Yvonne Trenh
URI Internship Year:
2024
Graduation Year:
2025
Degree:
BA
Yvonne is a 2024 Community Greenspace intern from East Los Angeles, California! At Yale, she is a senior who studies Engineering Sciences (environmental), with a Chinese Certificate. She is passionate about equitable resource distribution, sustainable development, and community resilience. This is her first summer in New Haven, and she is so excited to spend time and learn from the New Haven Community. During her free time, you can catch her playing ultimate frisbee, at a boba shop, thrifting, or enjoying a meal with her loved ones!
Group
Valley St Intergenerational Organization
Greenspace Log
| Date | Category | Photos | Group | Summary | |
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07/11/2024 |
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It was a very hot and humid morning, but the excitement was palpable as everyone eagerly anticipated planting the beautiful perennials I brought. Today, we were thrilled to welcome five wonderful workers from Common Grounds: Joshua, Freddie, Terell, Kymani, and Luis. They recognized the area from last week and immediately sprang into action. Christell and Joyce, always dedicated, started picking up trash from the park as usual while we moved the tools inside. Despite the soil being embedded with various rocks and roots, which made things quite challenging, we dug numerous holes with determination. We first planted four vibrant coral bells under the catalpa tree, followed by five stunning agastashes where we had previously pulled mugwort. Despite the heat and humidity creeping onto us, we covered the beds where we planted perennials with mulch shoveled into the urban oasis last week. By the end of the workday, the sanctuary-like space gleamed with joy, thrilled to have new perennials planted to block out future weeds. Join us next Thursday at 9 am to beautify the butterfly garden by the playground! |
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06/29/2024 |
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A light drizzle started as I arrived, but when I asked Nia how she felt about it, she shrugged and said, "That's fine, a little rain won't hurt anyone." As I got into the back of the truck to pull out tools, I spotted Susan making her way over to the park with a big smile on her face, excited to see us and work on the park! Before starting to weed, I demonstrated how to use the scuffle hoe on the stone dust. When I raked away the weeds that were pulled up, everyone was astonished at how easy it was and how clean the path looked afterward. Nia continued to use the scuffle hoe on the path, while Susan began weeding the area, and I (Yvonne) started off-loading mulch into a wheelbarrow. Around this time, Chris McDaniel stopped by—I was ecstatic to meet him as I had heard a lot about him. He was recovering from eye surgery, so instead of weeding, Nia showed him how to use the scuffle hoe and he got right to work! Around this time, Nia's father, John, came by after Nia called for his help. He immediate got to work and offered to shovel mulch. Vicson, whom Susan and I met and invited while he was biking to work last week, joined us too! He also volunteers at nearby community gardens. Vicson mentioned he couldn't stay long because of work, but he immediately got to work shoveling mulch into the wheelbarrow for us. With the powerful and quick work of Vicson, John, and Nia, all the mulch I brought was off-loaded, and almost the entire front of the park was mulched! Susan was worried because she couldn't weed as fast as they were mulching, but she was already doing a phenomenal job. Vicson helped on the path for a bit before departing for work. While Chris started to bag up loads of weeds with Susan's help, John and Nia continued to scuffle hoe and rake away all the weeds—the path was looking so clear all the way to the back of the park! I carefully tackled the task of removing some poison ivy. Susan's husband, Henry, also stopped by to say hi! Chris left to get some rest, and John left for basketball practice. By the end of the workday, Susan, Nia, and I were astonished at how much we had accomplished—we didn't expect to get so much done! The park was glowing! Join Susan and Chris next week at 2 pm to beautify the park! |
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06/28/2024 |
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The summer sun was blazing this afternoon, but the kids were excited to be outside! Ms. Kim sent Tia and a group of kids to finish mulching the area around the grass that we didn’t get to last week. Before starting, I asked them questions about mulching to remind them what it was and why it was important. The kids were very enthusiastic when answering the questions. The group continued the system from last week, passing buckets of mulch down a line. Two people were at the end: one in charge of spreading the mulch and one in charge of bringing the empty bucket back to the truck where I was filling them. It was a little slow at first, but when Ms. Kim benched the kids who were goofing around, the remaining kids focused and the process became very successful. We finished mulching the grass area toward the back! Join us next week at 1:30 pm to beautify our Shepard St. Pocket Park and work with these enthusiastic kids! |
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06/27/2024 |
