2013 Report for Beaver Pond Park

Neighborhood:

Beaver Hills

Type of Site:

Park Friends

Address:

intersection of Crescent Street and Fournier Street, New Haven, CT

Address Geocoded

POINT (-72.9423813 41.3289611)

Year

2013

Number of volunteers

54

Total volunteer hours

317

Number of events

10

Number of trees planted

0

Enter more details about trees planted

not applicable

Number of shrubs planted

23

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Azalea (2), Azalea cascade pink (1), Azalea viscosum 'montana' (2), Azalea viscosum 'pink mist' (2), Red chokeberry (2), Sweet clethra (1), Sweet fern (1), Northern bayberry (2), Witchhazel (2), Winterberry holly (1), Southern gentleman (1), Mountain laurel (2), Spicebush (3), Prunus maritime (1)

Number of perennials planted

53

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Astilbe (2), Black-eyed Susan (2), Coreopsis (6), Daylily (14), Dicentra candy hearts (1), Dicentra ivory hearts (1), Dicentra spectabilis (2), Geranium (1), Khiphofia 'first sunrise' (1), Lavendar (2), Liriope (6), Perennial (2), Purple coneflower (2), Sedum (4), Yarrow (2), Liatris (4) , Switchgrass (1)

Yards compost spread

0.00

Yards mulch spread

5.50

Summary

The Friends of Beaver Pond Park (FOBPP) comprises of a group of wonderful, hard-working volunteers who share a common vision of working collaboratively towards restoration and beautification of Beaver Pond Park. During their tenth year tenure as an active Greenspace group, the group has focused on the part of the park close to the entrance on Fournier Street where they have mulched, weeded, watered and planted four beautiful small gardens, as well as the strip of land along the pond side where they have planted, mulched, and watered three wildflower gardens and removed invasive species in the pond-side woodlands and the hillside abutting Crescent Street and the Bowen field. In the hillside abutting Crescent Street, the group spread woodchips on the path that provides access to pedestrians who are coming from Crescent Street and in the woodland abutting Bowen field Complex, the group with assistance from students and a teacher from James Hillhouse High School planted native shrubs and grass that provide habitat for bird species. This year, the group also received grant from the Audubon Society in recognition of the park's location and features that enhance bird habitat. For their tenth summer this year, the group tended the small flower gardens with great care, mulching them heavily to deter the growth of weeds, and watering them during the hot and dry weeks in July. The group also focused on removal of invasive plant species and weeds on the hillside and along the pond-side. The group received tremendous assistance from the Parks Department whose crew helped in the removal of dying tree species that were growing along the hill abutting Crescent Street close to the entrance gate on Fournier Street. Noticing the group's effort in caring for the park, one of the coaches informed the group that they will park in the street and walk to the playing field and not drive through the park and disturb the group while they were at work. By the end of the Greenspace season, the group was successful in recruiting new members, as well as hosting two social events that were well attended and served not only as a social platform but also provided an avenue for discussions regarding different issues in the community especially those relating to safety in the neighborhood and the modification project of Bowen field.

Other activity

Many yards of wood chips provided by the Parks Department and annuals brought by the group leader