As cities in the Great Lakes expand and additional stress is put on natural systems and aging infrastructure, toxic runoff from impervious surfaces, sewage overflows, and increases in extreme weather events are compounding to put the Great Lakes at high risk of irreparable harm. This issue is particularly critical in Detroit where the city’s vast physical footprint (135 square miles) far outpaces its population, leaving thousands of abandoned lots with little resources and materials for maintenance. Although there is development and expansion in certain areas of Detroit, 72% of the city’s vacant lots are located in areas of concentrated poverty[1]. This reality directly aligns with the need to transform Detroit’s abandoned lots into usable green spaces and engage residents to create solutions addressing human needs, stabilizing neighborhoods, and promoting long-term community resilience.
A unique and often overlooked opportunity exists to address the aforementioned community health and vacancy problems through houses of worship. Faith-based communities have participated in many of these programs previously, but National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is bringing that engagement through Sacred Grounds, a program that leverages the grassroots capacity of houses of worship to act as environmental and social change agents onsite and throughout the greater Detroit community.
Results/Conclusions
The Sacred Grounds program works with congregations to establish wildlife habitats and make water quality improvements. In addition to installing habitats, houses of worship conduct outreach in the communities through workshops, garden tours, and other forms of education. NWF also aim to form self-sustaining networks of community members who are supportive of increasing native plant/rain garden habitats, some of whom are developing the skillsets to install habitats at other sites.
We have found that there are many different factors that motivate houses of worship to participate in the program. Common motivating factors include: creating a safe, peaceful neighborhood space for prayer and reflection, improving water quality through rain garden installation, providing opportunities for people to connect to nature, and exploring faith and the connections to stewardship. By launching Sacred Grounds in cities, such as Detroit, we aim to 1) stabilize neighborhoods by reducing unusable green space; 2) create a network of natural habitats; 3) develop new community partnerships and extend our reach to grow a diverse, grassroots environmental movement. This systemic approach builds community capacity for more and more projects that can be repeated in communities across Michigan and beyond.