Maintaining Greenways for the Future – Greening of Detroit Awarded Grant for Project Launch

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, through its Greenways Initiative, awards $147,433 for support for a pilot project focused on the maintenance of Detroit greenways.
By: Mike Ingberg
 
Feb. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (www.cfsem.org), through its GreenWays Initiative, has awarded a grant in the amount of $147,433 to The Greening of Detroit (The Greening) for support for a pilot project focused on the maintenance of Detroit greenways.  

Created in partnership with the members of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, the project will create and implement a sustainable greenways maintenance strategy that includes community outreach and education and will also ensure that the Detroit greenways continue to be safe and desirable community resources.

“This is the beginning of the development of a maintenance and community engagement program for greenways in Detroit, many of which are neighborhood-based and are such an integral part of their communities,” said Tom Woiwode, director of the Community Foundation’s GreenWays Initiative.  “Not only will this project keep the greenways in top shape, it will also promote the development of best practice standards that can be replicated to maintain all future greenways, and will help people in and around the greenways better understand the benefits they provide.”

The Greening will work with three participating Coalition groups on this initiative: the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative (for the Conner Creek Greenway), Southwest Detroit Business Association (for the Southwest Detroit-Dearborn Greenway) and Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development (for the Lyndon Greenway).

Servicing of the greenways will take place on a regular, 10-day rotation by a crew of four seasonal staff that will be trained and managed by The Greening.  The crew will include three members and one project coordinator, who will assist the Coalition partners in cultivating community stewardship by organizing educational activities, service projects and general outreach to nearby communities. Crews will collect litter, sweep trails, cut grass, water and weed during their rotation. Special needs will be addressed monthly, which could include projects such as pruning, planting, repairs, addressing illegal dumping or graffiti removal.

In addition to maintenance, the grant will help organizations conduct community educational programs on each greenway, develop and hold programmatic activities including classes, events and citywide sessions when possible. A surveillance plan involving local businesses and community residents is also being considered.

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The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations committed to the future of southeast Michigan. The Foundation works to improve the region’s quality of life by connecting those who care with causes that matter. The Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $390 million through more than 34,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.
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Source:Mike Ingberg
Email:***@marxlayne.com Email Verified
Zip:48334
Tags:Community, Foundation, Southeast, Michigan, Greenways, Initiative, Detroit, Award, Grant, Support, Pilot, Project
Industry:Non-profit, Environment
Location:Farmington Hills - Michigan - United States
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