Transforming the Green Ooze into a Movement for Tri-county Environmental Justice Solidarity

The Ooze Cruise In January 2020 My friend Lauren Schandevel and I hosted the "Ooze Cruise", a walk around Electroplating Services in Madison Heights. This site has become famous in Michigan because of the "green ooze", a toxic mixture of Hexavalent Chromium, trichloroethylene (TCE) and cyanide which was dumped into earthen pits in the basement of … Continue reading Transforming the Green Ooze into a Movement for Tri-county Environmental Justice Solidarity

Grappling with Invasive Species Management on a Colonized Land: Part I

newspaper birds

For a few years now, I have invested time and energy into cultivating native plants and removing invasive, non-native ones – as a paid worker, an unpaid volunteer and a recreational gardener. My reason for this work is that native plants are beneficial to the local landscape but threatened by invasive plants, a notion well-supported by scientific research and further endorsed by many governmental initiatives. While I sense that the American public is becoming increasingly aware of the economic and ecological threats that some high-profile species pose, I’ve encountered various reactions to how such species are removed, especially when pesticides are involved. I want to better understand the complexities of invasion ecology so that I can advocate for smart natural resource management. But I must admit, I harbor a certain uneasiness about the dichotomy of “native vs. non-native” that is so prevalent in invasive species discourse, and believe some reflection…

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Explorations in a mirrored horizon: a local clay workshop

Saturday, June 9th 3-5pm Join us on Saturday, June 9 for a walk into a precarious wetland on the brink of development for an intimate engagement with soil and clay. This two-part workshop will include an examination of soil profiles for evidence of hydric characteristics (a prerequisite for the state’s preservation of wetland sites). The … Continue reading Explorations in a mirrored horizon: a local clay workshop