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It was a blazing morning, but the large trees above provided ample canopy for those who sought it. We welcomed Caleb, a new volunteer, who was excited to join us. He was impressed by the sanctuary-like area within the urban oasis and amazed by the care we put into the park. Joyce and Christel were hard at work pulling mugwort in the back, while Caleb was tasked with pruning parts of the elm tree that looked a little hazardous. Together, Caleb and I pruned a catalpa tree, ensuring its branches wouldn't interfere with the small path within the oasis. Between a mulberry tree and the large elm tree stood a small growing catalpa that Christel decided to remove due to space constraints. Caleb also spotted a baby oak tree in the back under the bridge, which we transplanted to a sunnier spot. Join us next time to continue making this urban oasis a beautiful sanctuary! |
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06/26/2024 |
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The evening sun hit our faces as we started this workday with a lot of excitement at our stone benches, as usual! We welcomed Patrick back this week. While they were saddened to hear there would be no workday next week because of Independence Day, they were excited about the work we were going to tackle today. As Joan announced that she had brought supplies for rock painting, the kids jumped with excitement and dashed toward their children's garden. Joan and the kids started by filling the water cart at the pond and watering the plants in the children's garden. Meanwhile, James, Yossi, and Patrick off-loaded pine bark mulch into wheelbarrows, which Tim and Patrick delivered to the stone sign garden. Kelly and I (Yvonne) carefully liberated our cherry tree from a long poison ivy vine and removed other sprouting ones too. Judy, with Patrick's help, removed trash along the road of the park and river. Tim planted two coral bells in our memorial garden, which had been weeded last week. Claire, Eileen, Lin, Nan, and Rebecca continued weeding the overgrown pondside garden. Patrick, Sumi, and Eileen wheeled numerous loads of branches, weeds, and other vegetation to the debris pile near the red gate. A huge shoutout to Nan for documenting so much of the work we do at this park and assisting me (Yvonne) in writing a large portion of this summary! This was such a productive evening, but more importantly, we all had so much fun! Join us the following Wednesday from 6 to 8 pm! |
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06/25/2024 |
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Compared to last week, it was a much cooler morning. Meeting at the Ranger Station, our volunteers were ecstatic to get to work on their projects. Stephanie, the sisters, and Natalie planted and watered small native shrubs along the park road riverbank to prevent erosion—buttonbush, gray dogwood, silky dogwood, and one ninebark. Sandy, Clara, and I (Yvonne) continued weeding the sundial garden, planted two coral bells, and began mulching that garden bed. Margaret took charge of watering plants as usual, while Frank and the high school volunteers, including Jonathan and Natalie, pulled Japanese knotweed out of MidBridge Garden and began making wood chip mulch rings around trees along park road. Lots of tasks ahead, but so much love has already been given to the park! Join us next Tuesday at 9 am at the Ranger Station! |
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06/22/2024 |
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After a week of heat, the rain from the previous night gave way to a beautiful sunny, but cool morning! Susan walked over to the park with a bag of her gardening supplies, excited to steward our pocket park. We started with some weeding, pulling weeds and saplings right out of the moist soil. Oak saplings, tree-of-heavens, Norway maples, and other invasive vines and weeds were being yanked left and right! Susan and I were so grateful to be outdoors and working after both recovering from injuries that had kept us inside for a long time. While we were tending to the garden beds towards the back of the park, Henry (Genese's husband) stopped by to say hi. Susan and I pulled various weeds and vines as we made our way back to the front, including poison ivy and stickyweed. With some mulch added at the front of the park, the space looked well-cared for by the end of the workday. Join us next Saturday from 9 am to 11 am! |
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06/21/2024 |
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It was an extremely hot afternoon as I drove to the park; however, Ms. Kim called me ahead of the meeting time, ecstatic about bringing the kids to work on the park! Ms. Kim came over and showed me the park that she and her friend had cleaned up—they mowed and raked the park in their own free time. The first group of around 10 kids arrived with their college student counselor (Tia). Ms. Kim explained that they would be working in a system to mulch the inside of the park, involving teamwork and everyone contributing a little so that no one over-exerted themselves. As I filled buckets with mulch, the kids lined up and passed each bucket down to finally mulch the inner park. This first group was very successful, and when we finished mulching one corner, I told them a bit about what mulching is and why it is important. The second group came over, and we proceeded to do the same thing, starting with a brief talk about the importance of mulching. Two kids from the community joined this group as well! This group was a bit slower with the bucket-passing system due to some miscommunication and swapping of roles, but they were still successful in finishing up the previously mulched area and starting the corner to the right of the path. We ended that group with a chat about cooperation with the rest of the group and a little bit about mulching too! The mulch really brightened up the park and brought out the variegated grass! Join us next Friday from 1:30 pm to 3 pm! |
