Molly Johnson
URI Internship Year:
2022
Graduation Year:
2023
Degree:
MEM
Molly Johnson (she/her) is a Yale School of Environment ‘23 Masters’ of Environmental Management Candidate working as a 2022 Community Forester for URI where she facilitates community-led greenspace management in the amazing city of New Haven. As a graduate student, Molly works as an Agroforestry Berms Manager for the Yale Farm and a research assistant on equitable climate change resilience planning in Connecticut at Yale Center for Environmental Justice. She is also a Student Associate for the Yale Center for Climate Change and Health.
Molly is passionate about solutions that address climate change, environmental and climate justice issues and encourage healthy communities. Prior to graduate school, she helped to plan the National Adaptation Forum, which supports the field of climate change adaptation in North America. She also served as a Tribal Resilience AmeriCorps VISTA at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College where she helped advance food sovereignty efforts. Molly grew up in North Branford, CT and is happy to be in the New Haven area to pursue her degree. She also enjoys gardening, hiking and writing.
Group
Truman Street Clean/Green Project
Greenspace Log
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08/06/2022 |
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For the final week, Jody and Molly spent time thoroughly watering plants in the garden, including the newly planted items from this year. With bright green balloons flying out front, it was fantastic to see the space with a crisp path and blooming flowers after a season of hard work. |
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08/05/2022 |
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For the group's last workday with URI, they finished spreading wood chip mulch in the back area of the Urban Oasis. They also spent some time picking up trash by the underpass as well as fixing the hole in the fence near the river |
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08/04/2022 |
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The group finished spreading the remaining 1/2 yard of stone dust in the path! People also watered the plants and tried to address a leaky hose problem. Then everyone took a break to enjoy some fresh local peaches and other snacks. It was a great way to wrap up a very successful season. |
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08/03/2022 |
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Stella met with Molly and Miche to plan out possible plantings for next season. They also added some pine mulch to the garden bed in front of Stella's house to prevent future weeds. Stella will continue to recruit volunteers in the hopes of starting back strong in the 2023 season. |
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08/03/2022 |
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In their first ever workday, Xochi, Desiree and Molly worked to clean-up, weed, water and maintain the Fair Haven Library space. The group is still building a design to hopefully implement next year but saw a need for upkeep of the current space and the existing plants. Through the weeding process, the group collected two garbage bags full of plant material to be composted. Since the weather has been dry, the group watered many plants and pruned other plants. Two pear trees that seem to be struggling to survive in the back of the library were given compost and a thorough watering. The group is excited at the beauty of the beginning of this project and continues to look for new volunteers interested in joining in. They plan to meet again on Aug 10th at 9:30am. |
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08/02/2022 |
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On Aug 2, the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association hosted a workday party! The great turn out of volunteers allows the group to get a lot accomplished, including trash pick-up, spreading pine bark mulch and weeding. It was really exciting that 10 new volunteers who were visiting the park throughout the workday joined the group to help out. It was inspiring to feel the sense of community and everyone's willingness to adjust their evening plans to assist in keeping the park beautiful. |
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07/30/2022 |
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This week was another exciting time getting to plant at Spruel Space. The group planted 6 Barrenwort and 2 Coral Bells to fill in some open spaces in the garden. Watering was also a priority due to the ongoing lack of rain. The group also pruned and did some clean up in some areas. A special surprise was that Mitch, who interned at Spruel Space in 2021, came by to volunteer. |
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07/29/2022 |
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Pat worked at pulling some more mugwort and Joyce helped to spread mulch in the newly weeded area of the Urban Oasis. |
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07/28/2022 |
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It was exciting to have a new volunteer, Jesse, join the group this week! Together, Jesse, Jerry, Jenny helped to spread stone dust on one half of the walking path in the park. Mary and Sara helped to water and prune plants. There was great teamwork all around. |
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07/27/2022 |
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Xochi, Desiree and Molly met to discuss the Greenspace project and visions for future garden design. |
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07/23/2022 |
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Jody and the group of volunteers identified an area of the garden that has space for flowering plants. At this week's workday - the group planted four plants. Two Blue Star and two Speedwell which should provide exciting pink and blue flowers with interesting shapes. It was a bit challenging to dig into the ground which was compacted with rocks and roots but the plants were put into their new home. |
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07/22/2022 |
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The group put up a sign at the Dover Beach Urban Oasis location this week to help engage the public and invite more volunteers to help out in the future. The sign complements the recent haybale plantings and helps create a vibrant street view of the oasis. The group also spread over 1 yard of wood chip mulch in the urban oasis to prevent new growth in areas that were recently weeded by Common Ground high school youth. |
