Rooting Impact In Detroit

Over the last 33 years, Detroit has been transforming. You see new restaurants, art, shopping, and much more throughout the city. Have you noticed the scenery encapsulating this revitalization? What’s different? Trees. Between the 1950s and today, Detroit saw severe devastation to the tree canopy, culminating in the loss of over 500,000 trees due to Dutch elm disease, Emerald ash borers, and urban expansion. It was in 1989 that Detroit and surrounding communities started to rally together to bring back greenery to the city. Our founder, Elizabeth Gordon Sachs, made it her mission to help Detroit and its residents by bringing back natural beauty to the city. For 33 years, we have been bringing communities together to return Detroit to the “Paris of the Midwest” one tree at a time. The next evolution of our work is in the form of our principal participation in the Detroit Tree Equity Partnership (DTEP).

Through the Detroit Tree Equity Partnership, we, with partners such as The City of Detroit, U.S. Forest Service, American Forests, Michigan DNR, DTE, Detroit Future City, and many more, are investing in the future of Detroit. This initiative has pledged to plant 75,000 trees, create 300 new jobs, and secure funding of 30 million dollars to put back into Detroit. 

Announced on October 14th, with plantings kicking off in early October, over 600 trees have been planted along the Lodge Service Drive North, Service Drive South, and 96 and Joy freeway corridors.

The staff at The Greening of Detroit is excited and pleased to add two new crews of recent Detroit Conservation Corps graduates to the team to help plant these trees. Drew Decker,  our Director of Nursery Operations, explains just how important the initiative is for the City of Detroit.

DTEP is an exciting opportunity for The Greening of Detroit and the city. These 75,000 trees will absorb approximately 3.6 million pounds of carbon and retain 75 million gallons of rainwater that would otherwise go back into the sewer system. Not only will these trees provide health benefits, but they will also provide livable wages for over 300 Detroiters. We're working within numerous communities and will represent a 55% increase in trees planted by The Greening of Detroit here in the city. For the planting team, it means potential growth opportunities here at the Greening of Detroit. I've been proud to promote 2 of my crew members to leaders and help them continue their professional development, which is rewarding for me as a leader. We've added ten new employees between our 2 DTEP crews and have created opportunities elsewhere in our organization, including our Nursery and Green Infrastructure departments.
I look forward to leading all future efforts that help restore Detroit's tree canopy and make the city a healthier place to live, one tree at a time!

With this partnership, Detroit will continue to see a revitalization in natural resources, job placement, and the surrounding communities that are impacted. For more information regarding DTEP, please send us an email at info@greeningofdetroit.com.  

Stay tuned for more impact stories from communities, individuals, and partnerships each Friday.