Sustainability

Melissa McCleod

Melissa McLeod (aka Feral Detroit) on why you don’t need to travel elsewhere to experience nature

Melissa McLeod started her popular Instagram page @Feral_Detroit documenting the birds and wildlife of Detroit as a reaction to the elitism she experienced in the birding community.

Latest in Sustainability
This new Ferndale business was inspired by the Barbara Ward quote, “We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the Earth as its other creatures do.”
Home and body goods store, a ‘refillery and zero waste shop,’ opens in Ferndale

This new Ferndale business was inspired by the Barbara Ward quote, “We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the Earth as its other creatures do.”

Deeply Rooted Produce founder Dazmonique Carr wants to improve Detroit residents' access to healthy produce.
Detroit food justice advocate works to deliver healthy, equitable produce during COVID-19

As a college student, Deeply Rooted Produce founder Dazmonique Carr experienced food insecurity. Now her company is working to create more equitable access to affordable, high-quality produce for Detroiters at every income level.

Sacred Heart Church is a leader in green stormwater infrastructure, having undergone an eco-friendly overhaul of the nearly two-acre church property.
Historic church in Eastern Market leads by example in green stormwater infrastructure

“We estimate that this project keeps 1.5 million gallons of stormwater out of the system in an average year,” says Valerie Strassberg, Detroit Urban Conservation Director at The Nature Conservancy.

City takes a ‘grassroots approach’ to revitalizing Historic Fort Wayne

Rather than one major developer shaping the direction of the site, it could become a network of smaller adaptive reuse projects.  

A rendering of a proposed extension of the Detroit RiverWalk.
Detroit RiverWalk to expand after successful river remediation

After a multimillion-dollar river remediation effort, Detroit's RiverWalk is preparing to begin work on a new extrension on the city's east side.

Mose Primus, Jaqueline Fulbright, and Emmitt Russell take a hard-earned break from their work on the Yorkshire Woods community gardens.
‘People to support, not problems to be solved’: How this Detroit fellowship cultivates change-makers

When COVID-19 hit Michigan this year, the Detroit Innovation Fellowship cohort were well placed to support the communities hit hardest. The 23 social innovators involved in the talent development program are proving that their focus on creating sustainable, accessible resources builds the kind of resilience that see communities through a crisis. 

Karanja Famodou, left, and Ali Dirul are the co-founders of energy solutions business, Ryter Cooperative Industries.
COVID-19 shines a light on accessible solar power’s role in Detroit communities

In Detroit communities hit hardest by COVID-19, solar power projects provided some relief and continuity of service this year. For engineers and entrepreneurs Ali Dirul and Karanja Famodou, renewable energy is not just about the sustaining the environment, it's about sustaining equity. 

Manistique Community Treehouse organizer is a force of, and for, nature

COVID-19 setbacks and losses have not been able to diminish the optimism of neighborhood innovator Tammy Black. The Jefferson Chalmers resident is drawing on the strength of her community to sustain plans for the construction of a treehouse community center and advocate for horticultural therapy. 

AGI Construction builds Detroiters’ stories into green hub design

It's not just a design hub that Tanya Saldivar-Ali and her husband, Luis, are building on 18th Street — the Detroit couple is developing a construction pipeline to connect residents with sustainable careers. But it's the cutting-edge technology they are using to tell residents' stories that is capturing international attention. 

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