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07/21/2022 |
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After focusing on weeding and watering for the previous months, the group decided it was time to plant some plants in honor of the new volunteers from this year. They planted 3 Ligularia and 3 Epimedium plants in two of the garden islands. |
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07/20/2022 |
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Christel met with Common Ground youth and the group weeded a larger portion of the urban oasis. |
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07/20/2022 |
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Xochi and Molly met with Matthew Makomenaw of Yale NACC to see if students would be interested in getting involved in the project. He invited them to meet the students at the welcome back party this Fall. |
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07/16/2022 |
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07/14/2022 |
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The group work to maintain Lenzi park this week. Sara watered, Jerry worked on the path and Mary and Jenny cleaned up the iris bed around the flagpole. The group also deadheaded the daylilies. |
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07/13/2022 |
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Cindy met with Molly to water the garden and discuss possible upcoming events at the park. |
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07/13/2022 |
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Christel and Pat joined in with the Common Ground youth team and helped pull mugwort in order to prevent it from reseeding next year. They also transplanted black eyed susans into the ground near the front corner of the urban oasis! Christel focused a lot on watering the new perennials to make sure they are getting the support they need since we have had limited rain. |
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07/12/2022 |
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The group had their first workday and a great turn out of people! There was pizza and lemonade to make it a celebration. The group cleaned up trash, spread playground mulch that was delivered by parks and planted a ninebark shrub in an area along the fence. The shrub's leaves are a great contrast with other greenery along the fence. The kids really enjoyed helping out with trash clean up and planting. |
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07/11/2022 |
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Xochi and Molly met to check in on outreach plans for this Greenspace project. |
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07/09/2022 |
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The group continued weeding and mulching this week, especially in the back area of the garden. |
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07/07/2022 |
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The group continued to work on garden maintenance, including weeding and watering. |
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07/06/2022 |
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Christel met with Common Ground youth to give them instructions on the maintenance of the urban oasis area. She also watered the newly planted haybales. |
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07/02/2022 |
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There was a great volunteer turnout this week, after the establishment of a partnership between Shepard and Huntington volunteers and Spruel Space. Laura, a neighbor also came out to help! Two students from Yale School of the Environment volunteered as well. All of the volunteers worked hard to weed out the many small weeds growing in the back area of the greenspace. Then they mulched over it. The group was able to clear a majority of the weeds in the back, leaving space for the planted Liriopi grasses to spread out in the future. It was really fun to see everyone get to know one another and work together. |
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07/02/2022 |
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Stella and Molly met to pass out flyers in the neighborhood and recruit volunteers to help with planting. |
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07/01/2022 |
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July means planting for Dover Beach! This week the group decided to turn lemons into lemonade and "up-cycle" hay bales that had been dumped in front of the urban oasis in 2021. The group dug holes in the hay bales, which was no small feat since they compressed over time, and then added compost and transplanted 5 perennials including two types of sedum and black-eyed susans. |
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07/01/2022 |
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Cindy met Molly and Hanwen to help distributed 1.5 yards of wood chip mulch throughout the park. The mulch was placed in piles that will be spread over time to help prevent weeds and cultivate a clean look throughout the space. |
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06/30/2022 |
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Molly and Xochi met to continue outreach and planning for the greenspace. They met with James Rawlings to learn about his work with the CT Native American Inter-tribal Urban Council. |
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06/30/2022 |
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This week, the group picked up trash, raked and swept the sidewalk and seating area. The group also designed signs to indicate areas that are sensitive to weed-wacking and posted them. |
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06/25/2022 |
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Stella and her neighbor met with Molly to discuss plans for planting along the streetscape of Ella T. Grasso Blvd. The group walked around the neighborhood and identified potential areas. They also knocked on a few doors to see if anyone would be interested in joining to help. |
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06/25/2022 |
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Jody and Molly continued to work on clearing the path of weeds. Molly also brought mulch to distribute to freshly weeded areas of the garden. They ran into a few neighbors and spread the word about future Greenspace volunteer events. |
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06/24/2022 |
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Dover Beach volunteers began work on weeding and mulching in the urban oasis. They cleared out sticky weed and mulched a pathway into the area. They also freed last year's plantings from overgrowth. They were excited to find a lot of milkweed in the area while doing so. |
