Dover Beach is a scenic park with views of the marshes along the Quinnipiac River. The park’s benches, shade, views, and playground and splash pad make this a popular community gathering spot with a welcoming, familial atmosphere on hot days. A core group of volunteers – Christel, Pat and Joyce – made wonderful progress at Dover Beach this summer! Their passion for the park shows in everything they do, and this year they tackled a swath of broad goals. They added to the plantings in the Children’s Butterfly Garden, spent long hours doing invasive species suppression in the Urban Oasis, and established a Welcome to Fair Haven sign at the park’s entrance off Middletown Road.
After the thunderstorms and rain from last night, the weather was much cooler, and the soil looked happy and ready for some plants! This week, Christel, Joyce, and I started to weed, mulch, and plant in our butterfly garden. While weeding and edging the garden, Christel shared her journey to becoming a professor and comforted me, saying, "It's okay to explore and not know exactly what you're going to be up to!" After weeding and cutting back the shrubs, we planted our perennials: a coneflower, a black-eyed Susan, and a butterfly weed. A new volunteer, Jose, joined us and helped shovel mulch into the garden too. We invited him to join us next week, and you should too! Join us next Thursday at 9 am to finish stewarding our butterfly garden!
PlantingAfter a long workday of planting at Dover Beach!
07/11/2024
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!
PlantingJoyce pulling mugwort!
06/27/2024
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!
