We have already planted over a dozen city lots with organically grown produce, given away hundreds of recycled, refurbished bicycles to the neighborhood, and continued to perfect our off grid water and electrical systems.
This year, we will be doing everything we did last year as well as:
- Installing a greenhouse near the garden
- Selling around 25% of the produce we grow on the Robinwood st. Farm at the "Grown in Detroit" stand in shed 3 at Eastern Market
- Finding other nearby organizations to help distribute a larger expected yield from the gardens
- Purchasing the vacant lots through the Detroit Land Bank's Community Partnership Program.
- Organizing monthly gatherings for individual projects (I.E. farm, bike shop, food distribution)
- Finding more room for BICYCLES!
Over the course of the next year, the people in our community will volunteer their efforts by teaching each other how to work on bicycles, houses, and gardens. Perhaps more importantly, we will be organizing. The community at large is reaching out while at the same time looking in. The next community meeting where we will continue our discussion of our vision and goals is on March 8th at 595 w Robinwood st. We may need a larger space soon.
Our nonprofit organization is looking to add a few board members from outside of the community who have experience working with the city of Detroit, community gardens, nonprofit bike shops, and/or community organizing. In order to distinguish the Fireweed community from the 501(c)(3) organization, the 501(c)(c) organization may undergo a name change sometime within the next couple of months. The nonprofit will still support all of the same projects as it has in the past, hopefully expanding and supporting new ones this year.
Other groups pertaining to specific projects will be forming, the First of which is the Farm Group. This group will be meeting monthly (TBA) and will be discussing issues pertaining to operating the community garden project. If you want to become involved in the Farm Group, email us at fireweeduniversecity@gmail.com. Other groups will be forming as well (TBA)
There is a lot to do this year. The ebb and flow of the energy in our neighborhood makes it difficult to tell when the time is right to expand. The constant turbulence from our reality is enough to tear us apart without something to hold us together. The houses pictured above are no longer standing. Many of the things people in the community have done no longer exist in the same form they once did. Nevertheless, everything those before us did has led us to where we stand now, and today is the first day of the rest of our lives.