Jon Johnson

Jon Johnson's picture

URI Internship Year:

2020

Graduation Year:

2021

Degree:

MF

Jon is a rising second-year MF candidate at the Yale School of the Environment interested in urban and community forestry. His experience working in county parks has led him to question what it is about parks and other green spaces draw people in, what these spaces mean to different people, how to make them more accessible and inviting to more people, and how to accentuate the various positive social and ecological aspects of them. He aims to explore these questions further as a Community Greenspace intern and apply what he learns for the benefit of the residents of New Haven and their local communities.

Group

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Mill River Trail

Quinnipiac River Park

Edgewood Skatepark

Oyster Point

Peat Meadow Gardens

Blake Street Pocket Park

Bradley Street Pocket Park

Watson And Bassett

Wolcott And Lloyd

Shelton Avenue

Greenspace Log

Date Category Photos Group Summary

08/22/2020

Planting
Planting
a brunnera is born
a brunnera is born
autumn olive extirpation
autumn olive extirpation
all in a day's weeding
all in a day's weeding
the "roundabout" revitalized
the "roundabout" revitalized

Blake Street Pocket Park

Genese and a strong showing of the Blake Street Pocket Greenspace volunteers set out to thoroughly tidy up the space and transform the "roundabout" island into a lush and distinct attraction. They did just that, removing a tough autumn olive along the way, digging up and bordering the roundabout with many stones, and planting it up with spirea and hakonechloa grass.

08/22/2020

Planting
Planting
spreading soil
spreading soil

Bradley Street Pocket Park

Together we finished spreading topsoil along the berm and planted 12 perennials and another andromeda.

08/21/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance

Quinnipiac River Park

Thomas, Noy and I watered the young trees, deadheaded in the pollinator garden, and stabilized a wind-blown tree.

08/20/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance

Mill River Trail

Ramish, Kevin and I weeded along the urban oasis, finished mulching plants and watered.

08/19/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
tree hero
tree hero

Oyster Point

Steve, Murray and I had another lovely evening stewarding the younger trees in Bayview Park. Together we weeded the bases of many trees, made fresh mulch doughnuts for them and pounded in stakes to protect and mark them for the mowers.

08/19/2020

Planting
Planting
mount topsoil
mount topsoil
berm building
berm building

Bradley Street Pocket Park

4 yards of topsoil were spread along the DoT fenceline to bolster the soil berm and render it more fertile for new plantings. Following this substantial effort, 3 wintercreeper, 2 hakonechloa and 1 Japanese andromeda were planted along the berm within the fenced-in area.

08/18/2020

Planting
Planting
I can't, but we can!
I can't, but we can!
setting root in a big new cradle
setting root in a big new cradle
setting things straight
setting things straight

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Frank, Clara, Dolores, Pat, Susan and Stephanie removed the dead tulip tree in front of the Ranger Station, and then planted a replacement tree, a Kentucky coffee tree.

08/15/2020

Planting
Planting
perennial planting
perennial planting

Shelton Avenue

The group got together to plant some fresh Russian sage and dahlia in fresh topsoil which they began to spread.

08/14/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
the stuff of life
the stuff of life
elixir for troubled trees
elixir for troubled trees
some added support
some added support

Quinnipiac River Park

Thomas, Noy and I watered the young trees, picked up litter and needles around memorial trees, and helped straighten a tree blown half sideways by the storm.

08/13/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
pulling bindweed
pulling bindweed
wire guard
wire guard

Mill River Trail

Kevin, David and I spread mulch around the bases of the remaining trees and shrubs, pulled bindweed, watered and installed wire guards around the bases of three trees which had been damaged, perhaps by muskrats.

08/12/2020

Planting
Planting
zebra grass to tie the space together
zebra grass to tie the space together

Oyster Point

Steve, Murray and I planted 3 loriope, 1 zebra grass, and mulched extensively around the beachfront plants. We also removed just about the last of the mugwort there....at least for now.

08/12/2020

Planting
Planting
a budding butterfly garden
a budding butterfly garden

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Pat, Clara, Rebecca and Muffy tidied the gardens by the ranger station, and planted phlox & Joe Pye Weed in the butterfly garden at the Mid Bridge, using compost & topsoil supplied by URI and mulch supplied by the city, did some watering, picked up 10 buckets of garbage by the Whalley Ave bus stop and cleaned garbage along some of the hiking trails.

08/11/2020

Planting
Planting
planting willow cuttings
planting willow cuttings
a sheltered young willow
a sheltered young willow

Friends Of Edgewood Park

At the MidBridge, Pat, Clara, and Stephanie planted two Joe Pye weed and three purple agastache in the area behind where the daffodils are planted. Rebecca watered trees and small plants and cut knotweed. Rachel, Clara and Pat continued weeding. Rebecca also watered the black gum tree at the dog park. Frank and Muffy continued planting willow sprouts that Frank has gotten to root this summer. There are 10 in all planted on both banks of the river south of the Mid Bridge. They are protected by tomato cages.

