Peace Garden At West River

2025 Greenspace Report

Established in 1988 by the City of New Haven Peace Commission, the West River Peace Garden became a symbol of peace when New Haven was named a Peace Messenger City by the United Nations in 1990. This designation recognized the city's commitment to fostering a culture of peace and made it one of the first cities globally to join the UN initiative. Among the garden’s memorial trees is a ginkgo tree donated by the City of Hiroshima, notable for being one of the few saplings to survive the atomic bombings. This summer, the Friends of West River Peace Garden dedicated their efforts to enhancing the garden’s beauty. They weeded and mulched the garden beds, removed litter and planted a variety of native perennial flowers to create a safe haven for local pollinators. This summer the garden also added a new section dedicated to mothers who have passed. The dedicated volunteers from the Peace Garden also advocated for themselves and were able to secure a water source from a nearby housing development, which will save these volunteers lots of time and energy. With water they will be able to keep up the incredible work planting and stewarding this site.

2025 Accomplishments

• 1 trees planted (Southern Magnolia)
• 40 perennials planted (1 Liatris Spicata (gayfeather), 6 coneflower, 3 joe pye, 3 bee balm, 2 wood’s pink NY aster, 2 false indigo, 4 goldenrod, 1 swamp milkweed, 3 butterfly weed, 2 thread leaf coreopsis, 2 sedum, 3 coreopsis, 1 cutleaf coneflower, 1 gallery lupine red, 1 gallery lupine blue, 2 mardi gras sneezeweed, 1 blue vervain, 2x dark towers penstemon, 1 black eyed susan)
• 0.5 yards compost spread
• 1.0 yards mulch spread
• 9 events
• 7 volunteers
• 72 volunteer hours