By Shelley Dekker, Trinity Park Foundation President
The Trinity Park Foundation is happy to report that the beloved gazebo in the park has been washed, primed, and painted, and all was finished in time for the Home Tour. We thank Jeff Scott and his crew for their beautiful work and for completing the job on time and on budget!
We would also like to thank again Sue and Kevin Concannon for their gift of the new Welcome Garden, a native plant garden installed in October on either side of the brick steps leading into The Trinity Park from the W. Trinity Avenue sidewalk. It replaces English ivy and vinca and other invasive plants and is Phase I of a plan to replace the invasive plants along the slope that borders the sidewalk along portions of the north side of the park. Sue and Kevin not only donated the funds for this garden but have been involved in clearing the area of the invasives, planting, and watering. Sue has also coordinated the many on-site meetings with landscape professionals who have helped us form a solid plan moving forward. More thanks go to members of the Blossom Garden Club for coming out early on a park workday to put all the new plants for the Welcome Garden in the ground.
Because our little park is actually not so little, the Foundation will be forming a larger and more active Park Committee so that a group of neighbors, rather than just one or two people, can help carry out the long list of to-do projects in the park. A sampling of these projects includes: finding and commissioning an artisan to craft a decorative handrail for the recently restored brick steps; meeting with landscape professionals to make a plan to tackle the erosion issues in the park; finally (!) (maybe?) installing a decorative street lamp to replace the light on the utility pole; installing low fencing to protect the plants in the garden beds; replacing the rotted wood on the gazebo; coordinating semi-annual mulching of the park gardens; finding a solution for the problem of the malodorous dog waste in the park waste cans; renovating the grass in the park lawns; adding a picnic “table for two” once invading juniper has been cleared; finding, purchasing, and installing clean wood chips in the City right-of-way along the W. Trinity Avenue side of the park; forming a group of Trinity Park Stewards to spend time in the park—weeding, watering, picking up litter and sticks, talking to visitors, etc. This is only a partial list of things that need to be done to maintain the park adequately. If you are interested in being a member of the Foundation’s Park Committee, or if you have other ideas for the improvement of the park (or any other public areas of our neighborhood), please write us at trinityparkfoundation@gmail.com.
As the year comes to a close, we would like to thank those who have donated to the Foundation in 2024: Ranji Khanna, Debbie and James Dobbins, Peggy Kinney and Andy Stewart, Laura and Bob Gutman, Sue and Kevin Concannon, and Duke University. Because our needs are greater than our income, which is largely made up of proceeds from the TPNA Home and Garden Tours, we appreciate all donations, large and small. If you would like to donate, please visit our website, trinityparkfoundation@gmail.com, to donate via PayPal, or send a check to The Trinity Park Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 725, Durham, NC 27702. Your generosity makes a direct impact in our neighborhood! Thank you!
