Citizen Contributions | Community Gardens | Environment | West River
Millie Grenough (in the pink windbreaker) helps lead planting efforts. Kim Fountain, Cofield Estates Photos.
The following citizen contribution was submitted by Millie Grenough and Paula Panzarella, volunteers at the West River Peace Garden.
The bad weather held off long enough the Saturday before Mother’s Day for us to enjoy a wonderful morning at the West River Peace Garden. Young and old folks planted flowers and painted tribute rocks in honor of all mothers, especially those no longer with us.
"For Our Mothers" was the brainchild of West River resident Jade Staton, to give tribute to her mother Aleta Staton, who died in 2024 (you can read about Aleta, who lived an extraordinary life. here). This event came to fruition with the help of West River residents, the City of New Haven Peace Commission, the Curtis Cofield Estates, and many others inspired by Jade’s idea.
"My mother and grandmother started a tradition of planting flowers together every Mother's Day, then maintaining the blooms throughout their seasons," Jade first explained in an email from February 2025 that got the ball rolling. "I wondered if this activity would bring healing and comfort to anyone else."
"Planting was comforting for me, it was tangible and therapeutic," she added. "While the events leading to planting flowers are rooted in tradition, I'm driven to extend the tradition to bring peace to others. The West River Peace Garden is right around the corner from our home (formerly my grandmother's home). I've been there my whole life with my mothers and would love to invite others to honor their moms with community."
Aleta was well-known (and loved) in the neighborhood, and Jade's proposal to honor her and all our mothers touched us. Neighbors held meetings to plan a design. We got bricks donated by a woman in West Haven. Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) donated bags of soil, and volunteers from the neighborhood, NHS, City of New Haven Peace Commission, Common Ground High School and Albertus Magnus College all had a hand in digging through the very tough and rocky turf to create the garden space.
Jade, meanwhile, had the forethought to gather the rocks to be later decorated and placed near the particular flowers planted for each mom.
Jade Staton and Ann Greene. Kim Fountain, Cofield Estates Photos.
By the end of July 2025, the garden was ready. There was a modest initial planting by Jade and Peace Garden volunteers, followed by flower donations from the City of New Haven Parks Department and Urban Resources Initiative.
A February 2025 concept became a concrete reality on May 9, 2026, at our ceremony and planting in memory of our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts.
Although Jade now lives in Brooklyn, her Judson Avenue roots run deep. She stayed in touch with the Peace Garden, neighbors, friends and colleagues of Aleta, and pulled together a wonderful event.
The West River Peace Garden, on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard between Legion Avenue and MLK Boulevard, was established prior to the development of the recently-built Cofield Estates which is on the same block. Cofield Estates has become a partner with the Peace Garden by helping us access water and by encouraging residents to join us in the garden.
Kimberly Fountain, resident services coordinator for Cofield Estates, provided abundant refreshments and an assortment of flowering plants for this day. Her 12-year-old son Ethan handed out cookies and helped participants get their nametags.
Kim Fountain, Cofield Estates Photos.
Gary Dickinson, horticulture supervisor for the City of New Haven Parks Department and Pardee Rose Garden and Greenhouse, gave us more flowers, as did a Woodbridge gardener. West Haven and Hamden gardeners offered us more plants. Jade, now based in Brooklyn, and her partner, James Russell, from the Bronx, planted with West River neighbors and folks from other New Haven neighborhoods, Branford, Bridgeport, Milford, and Madison.
Rebecca Ramirez brought her sister Alicia and their combined five children from Bridgeport to join the activity. As Rebecca chose her plant to dig into the ground, she commented that "this is just the activity we needed this year. We were all so despondent about the loss of our mother and grandmother. Doing this tangible activity makes us all feel better.”
Their children very carefully chose exactly the plants they wanted and took time to write their tribute stones. “My husband couldn’t come," Rebecca said, "So I’m painting a stone for his mother Juanita.”
By 12:30 p.m., the park had a vibrant new presence and many new friends.
Kim Fountain, Cofield Estates Photos.
Jade’s sweet idea resonated with many generous hearts. Besides the flowers and the decorated stones, there’s a lot of love blooming in the Mothers Garden.
This “first-time” event was a fitting ceremony for the Peace Garden, which was established over 30 years ago by West River neighbors to stop violence in the neighborhood and to actively promote more peace in the world. At that time the United Nations recognized the City of New Haven as one of the first three Peace Messenger Cities in the United States and one of the original members worldwide.
We have another wonderful collaborative project, this one with workshop students from Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross high schools. They are building tables and benches that will soon be unveiled and installed in the Peace Garden.
Currently, weather permitting, you will find us planting, watering, weeding, and mulching at the Peace Garden on Fridays between 9:30 and 11 a.m., now through mid-November. You can confirm by calling (203) 350-3795.
If you have ideas for more activities and events in the Peace Garden, or if you want to set up a different weekly day and time to volunteer, please email friendsofwestriverpeacegarden@