2013 Report for Fairmont Park

Neighborhood:

Fair Haven Heights/Quinnipiac Meadows

Type of Site:

Park Friends

Address:

100 Clifton Street, New Haven, CT, 06513

Coordinates for Map

POINT (-72.8805857 41.3081554)

Year

2013

Number of volunteers

24

Total volunteer hours

66

Number of events

6

Number of trees planted

0

Number of shrubs planted

1

Enter more details about shrubs planted

1 clethra

Number of perennials planted

58

Enter more details about perennials planted

coneflower, sage, thyme, phlox, sedum, rudbeckia

Yards compost spread

0.00

Yards mulch spread

2.00

Summary

Fairmont Park was started with large goals of ridding the park of the invasive burning bush, and establishing a photographic essay of the natural wonder of the park and its great variety of indigenous plants. Seen as neglected by many, the park has experienced many other problems, including overgrown forest paths and rampant motorbike usage. The invasive plant Tree of Heaven is also an issue at the very front of the forest. Canvassing helped attract some interested parties, and the group commenced its first workday by removing burning bush. Further workdays focused on building community with the managers of the community garden, and the increased participation that resulted from this helped focus our efforts on the beautification of the entrance to the park and a butterfly garden. The group met with the Parks Department to discuss ways to improve goal efficacy, and also focused on a planned telephone tower in the park, which should resemble a flagpole, but which has an unknown planned location. There is hope that the telephone company in question, T-Mobile, could remove some of the invasive plants as part of a final agreement to install the tower. The group also finalized a path around the butterfly garden and began work on girdling some of the Tree of Heaven.