Trinity Public Humanities Collaborative Project Wins Olmsted Network Award

An initiative that began as a Public Humanities Collaborative (PHC) project at Trinity College in summer 2024 has been recognized for its community leadership.

The team that created “Voices of Keney Park”—the first online public course focused on the historic Keney Park in Hartford—was named as a recipient of the 2025 President’s Award from the Olmsted Network. Students Dyna Chhem ’27 and Thea Nguyen ’26 produced the course, under the supervision of Susan A. Masino, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Applied Science, and with support from the Keney Park Sustainability Project and the PHC. The demo course is complete and will soon be available on the Keney Park Sustainability Project website.

Each year, the Olmsted Network honors individuals and organizations that embody the spirit of American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted firm by preserving historic landscapes and advocating for equitable access to public green space. The President’s Award specifically recognizes grassroots efforts that “demonstrate how community leadership is vital to sustaining Olmsted’s legacy in the 21st century.”

Keney Park was designed in the 1890s by the Olmsted firm, Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot. Through 25 oral history interviews, the “Voices of Keney Park” course captures the stories of residents, stewards, and scholars reflecting on the park’s past, present, and future. Through these narratives, the project elevates the park’s role in shaping community identity and upholding Olmsted’s democratic ideals.

Masino said that she and her students were awestruck by the scope of Olmsted’s vision, which had its beginnings in the Hartford area—where Olmsted was born and some of his relatives still reside. “Keney Park has everything: education and recreation, meadows for picnics, walking trails, a pond, and even old-growth forest areas. We want everyone to know how special it is, so we can make sure we honor Olmsted’s legacy,” Masino said. “Olmsted’s true genius was that he recognized the power of local nature for our brain health, and equally recognized its broader power for science and art. He was the impetus for the National Park System, ‘America’s Best Idea.’ Now it’s time to make that idea even better.”

Nguyen said that this project started as an oral history initiative. “After having the chance to interview people in the community, I realized that while everyone loves Keney Park, not many truly know much about it,” Nguyen said. “That’s why, just three days before the final PHC presentation, we decided to propose turning all of the interviews we conducted with community members and researchers into a full course designed to help people learn more about the space they often visit. One simple idea grew into a yearlong project, and we hope this initiative will serve many generations of people who live near Keney Park. We believe that a place is like a person: the more you truly know and understand it, the more you will love and cherish it.”

The award recipients were invited to the 2025 Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., on October 24, as part of the three-day conference, “Defending Common Ground: An Olmsted Parks Intensive,” designed to “empower conservancies, Friends groups, and park supporters of all sizes with the knowledge and inspiration needed to preserve and enhance Olmsted-designed spaces.”