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06/20/2024 |
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It was a very hot and humid morning, but Christel and Joyce were excited to start working on the urban oasis! As we rolled our wheelbarrow of tools into the park, we bumped into Aaron, who joined us this week. Aaron also leads a greenspace site at the Peace Garden! While Christel pruned the grass and shrubs, clearing a path, Joyce and I pulled pockets and pockets of mugwort, leaving our native goldenrod and milkweed. Aaron liberated a Catalpa tree from countless choking vines. By the end of the workday, the trail was much more distinct, and there was a lot of new space inside the oasis to welcome new plants. As I was about to drive off, I spotted a Maryland Terrapin turtle crossing the road into a parking lot. I called Christel over, and together we carried the terrapin turtle back to the shore of the river, where it quickly waddled back into the water. It was so very cute! Join us next Thursday morning from 9 am to 11 am to bring some love to the park! |
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06/19/2024 |
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This was the hottest workday yet, but the large canopy of the trees in the wonderful park gave us a pocket of shade, so I barely felt the heat! As always, we started by sitting in a circle and introducing ourselves, especially to a few volunteers who were back for the first time this summer. Yossi returned from his week off, ready to weed, and Sam was back because his karate class had a break this week. Soon after, Claire and Rebecca joined the group of kids and the water cart. The group was as excited as ever to care for the park! At the children's garden, under Joan's guidance, the kids quickly weeded and planted bright flowering plants that Joan brought. At the stone sign garden, Sam and I unloaded the mulch into wheelbarrows as Nan and Kay spread it around the spots we missed last week. By the pondside garden, Rebecca, Salma, Frank, Eileen, and Claire liberated a whole patch of the garden, revealing beautiful perennials planted in previous years. Sam, Nan, and I planted three new perennials in this space: a Shasta daisy, an autumn joy sedum, and a Cheyenne spirit coneflower. During our workday, Pam stopped by with strawberry popsicles, recharging everyone with energy! We ended the workday right at the perfect time to see the fireflies awaken an illuminate our park - it was beautiful. Eileen, a young volunteer and the child of a dedicated volunteer, took my hand and gently placed a firefly in my palm, marking the first time I had ever held one. Next week, we plan to plant some coral bells by the memorial garden and work on the Crescent St trail that leads into the park. Join us every Wednesday from 6 to 8 pm! |
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06/18/2024 |
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It was a hot and humid morning, but our volunteers were ready to brighten up Edgewood Park! Meeting at the Ranger Station, we planned our tasks for the day. Sandy, Yvonne, the two sisters, and Stephanie weeded and groomed the sundial garden, in front of the Spanish War memorial, and at the gate at Hobart! The small plot by the gate looked very loved by the end of the day! Clara, Pat, and the two sisters watered the flowers at the beds at Yale, West Rock, and Willard, and also weeded and groomed the bed at Whalley and West Rock. Meanwhile, Frank and Jonathan Rodriguez, a new volunteer from Wilbur Cross High School, cut down knotweed around trees. Join us next Tuesday from 9 to 11 am to steward our Edgewood Park! |
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06/13/2024 |
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On a sunny morning, Christel and Joyce greeted me with big smiles, ready to tackle the weeds within the urban oasis. As I got off my truck, I saw them picking up trash and cleaning the park, as always. We headed into the urban oasis, pushing through a few weeds to reach the center and started getting to work, removing mugwort, sticky weed, Japanese knotweed, and some goldenrod to clear the shrubs and perennials we had planted before. Christel and Joyce began pruning surrounding plants to define the path. By the end of the day, we had opened up much of the center of the oasis and even liberated some ninebark and irises from surrounding weeds, as well as a cherry tree from overlapping growth! Join us next Thursday from 9 am to 11 am to beautify our Dover Beach Park! |
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06/13/2024 |
