Making our neighborhood greener and more beautiful!
Earlier this year, the board put out a call for projects in which neighbors were interested. There was a clear theme: residents were interested in green thumb and sustainability projects, along with tidying up. An event planning team is making this happen with an event in September, unified by the idea of neighborhood beautification.
One way is through a traditional clean-up. This will focus on alleys and medians, with locations depending on volunteer availability and “most needed” assessment. There are 4 shifts available, and volunteers can choose how many shifts they are comfortable working. There will be both a morning and an afternoon shift on each day. Lunch break snacks will be available, along with basic tools or materials.
The next opportunity is through a “berms on berms” workshop. What is that!? We are using principles of native plants and water harvesting techniques to demonstrate how to landscape the right of way in front of your home. One of our sites has a slope to contend with, while the other is more level. Both have shady conditions. This is a collaborative way to learn about techniques you can use for yourself, as well as lending a hand to make light work of the small projects. Each project site has a shift – one on Saturday morning and the other on Sunday afternoon – to accommodate different schedules or preferences.
This is the kick-off event and testing ground for what will be a longer series offered next spring and summer. The goal is to identify multiple berm and yard sites to demonstrate rain garden and native plant approaches to our landscape through cooperative labor.
This workshop is being facilitated by Marlena Hanlon, PDC, MUP, formally trained in permaculture design and water harvesting by the Sonoran Permaculture Guild, WMG and Brad Lancaster, and who has hands-on experience in urban green infrastructure street design and implementation. Jennifer Gilchrist contributes her passion and knowledge of Michigan native plants to identify best choices for the projects. As always, this is a collaborative, co-experimenter flow: if you have knowledge you would like to share, we welcome your participation on the crew.
If you are native or water curious, please sign up! Your attendance is the cost of admission. What tools you need will be provided for use. And, yes, there will be snacks!
Register here: https://forms.gle/N3Ruu4UrGNXwkJdGA