08/07/2020

Planning
Planning

Quinnipiac River Park

Tom, Noy and I met and spoke about objectives for the park during the remaining weeks of this season as we weeded the pollinator garden.

08/06/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance

Mill River Trail

J.R., Alex and I watered and spread mulch doughnuts around the bases of the young trees.

08/05/2020

Planting
Planting
fresh hostas, fresh mulch
fresh hostas, fresh mulch

Oyster Point

Murray, Steve and I transplanted 3 montauk/nippon daisies, putting them behind the benches to prevent foot traffic there and provide more central beauty to the beach space. We also weeded extensively in this area and laid down about one yard of mulch total, including around the 5 newly-planted hostas by the tree on the western end of the space.

08/01/2020

Planting
Planting
visioning
visioning
perennials, meet soil
perennials, meet soil

Shelton Avenue

The group gathered together to plant 6 beautiful perennials and spread topsoil, compost and mulch across the garden beds.

07/30/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
reclaiming the reclaimed
reclaiming the reclaimed

Mill River Trail

J.R. and the crew weathered the rain and sheltered through the passing squall to fight back the bindweed and knotweed threatening the urban oasis, especially the various shrubs and perennials there. We also extended the hose chain for easier watering across the entire length of the urban oasis, and made headway in identifying several unknown plants on the site.

07/29/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
weeding by the shore
weeding by the shore

Oyster Point

Murray, Steve and I weeded intensively by the shore, amassing pile upon pile of uprooted mugwort, mostly. We also mulched a bit of the garden behind the benches and discussed strategic planting options to deter foot traffic there.

07/28/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
knocking back the knotweed jungle
knocking back the knotweed jungle

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Pat, Clara, Rebecca and Jon watered thirsty plants and trees. We did more trimming around the nine-bark garden, and cut back a lot of invasive knotweed and multiflora along the Archery Trail. We also freed several native trees from strangling vines. Also, each week Sandra and Karl have been giving 25 gallons of water to 10 trees.

07/21/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
weeds begone!
weeds begone!
trimming the bushes
trimming the bushesC

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Just Clara, Pat & Rebecca braved the heat on Tuesday. But they were productive! Clara cleaned the upper park/playground area and did some weeding in the Ranger Station gardens, then joined Pat & Rebecca at Mid-Bridge, where they watered trees and butterfly bushes (also watered the small tree by the boulders on the way), weeded and mulched at the daffodil garden, trimmed bushes to get some more light for the raspberries, and cleared more mugwort & knotweed from “Frank’s” Trail. One neat thing is that the area of Frank’s Trail where volunteers have been consistently cutting back what had become a three-species “desert” of invasive knotweed, mugwort & garlic mustard; now that trio has been consistently beaten back, a whole bunch of native species are starting to recover.

07/14/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
weeds begone!
weeds begone!

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Clara, Delores, Pat, Susan and Stephanie tidied up the garden at Whalley and West Rock and cleared brush from along the sidewalk on West Rock near the parking lot. Frank, Rebecca and Rachel worked at the Mid Bridge area, preparing the new butterfly garden by laying down new top soil and pulling up mugwort. They also continued the on-going efforts to quell the knotweed there. Miriam picked up trash at both sites.

07/07/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
weeds begone!
weeds begone!
grooming the gazebo
grooming the gazebo
weeding around the young trees
weeding around the young trees

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Frank, Margaret , Pat and Rachel worked removed knotweed at the Mid Bridge area, weeded around the young trees and groomed the area generally. Clara, Stephanie, Dolores and Rebecca took out porcelain berry, wisteria and multiflora rose at the Urban Oasis, restoring visibility to the native woody plants there. Miriam sojourned from site to site removing litter.

07/02/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance
completing the food pantry
putting up a sign for the food pantry
cleanup!
an artist at work
the gift of life
standing tall

Blake Street Pocket Park

Genese and the folks at the Blake Street Pocket Park rang in their third season last Friday with a bang and great creativity as they not only weeded and watered their beautiful neighborhood space, but also put the finishing touches on their brand-new food pantry! And there soon will be more where that came from! Take that, COVID-19!

06/30/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Three groups set out to tackle the Friends of Edgewood Park's weekly objectives for this week on Tuesday morning. One group at the Duck Pond at the Chapel Street bridge spent the morning removing Japanese knotweed and mugwort; a second added wood chips to the low lying part of the rhododendron trail near the Edgewood Avenue bridge; a third spruced up the garden at Whalley and West Rock. There was great turnout!

06/23/2020

Maintenance
Maintenance

Friends Of Edgewood Park

Clara and Stephanie mulched the new trees on the promenade, Pat and Dolores weeded the gardens near Sundial Sprinkler, and Frank cleared knot weed from around trees along road going to Duck Pond. Rebecca cut back overgrowth at the stairs to the basketball court.