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This week, Kim showed up and was very tired. Although it was her week off, she had been very busy writing grants. Recognizing that our previous meeting time, Thursdays from 6-8 pm, was not working, she decided to try to find a new time so she could bring some of her kids during the work period. We couldn't find a suitable time at that moment, but we eventually called and talked it through. Later, she called to tell me that a friend of hers had done some mowing at the park and that she had brought some kids to help clean it up a bit too. She is always very excited when the park receives some love. Moving forward, we plan to meet on Fridays from 1 - 3:30 pm, when some of the kids from the camp, including her own, will come! |
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06/12/2024 |
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On a lovely summer afternoon, the Friends of Beaver Pond Park gathered once again to beautify our park! As always, we started in a circle at the cool stone benches and went around with introductions. It is always so lovely to see new and familiar faces! Rebecca interviewed Millie for the volunteer highlight this week. After a quick round of introducing the perennials I brought for us to add to the stone garden, we got to work! With careful technique and collaboration, Tim and I shoveled the pine mulch off the truck to eager volunteers and mighty youngsters who pushed the wheelbarrows back and forth, unloading the mulch in the proper places—some by the children's garden and some by the stone sign garden. While mulching at the stone sign, other volunteers planted the beautiful flowering perennials, with a mix of 3 coneflowers, 2 yarrows, and 2 coreopses. After using all of the pine mulch that was brought this week at the stone sign garden, we moved on to weeding by the memorial garden. We removed all sorts of weeds and even poison ivy, revealing a beautiful set of perennials underneath. Rebecca and a few other volunteers had a strong start in weeding by the pondside garden. As we cleaned up, Nan made sure everyone set off safely. Join us next Wednesday from 6 to 8 pm to help beautify Beaver Pond Park! |
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06/11/2024 |
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On a bright sunny morning, I met up with the Friends of Edgewood Park down by the mid-bridge! Some of them were already working in the garden by West Rock, Willard & Yale Aves., planting coreopsis gifted to us by Gary, the city gardener. Frank was walking alongside the mower, making sure it didn't accidentally mow the baby trees in the park; he is very passionate about protecting those trees, as many have fallen victim before. Meanwhile, Stephanie, Margaret, Sandy, the two sisters, and I focused on the mid-bridge garden First, we analyzed the problem with the ninebark and decided to trim it down to allow more sunlight in. Margaret, Sandy, and I handled the trimming, while the sisters and Stephanie weeded another section of the garden, revealing some beautiful perennials we had planted earlier. Other volunteers also checked out the sprouting willows, the small saplings along the river bank, posted Yvonne's flyers, and picked up litter! We ended the day by mulching that part of the garden, and Margaret even stayed a little longer to perfect it. The mid-bridge garden was looking very happy by the end of our workday! Join us next Tuesday from 9 to 11 am to make other parts of the park this happy! |
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06/08/2024 |
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It was a bright, beautiful morning when our volunteers came to the park, ready to tackle the overgrown invasives that had crept in. Genese, our previous site leader and sister of the current site leader, was back for the month and couldn't miss working at the park with all of us! (She's now Dr. Clark!!) A while into cleaning up the park, Lee arrived, pulling an excited youngling, Indy, on a cart to give some more love to the front of the park. Patrice pulled weeds from all directions, while Mia worked hard pruning the vines that had overgrown the beautiful mural. At the end of the workday, the group went around flyering in the neighborhood, inviting people to join us in beautifying this pocket park. Join us next Saturday morning from 9 am to 11 am! |
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06/06/2024 |
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06/06/2024 |
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06/06/2024 |
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It was a bright, humid morning when Tom and Dave showed me around the West River Trail by the Botanical Garden of Healing, where they have ambitious plans to steward and develop a gravel trail. They also took me through some sections of previous trails they worked on with the West River Watershed Coalition, sharing the long history of trails and bridges, including the Peter Davis Bridge. At the Shack, I met Honda, and we briefly discussed her timeline for the kids to start joining us. Tom and Dave are excited to begin working soon! Join us as we embark on this exciting project to enhance the West River Trail! |
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06/06/2024 |
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It was a rainy afternoon with thunderstorms approaching when I met Ms. Kim and her nephew, Eli, at Shepard St Spruel Space. We started by raking the dead leaves in the back and on the road. Then I weeded the grass in the back a little bit but realized there was poison ivy, so we proceeded with caution. Ms. Kim then told Eli to call over her niece, Karen, to help out, and she scootered over! We continued raking more leaves and cleaning up the area. However, they started getting attacked by mosquitoes, so we decided to end a little early and plan to work on the park next week! |
