Valley St Intergenerational Organization

Volunteer Leader(s):

Tom Lehtona

Honda Smith

Neighborhood: West Rock

Type of Site: Streetscape

Address: 333 Valley Street, New Haven, CT, 06515

Intern(s):

Yvonne Trenh (2024)

Liz Bridgwater (2023)

Claire St. Peter (2022)

Paul Freudenburg (2021)

Photo Gallery

2022 Greenspace Report

The Shack had a very successful second summer as a Greenspace site! Volunteers put in a lot of hard work and were able to accomplish a great deal as a result. The group spent several weeks digging holes for a series of 10 shrubs that they planted in a line just above the site’s 12 community garden beds. These shrubs successfully separate the garden beds from the flat, open space at the top of the site that group leader Honda hopes to turn into a meditation space for activities like yoga and even the simple act of sitting and enjoying nature. Another highlight of the summer was the new Cherry blossom tree that was planted in front of The Shack. It’s beautiful pink and white blossoms will add a nice pop of color to the space. The intergenerational community center site is well on its way to becoming a well-maintained green space for the whole neighborhood to enjoy.

2022 Accomplishments

1 trees planted (Yoshino Cherry Blossom)
10 shrubs planted (5 Inkberry, 5 white spirea)
5.0 yards mulch spread
9 events
32 volunteers
134 volunteer hours

Greenspace Log

Marquise (otherwise known as Farmer D) stands with two of the newly planted shrubs. It was his idea to create borders around the shrubs using rocks that were already on site!

07/30/2022

This Saturday was the last Greenspace workday of the summer. A group of 6 dedicated volunteers planted 2 inkberry and 2 white spirea shrubs above the community garden beds in the back of The Shack. This summer, volunteers planted a row of 10 shrubs that will separate the grass at the top of the site from the 12 garden beds below. The group spread pine bark mulch and used rocks to create beautiful borders around the new shrubs. They also watered all 10 shrubs and the new Cherry blossom tree in the front yard. It was safe to say that the last workday of the summer was a success!

Planting

Volunteers smile next to the new Cherry blossom tree

07/28/2022

A big group of volunteers worked really hard this afternoon to plant a Cherry blossom tree in front of The Shack! It took the group several hours to plant the tree, mainly because the rocky soil made it very difficult to create a hole large enough for the tree's root ball. Honda ended up calling in some back up in the form of an excavator machine that made it possible for volunteers to finish digging the hole. From there, the group worked quickly to move the tree from the truck into the newly dug hole. We wrapped up the workday by creating a woodchip donut around the base of the new tree and giving it plenty of water! It was a long but rewarding afternoon that will be remembered for a long time!

Planting

07/23/2022

Another large group of youth volunteers worked at The Shack this Saturday morning to make more progress towards their planting goals. The group continued to dig a large hole for a cherry blossom tree that will be planted in the front of The Shack. Several volunteers also dug out smaller holes in preparation for 4 more shrubs to be planted in the back along the top of the 12 garden beds. Digging these holes was hard work, but it will be well worth it once the new plants go in the ground!

Maintenance

Urban Resources Initiative

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Valley St Intergenerational Organization

Photo Gallery

2022 Greenspace Report

2022 Accomplishments

Annual Reports

Greenspace Log