By Shelley Dekker
The Trinity Park Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization formed in 1980 to purchase the land at 410 Watts St., where The Trinity Park is now located. The Foundation leases The Trinity Park to the City of Durham and partners with the City to maintain and improve it. The Foundation is also responsible for capital improvements throughout the entire neighborhood and carries out major enhancements as well as ongoing maintenance, focusing on 1) the Park, 2) medians and traffic circles, 3) public art, and 4) trees.
So far in 2021 the Foundation has professionally pruned several of the trees in the park to maintain their health, and treated the park’s two ash trees to protect them from emerald ash borer (the insect destroying ash trees in many regions of the country). We also repaired the gate in the park along the alley so that small children don’t wander out into the alley.
Looking ahead, we have a long wish-list: pruning the rest of the trees in the park, replacing the weathered wooden slats in the park benches with slats made of thermally-modified native ash, weeding and mulching the Trinity median, replacing the utility pole in the park with an historically appropriate street lamp, fixing the 115-year-old granite steps that lead to the insect walkway and adding a handrail to these steps, exploring placement of a neighborhood “welcome” sign at the N. Gregson St./Club Blvd. entrance to the neighborhood, and exploring the creation of a tree-planting matching grant program.
The Foundation’s funding typically comes from proceeds from the biennial Trinity Park Home Tour. However, because of Covid, the 2020 Home Tour was cancelled. To make up for this loss of funds, the Foundation plans to launch a fundraising campaign this fall, but we would love your support right away so we can continue with projects this summer. Please show your support for the Foundation’s work by sending a tax deductible donation to the The Trinity Park Foundation at P.O. Box 725, Durham, NC 27702.
It takes all of us to keep our neighborhood flourishing. Thank you, neighbors!
