Grown in Detroit

Locations
Call Number: DVD 977.434 Gr
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD 977.434 Gr	1-week checkout	On Shelf

Detroit has earned its notorious title as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. due to a struggling automotive industry, increasingly high unemployment, poverty, race issues, vacant houses, high crime rates and decreased public services. Places where houses, factories and schools were once thriving are left abandoned because only half of the city's original population remains. In the last fifty years, one of the wealthiest cities in America has transformed into one of the most economically and socially challenged. Where residents once had major supermarkets and affordable, healthy dining, now liquor stores sell groceries from behind bullet-proof glass, and fast food restaurants are rampant. However, despite Detroit's struggles, the city and its residents have emerged with their own solution. Detroit is blooming from within. Satellite images speak for themselves, more than one third of the city has become green again, just as it was before the industrial era. This new landscape is creating opportunities and hope for the city and its residents. Land that was used for farming a century ago has again been cultivated, this time by the urban farmer. Vacant lots in the heart of the city are being returned to use as fertile farmland. The people of Detroit have developed the land for many reasons; some grow crops for their own families, some share with the neighbors or community, while others sell their produce at the market. An exciting example of the positive effects of this renewal is that the bee population, almost extinct in America, is flourishing in Detroit. The extensive variety of native and cultivated flowers on the now flourishing lots and the lack of pesticides make Detroit's unique environment perfect for a healthy honey bee population and prolific honey production. Although it's a side of the American identity that's rarely shown, Detroit's ingenuity and adaptation is inspiring. Grown in Detroit focuses on the urban gardening efforts managed by a public school of 300, mainly African-American, pregnant and parenting teenagers. In Detroit alone, there are annually more than 3,000 pregnant teenagers who drop out of high school. This school is one of three that focus on urban gardening and this population located in the United States. As part of the curriculum, the girls are taught agricultural skills on the school's own farm which is located behind the school, in what used to be the playground. The young mothers, often still children themselves, learn to become knowledgeable about the importance of nutritional foods, the process by which these foods arrive at their plates, and ultimately, to become independent and self-empowered through the process of farming. Many of them start out disliking the often physically hard work on the farm, but this aversion disappears as they see the fruits of their labor growing and being sold for profit. Back to the roots has sprouted as a simple yet effective solution for Detroit. As industrial models fail, this is a solution to be replicated in other former industrial giants the world over.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Educational submitted by gardenfaerie on August 9, 2017, 7:38pm Learn about gardens at Catherine Ferguson Academy in Detroit.