Nonprofit Fights Blight Through 'Greening Of Detroit'
By Marie Osborne
DETROIT (WWJ) - Take a drive through any neighborhood in the city of Detroit and you will notice a common theme: vacant land.
Some experts say about a third of the land in the city is vacant.
"We see this as a clear opportunity — not a challenge," said Rebecca Salminen Witt, president of Greening of Detroit.
The group helps local community groups plant trees and maintain vacant land in the city.
Salminen Witt says it's imperative that the city work with neighborhoods to maintain vacant land to prevent further decay.
Said Rodney Gasaway, director of the Joy-Southfield Community Development Corporation, "Planting trees and maintaining vacant lots helps boost overall real estate value."
"In this neighborhood the people said they wanted this to be the greenest neighborhood in the city," he added,
Gasaway helps organize volunteers and community groups who want to help clean, mow and plant vacant land in the neighborhood.
Learn how you can help HERE.