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06/24/2022 |
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Arch St. volunteers finished adding mulch to the center circle garden. They also added compost to the lilac trees and other shrubs throughout the park. Cindy brought homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches. Finally, the group set a date to host a 2022 neighborhood graduation party - July 22nd! Join us every Friday 4-6pm to make Arch St. greenspace even more beautiful. |
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06/23/2022 |
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Xochi and Molly met at the Fair Haven Library to create flyers and conduct outreach to spread the word about the Greenspace. They visited Junta and contacted a few organizations in New Haven. |
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06/23/2022 |
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The Lenzi Park volunteers added more pine mulch to various gardens throughout the park. Jenny added a barrier to support the morning glories she planted this year. The tree planted last year was also mulched and given compost for an extra boost of nutrition. The lilac bushes were also given compost with the hopes that they may bloom next year. |
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06/18/2022 |
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Arch St. volunteers cleared out the side garden beds and worked to mulch the circle garden bed. |
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06/18/2022 |
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Jody and Molly met for their first regular work day. They focused on weeding the path and the front area of the greenspace - especially targeting stickyweed! |
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06/17/2022 |
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Dover Beach volunteers worked hard mulching the Children's Butterfly Garden and shoveling mulch in preparation for work on the urban oasis. |
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06/17/2022 |
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Cindy and Molly met to discuss goals for the summer at Arch St. They watered the blooming shrubs and flowers and weeded the circle garden bed. Cindy also spent time clearing undergrowth from the lilac bushes. |
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06/16/2022 |
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Xochi and Molly met with Kirk Morrison to get a tour of the available Greenspace and understand the context of the site. |
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06/16/2022 |
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The Lenzi Park volunteers spent a lot of time weeding and mulching the variety of garden beds throughout the park. |
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06/15/2022 |
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Jody and Molly spent time around the neighborhood passing out flyers to make sure people know that workdays at Spruel Space on Shepard St. will take place on Saturdays 10am-12pm, starting 6/18. They also added a sign to the front of the greenspace to invite people to join in. You're invited to join in too! |
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06/10/2022 |
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Dover Beach volunteers gathered to weed and refresh the Children's Butterfly Garden. They planted five aster plants, including a wood aster to add in some late summer/fall flower blooms for people to enjoy. Volunteers added some mulch and plan on adding more when supplies are delivered. The group looks forward to setting a regular meeting time to work more on keeping Dover Beach beautiful. Two special guest volunteers joining the group including local nursery owner, Lisa, and high school senior, Joshua. The extra hands helped the weeding and planting activities get done efficiently. Thanks to everyone who joined! |
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06/09/2022 |
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Adeli and Greenspace Intern, Molly, met to plan out summer goals for Esmeralda Park. The park provides a nice cool spot to spend time on hot summer days. Adeli's goals include weeding, path maintenance and spreading mulch in areas of the park. It was amazing to reflect on how the park started out - as the lot of a torn down house. Many years of hard work have helped make it into the relaxing space it is today. Esmeralda is looking for volunteers, short-term or long-term to get involved in helping. If you're interested, please call - 203-432-6189. |
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06/09/2022 |
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Lenzi Park volunteers started off URI's summer season with a strong turn-out. They spent the time weeding and edging the park's walking paths and other areas of the park. A recent fresh delivery of mulch means that the group will be able to refresh the gardens this week and prevent further weeds from growing. The most exciting aspect of this workday was the mixture of both new and long-time volunteers. It was fun to discuss why Lenzi Park is so important to people and the special impact it has on everyone's daily lives. |
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06/08/2022 |
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Jody and Molly spent time wedding some expansive sticky-weed and other weeds in Spruel Space on Wednesday. It was the first work day of the season and they were excited to clean up the front of the greenspace while also talking to people walking by to encourage them to come enjoy the space and help out. Regular work days will take place Saturdays from 10am - 12pm starting on June 18th. Join in on the fun! |
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06/02/2022 |
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Greenspace Leader, Jody Kelly and Community Forester, Molly Johnson, met to discuss plans for this summer. Plans including weeding maintenance, outreach and community engagement. Join us on Saturdays - 10 am -12pm to gather and work on the space! |
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06/01/2022 |
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Dover Beach volunteers met and walked through the park to set initial goals for the summer. Goals include weeding and maintenance, expanding work on the urban oasis and planting new perennial flowers in the Children's Butterfly Garden. Join the group to accomplish these goals and add in your own! |