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06/06/2024 |
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06/05/2024 |
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On this lovely summer evening, the Friends of Beaver Pond Park gathered for our first workday! We began by sitting in a circle and sharing a bit about ourselves—it was delightful to learn more about everyone there! After introductions, the group tackled the weeds in the stone sign garden, focusing on removing the milkweed and mugwort that had started to take over. We also set up signs to caution volunteers about the poison ivy. The children were impressive, hauling wheelbarrows full of weeds to the lake and back multiple times, proving to be a mighty and strong group of young helpers! By the end of the workday, the stone sign garden was filled with love and care, ready to adopt new plants. As the sun began to set, Nan continued to roam the park in search of bats. Join us next Wednesday from 6 to 8 pm to help beautify Beaver Ponds Park! |
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06/05/2024 |
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On this bright sunny afternoon, Christel and Joyce took me on a tour of Dover Beach, the urban oasis and park nestled alongside the Quinnipiac River. They shared stories about the persistent weeds that have overrun the urban oasis and how they've already started removing them on their own time. Despite the abundance of sticky weed in the area, they are determined to tackle them head-on to create space for more native plants. They are excited about stewarding the space by removing invasive species, remulching, and planting new native plants in the park. Join us every Thursday morning from 9 am to 11 am to help transform Dover Beach into a thriving natural haven! |
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06/04/2024 |
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On this bright and sunny afternoon, Kim gave me a tour of Shepard St Spruel Space, pointing out all the crevices in this lovely pocket park that need a little extra love to shine. She shared her exciting goals for this summer: transforming the park into an interactive adventure and educational space for the community, maintaining the park's beauty, and conducting outreach to raise awareness and encourage more people to join in taking care of it. Kim is thrilled to get started this week! Join us every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm! |
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06/04/2024 |
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Nan and Joan took me on a walk through the beautiful Beaver Ponds Park and shared their main goals for this summer. Their plans include stewardship throughout the entire garden and reorganizing and beautifying the children's garden. They are very excited to start working on these goals tomorrow! Join us every Wednesday from 6 to 8 pm to help make Beaver Ponds Park even more beautiful! |
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06/03/2024 |
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On a fine sunny evening, Stephanie and Frank met up with me to show me around the beautiful Edgewood Park. They shared their exciting goals for this summer, including grooming the mid-bridge garden, removing weeds—especially the invasive Japanese knotweed past the mid-bridge—and planting trees and perennials in various areas of the park. Join us every Tuesday morning from 9 am to 11 am to work on these goals and help beautify Edgewood Park! |
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06/01/2024 |
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On a beautiful Saturday morning, several community members gathered at Blake St. Pocket Park to discuss plans for this summer! Patrice, John, their daughter Mia, and Susan joined the meeting with great enthusiasm. They were eager to tackle the overgrown weeds, refresh the colorful murals at the front entrance, clear the stone dust path, and plant some new perennials. Susan and Patrice were so excited that they started weeding around the park sign right away! By the end of the short weeding session, the park was already looking a bit fresher. We invite you to join us next Saturday from 9 am to 11 am for more community efforts! |
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06/01/2024 |
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05/29/2024 |
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On a beautiful summer evening, the Cramers hosted the Friends of Beaver Pond for a potluck party in their backyard, serving us delicious homemade pizzas from their own wood-fired oven. Other community members brought various delightful dishes, including watermelon, pasta salad, and spicy tamarind rice with cashews. The Friends of Beaver Pond Park enjoyed each other's presence and met the two URI interns working with them this summer, Avery and Yvonne. Nan and Rebecca shared some announcements, expressing their excitement to steward the park this summer and work on the natural children's playground. The community members then introduced themselves and shared why they loved the woods! |