Urban Forum Tree Planting in Detroit

The RC's Urban Forum coordinated with the Sustainability Forum to plant trees for the Greening of Detroit project. We left at an early hour (7:45am, not quite a normal Saturday schedule for most of us) but with a fair crew of volunteers.

The planting happened on Taylor Street in the blocks between the Lodge and Woodward. A short stretch, so we were finshed by 11am.

Afterwards drove over to John K. King bookstore -- its a huge place, 4 stories of old mitten factory filled with used books.

We met up with a large group of Semester in Detroit folks for lunch at Los Galanes in Mexicantown.

The Semester in Detroit participants were taking a bus tour of Detroit with Prof. Ren Farley, who is teaching a minicourse on the history of the city. I joined them on the second half, and learned a great deal about the architecture, social change, housing, industry, and art of Detroit from Dr. Farley, RC Director Charlie Bright, Creative Writing Prof. Lolita Hernandez, and Ginsburg Center director Margaret Dewar.

About RC Forums

RC Forums are a group of student organizations centered around defined topics and funded by the College. They meet regularly to explore issues of interest, plan and host events, take trips, create art, and work in the community. Any RC student can join a Forum as an extracurricular activity or for a small ammount of class credit.

The RC's Urban Forum meets to discuss the issues that face urban communities, with a focus on transportation, housing, crime, development, and urban planning. For more information, check out an online description or email urbanforum@umich.edu.

The Sustainability & Beautification form works to promote ecologically friendly practices and the artistic character of East Quad. Your contacts there are Mark Fisher (mafis@umich.edu) and Wilson (iamwilson@umich.edu)

Posted on 09 Nov 08 by Matt Hampel