A Word from the President: One Clean-Up Down, Tree Planting To Come
MorningSide Makeover volunteers spruced up the grounds of Grassroots Garden. Image courtesy of Jim West
As the outstanding photos from Jim West in this newsletter demonstrate, we had a great turnout of volunteers on April 30 at our two cleanup locations for the first “MorningSide Makeover” of 2022. Our Board decided to get the jump on the City’s annual Motor City Makeover dates in May—which would have meant waiting until Memorial Day weekend for the official District 4 event.
Special thanks are due to Aaron and Joshua from Motor City Grounds Crew who provided not only tools, lawnmowers, bags, and gloves, but also the skilled labor of the MCGC workforce. They even removed all the trash and leaf bags at the end of the event. The Grassroots Garden on East Warren, along with the alley behind it, has never looked better! Our MorningSide Gateway Park at Alter and Mack also got a thorough cleaning and Aaron’s crew brought in a few loads of wood chips to refresh the circle. Excellent!
At the risk of offending somebody that I forget to list, here are the April 30 volunteers who deserve a round of applause from all MorningSide residents: AJ White, Nic Hall, Ulysses Jones, Lou Hatty, Charon and Gaston Nogues with son Daniel, Aaron Smith, Ms. Campbell from Balfour, Eric Dueweke, Adriana Cedeno, Alex Afanasyev, Delores Modock, Denise Roberson, Monique Tate, Dorothy Johnson, Susan Newell, Jim West, Judy Pensyl and Scotty Boman. Nam from the Grounds Crew even brought his daughter along. Apologies to anyone I missed and wrong spelling of names.
The Mayor’s Department of Neighborhoods has announced a transition to Motorcity Makeover 365, encouraging community groups like ours to continue with cleanup efforts year-round. Be on the lookout for future MorningSide cleanups in June, July, and August. If you have a suggested location that needs attention, please email us at morningsidecommunity2@gmail.com. The Neighborhood Improvement Committee of our Board will give preference to ideas from blocks that can commit 5 or more volunteers to their suggested site.
And if beautification is your thing, consider coming out to our Nottingham/Beaconsfield tree planting with Greening of Detroit on Saturday, May 14. Please sign up in advance through the Greening’s website at https://www.greeningofdetroit.com/events/5- 14treeplanting.
Other upcoming MorningSide events are discussed elsewhere in this newsletter. Our volunteer Board is always working to come up with a variety of activities to improve quality of life in the neighborhood. The success of these events depends on how many folks participate. So come on out, meet some new neighbors, and have fun while making a difference.
Volunteers at the Morningside Gateway Park. Image courtesy of Jim West
