2022 Report for Friends of Kimberly Field
Year
2022
Number of volunteers
22
Total volunteer hours
171
Number of events
8
Number of trees planted
2
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- (1) Hawthorne, Winter King - (1) Amelanchier, Serviceberry
Number of shrubs planted
3
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- (3) Clethra, Summer Sweet
Number of perennials planted
67
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- (4) Coreopsis - (3) Coneflower, white - (6) Coneflower, purple - (1) Daylily, purple - (1) Daylily, red - (10) Hosta, patriot - (3) Hosta, plantain lily - (2) Hosta, wide brim - (1) Hosta, Halcyon - (2) Heavy metal grass - (1) Blue Star - (4) Black Eyed Susan - (3) Sedum - (8) Coral Bell, plum - (4) Coral Bell, palace - (2) Japanese Forest Grass - (1) Leucothoe - (3) Agastache - (1) Salvia, woodland sage - (4) Russian Sage - (3) Coreopsis, grandiflora
Yards compost spread
0.50
Yards mulch spread
2.00
Summary
In their inaugural year as a Greenspace, the Friends of Kimberly Park did an outstanding job learning the ropes of restoring and managing a greenspace. Our first day at the Park was an intimidating one: 3-foot tall mugwort, long Mulberry branches obfuscating the view into the park, and long pillars scattered across our potential perennials beds. But this didn’t stop Crystal Fernandez and Carlos Reis from pushing for their vision: a beautiful convening space for pollinators and humans alike, with a children’s garden and native, flowering perennials all over. With the help of our dedicated common ground students and the power of locals from inside and outside of the community, we were able to completely transform the space into a welcoming oasis. But it took many small steps. Most of the summer was spent weeding and preparing the perennials beds for planting; the soil was so dry and sandy that we made sure to add fresh topsoil, compost, and moisture to create a welcoming home for our plants. In our second to last work day we ran out of time and still had over 30 plants to put into the ground. The serendipity that happened next is a testament to the love and dedication of Crystal and her team; the following day we had a spontaneous workday where we went all out: three URI interns, three common ground students, Crystal and her four kids, Carlos, and 3 additional volunteers that stopped by after seeing us working. What a magical feeling! It’s as if all of our work throughout the summer had culminated into that one spontaneous workday of togetherness and restoration to finish up the park.
