It felt like the first week of winter — not the first week of spring — but The Greening of Detroit is one determined nonprofit.
A Time to Help joined dozens of other volunteers on Saturday, March 23 at Optimist-Parkgrove Park on the city’s east side to help plant 72 trees in and around the residential park to beautify and, more importantly, create a more healthy environment for the people who live there.
Never mind the freezing temperatures and several inches of fresh snow that had fallen the day before. Only once in the last 12 years has The Greening of Detroit canceled a project due to inclement weather. In its 35th year, the nonprofit hosts around 23 plantings each season.
After a 20-minute tutorial, 16 ATTH volunteers grabbed shovels, rakes and picks and duplicated the necessary steps to ensure that each planting would be successful. The majority of the holes were pre-dug, but not all — as longtime volunteer Dave Barua and his team learned.
But the end result was, well, beautiful.
“Sixteen troopers, I will say,’’ said Monica Tabares, Vice President of The Greening of Detroit, said of our ATTH team.
George Gomez, who has volunteered for both ATTH and Greening, said: “This is dear to me because of the trees. Like our kids, they’re our future.’’
ATTH’s next project is April 20 at Mother Batie’s (United Sisters of Charity) in Highland Park. Registration will be up soon on our volunteer platform.
