A once-forgotten cluster of vacant lots on Detroit’s west side is now home to Circle Forest, a community-led reforestation project created by the nonprofit Arboretum Detroit. Co-director Andrew “Birch” Kemp says the space, made up of 12 formerly vacant lots, was transformed from illegal dumping grounds into an accessible public green space.

“We cleared out like 60 yards of garbage and did a tree assessment, pulled out invasives, planted 200 native trees,” Kemp said. “It’s a park where there wasn’t a park.”

Now, neighbors and visitors can walk more than a mile through a continuous green corridor woven through backyards and hidden blocks that were once overgrown and avoided.

Kemp says the group’s philosophy is about honoring what already exists, rather than starting from scratch.

“I’m not mad at any tree out here because they’ve been providing shade for decades before I got here,” he said. “So who am I to come through and just decide you have to go?”

The project, which includes programming, nature walks, and a tree nursery, is one example of ongoing grassroots movements to restore native ecosystems and increase access to nature in Detroit’s neighborhoods and beyond. 

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