Community flower gardens not only beautify vacant spaces, they also support the dwindling pollinator population (bees and butterflies) we all vitally need for food production. So when the president of Canfield Consortium in Detroit reached out asking for help preparing and planting a new community garden, employees from our Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) team were eager to get their hands dirty.
FCA Motor Citizen volunteers prepared and planted a new flower garden, as well as weeded and cleaned out a nearby existing garden that needed some love and attention before the cold weather hits Michigan.
“This has become a blighted neighborhood with a lot of vacant lots and we want to repurpose them into functional spaces for the community,” said Rhonda Theus, President of the Canfield Consortium. “Developing and revitalizing this community is our dream and the volunteers help make that dream come to fruition.”
The Canfield Consortium’s goal is to restore the East Canfield Village community on Detroit’s east side to a contemporary, healthy, thriving and inspiring urban community.
FCA also shares the responsibility of helping to improve the quality of life for residents living near our new assembly plant. At full production, the new facility will have the lowest emissions of any auto assembly plant in the United States and will bring almost 5,000 new jobs to the area.
“This is just one of the first of many environmental projects FCA will be supporting as we build our new assembly plant just blocks from this garden,” said Maria Pryor, EHS Manager at FCA. “What we planted will encourage bees and butterflies and hopefully bring more pollinators into the area.”
Overall, FCA and the City of Detroit have committed $35.2 million in community benefits to support neighborhood improvements, housing, workforce development, education and training programs, and environmental initiatives.
To learn more about the Canfield Consortium, visit www.canfieldconsortium.org.
About FCA Community Stories:
FCA Community explores the efforts of FCA employees who see a need beyond the walls of their work sites and devote energy outside their daily job to be a source of comfort and a force for change.
