The Greening of Detroit

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greening-logoThe Greening of Detroit is a leader in creating ecologically sustainable areas within the city of Detroit, while at the same time supporting green spaces in an urban community, encouraging residents’ healthy relationship with food, teaching schoolchildren about the natural world, and training adults for job opportunities in landscaping, forestry, and agriculture.

Their longstanding success in the Rouge River neighborhood, which was labeled an EPA area of concern, shows that significant commitment to a long-range program of sustainability reaps success. Many areas of Detroit are suffering from industrial abandonment and low residency rates, and the city, low on money, has ceased to replace trees that have died from lack of care and disease. The Greening of Detroit’s commitment to the city is to plant trees and maintain some of the environmental and health infrastructure.

The Greening of Detroit submitted a proposal to Foundation Beyond Belief outlining an expansion of their successful Citizen Forester Program. This program trains resident volunteers to lead volunteer teams by providing leadership training and education about nature in an urban environment. Trained Citizen Foresters then lead an army of volunteers who participate in the spring and fall planting programs through The Greening of Detroit. The funding from Foundation Beyond Belief will be combined with grants from longstanding Detroit charitable supporters and will be crucial in implementing the expansion.