attempting to strangle the plants. |
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06/21/2022 |
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The group successfully removed all of the Japanese Knotweed at the back of the site and began laying down cardboard on the newly weeded soil. Next week, volunteers will lay pine mulch over the cardboard in order to provide two layers of weed suppression. Come join us next Tuesday from 4-5pm at 715 Orchard Street! |
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06/18/2022 |
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A group of volunteers gathered on Saturday, June 18th to weed the site's chain link fence. Thanks to their hard work the fence now looks beautiful and weed free! |
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06/17/2022 |
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4 dedicated volunteers met this morning at the West River Peace Garden to continue their stewardship efforts. The group continued to weed the large semi-circular garden bed of the Japanese knotweed that took over the site during its years left unattended. It won't be long until we can begin planting new shrubs and perennials to brighten up the garden! Join us Friday mornings from 9:30-11:00am at the corner of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and N Frontage Road. |
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06/17/2022 |
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Jim, Cathy, and Claire removed overgrown Milkeweed and invasive weeds from the westernmost garden bed at the end of Pendelton and Edgewood Ave. All are welcome to come join the East Edge Gardeners at the Edgewood Mall Fridays from 5-6pm! |
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06/16/2022 |
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During the first workday of the summer, Doreen, Malachai, and Claire weeded the garden beds beside the portion of the Farmington Canal Trail that runs through the site. |
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06/14/2022 |
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The Orchard Street Greenspace team met on Tuesday, June 14th for their first workday of the summer. The group's main goal for this summer is to remove the large amount of Japanese Knotweed that has taken over the back half of the lot. Today the team made a lot of progress towards that goal! |
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06/11/2022 |
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Today volunteers worked hard to do some more weeding and lay woodchips around the garden beds on site. We worked up a sweat but had a good time doing it! |
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06/11/2022 |
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John and Claire joined forces to plant 2 hostas and 3 coralbells today! These 5 perennials are hardy plants sure to thrive at the shady site. John and the rest of the Bradley Street volunteers hope to plant many more perennials and some shrubs over the course of the summer. It felt good to get the first few in the ground. |
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06/10/2022 |
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Claire joined Aaron, Frank C., and Frank P. on Friday, June 10th for the first Greenspace workday of the summer! The group worked to weed a portion of the semicircular flower bed on site and clear it of natural debris. They also pruned existing trees and shrubs and applied a fresh layer of mulch around the site's two rose bushes and one ginkgo tree. Volunteers will be at the Peace Garden, located at the intersection of Frontage Rd and Ella T Grasso Blvd, on Fridays from 9-11am. |
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06/10/2022 |
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Volunteers met today for the first workday of the summer. The group began weeding the semi-circular bed surrounding the site's large sign welcoming visitors to the West River Peace Garden. We spent time watering existing shrubs, perennials, and trees. |
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06/10/2022 |
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Claire met Sandy, Cathy, Marion, and Jim at the flower bed on the corner of Ella T Grasso Blvd and Edgewood Ave to deliver some mulch. The group spread the mulch on the bed, which they weeded and cleaned of debris during last Friday's workday. |
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06/07/2022 |
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Claire met with Helen, Eva, Katie, Paul, and Lenora on Tuesday, June 7th to discuss the group's goals for the Orchard Street Community Greenspace over the course of the next two months. The group discussed the need to rid the lot, especially the back half, of Japanese Knotweed that keeps returning year after year. Following the removal of two large trees in the back of the lot, there is excitement around plantings to fill the newly cleared space. There are several empty planters that Lenora would like to fill with new perennials, and Paul mentioned the need for several new benches and a picnic table to create more seating within the green space. Volunteers will meet at 715 Orchard Street every Tuesday from 4-5pm for the foreseeable future. Come join in the fun! |
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06/07/2022 |
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A group of 8 volunteers joined forces to weed Bradley Street Pocket Park this past Tuesday, marking the first workday of Summer 2022. The work session ended with some great pizza from a neighborhood joint. Volunteers will reconvene this Saturday, June 11th from 12-2pm to apply a fresh layer of mulch to the site and some new plantings too. |
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06/04/2022 |
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On Saturday, June 4th over 15 volunteers from Vox Church and the West Rock neighborhood gathered at The Shack for the first workday of the summer. The group spent two hours weeding the site by hand and planting several fruits and veggies in its 12 garden beds. After working, volunteers enjoyed a lunch provided by group leader Honda Smith. Join us from 10am-12pm next Saturday, June 11th at 333 Valley Street to finish weeding the site and spreading a layer of mulch in preparation for the shrubs that will be planted later in the summer. |
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06/03/2022 |
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Claire joined forces with Cathy, Sandy, Marion, and Jim to clean up the garden bed on the corner of Ella T Grasso Blvd and Edgewood Ave. The group cleared a lot of leaves and other debris from the bed in order to make more room for plants to grow comfortably. You can find the East Edge Gardeners stewarding the mall across from Edgewood Park on Fridays from 5-6pm. |
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06/03/2022 |
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Claire met with Doreen to discuss her goals for the Farmington Canal Greenspace site over the next two months. Doreen wants to weed the site's Urban Oasis / Educational space and apply a fresh layer of mulch. She also hopes to plant new perennials throughout the site, including in the triangular bed where the Greenspace sign is located, and is interested in maybe planting a row of shrubs lining the sidewalk on one side of the green space. You can find Doreen and other volunteers on site every Thursday from 5:30-7:30pm. Join us this upcoming Thursday, June 9th! |
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06/01/2022 |
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Claire met with David Shimchick to discuss his goals for the East Rock Park Greenspace Site over the next two months. David expressed an interest in creating educational plaques for many of the existing plantings in the large bed bordering Orange Street as well as adding more perennials and shrubs to this bed. Friends of East Rock Park (FERP) will gather this upcoming Thursday, June 9th from 9am-12pm to weed the park's College Woods entrance. |