Expand Your Environmental Understanding with WDET’s Earth Week Glossary

In 1975, a farmer named Yoshinori Kaneko in Japan realized that he could also supply food like rice, wheat and vegetables to other families in return for money and labor. This was how the concept of CSA initiated in Japan. 

In his 1987 book, “How To Make $100,000 Farming 25 Acres,” horticulturist and author Booker T. Whatley explored his 10 commandments of farming, one of which is the importance of the “Clientele Membership Club.” Members paid an initial fee, which contributed to the success of the farm. In return, they received fresh produce that they would pick themselves.  Whatley identified this as an essential aspect of a successful farm in the 1960s and ’70s, and today, this idea is commonly referred to as a CSA. 

The context: In 1870, 70-80% of the U.S. population was employed in agriculture, so if you were not a farmer, it was likely that you knew several, and knew which farmers were growing the food that you ate, according to Michigan State University Extension. By 2008, that number had fallen to less than 2% of the U.S. population who were directly employed in agriculture. That drastic drop of American farmers had led many American families to lose connection with the people who grow their food.

During the late ’80s and early ’90s, some farmers and consumers decided that they wanted an alternative to the national and global food system and adopted a new model for getting fresh produce. 

Where to get it locally: CSAs rose in popularity even more in the last year as the pandemic prompted more people to try to find ways to obtain fresh food while limiting time in grocery stores. There are many CSA options in and around Detroit. A few include Deeply Rooted Produce, City Commons and Fisheye Farms. 

Green Infrastructure

The definition: According to the EPA, green infrastructure is “…the range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement or other permeable surfaces or substrates, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters.”

Here’s how Joel Heeres, Director of Sustainability for the City of Detroit, defines it: “Green stormwater infrastructure are nature-based solutions that naturally detain and or infiltrate rainwater into the ground naturally, thereby reducing the load on the combined sewer system, reducing the probability of sewage overflows into local waterways.”

Lester Graham/Michigan Radio

Heeres explains that as a term “green infrastructure” is used very broadly and can more generally describe ‘the use of nature-based interventions to reduce emissions, improve air quality and quality of life for transportation, stormwater management and building operations.'” 

The benefits: The EPA says “green infrastructure is a cost-effective, resilient approach to managing wet weather impacts that provides many community benefits.” One of the benefits of green infrastructure compared with single-purpose gray stormwater infrastructure — conventional piped drainage and water treatment systems that is designed to move urban stormwater away from the built environment — green infrastructure reduces and treats stormwater at the source. 

• Rainwater Harvesting
• Rain Gardens
• Permeable Pavements
• Green Streets and Alleys
• Green Parking
• Green Roofs
• Urban Tree Canopy
• Land Conservation

There are many local efforts to create more robust green infrastructure in Detroit and there are ways to get involved with Detroit climate efforts during Earth Week 2021.

Why it matters: The EPA states on its website that “climate change is affecting us now. As different parts of the country become drier, wetter or hotter, green infrastructure can help improve community resiliency today and into the future.” 

Environmental Justice

Nathan Bishop, Flickr

The local context: There are many areas of concern for environmental justice advocates in Michigan. Some of the biggest include the Flint Water Crisis, which centers on the legacy impact and circumstances that allowed lead-tainted drinking water to be distributed to low-income communities of color living in that city; along with air pollution in Southwest Detroit and other neighborhoods in and around intensive industrial zones. 

Seth Cottle/Unsplash

The definition: “Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds and enhances ecosystem services,” according to Terra Genesis International. Regenerative agriculture aims to reverse global climate change by capturing carbon in soil and biomass. 

“The goal of regenerative farming is to farm and ranch in nature’s image,” says Gabe Brown, a North Dakota farmer and author of Dirt to Soil. In a recent story in the publication Natural Awakenings, he offers six principles to create a thriving, regenerating agricultural ecosystem.

1. Context 
2. The least amount of mechanical and chemical disturbance possible 
3. Armor on the soil 
4. Diversity 
5. A living root being in the soil as long as possible throughout the year 
6. Livestock and insect integration 

The context: Regenerative agriculture traces its roots to Indigenous people, who have long protected local ecosystems and preserved biodiversity through a variety of land management and farming practices. Even the term is considered problematic by some as it just gives a new name to land-tending traditions that have been practiced by Indigenous people for millennia. 

Sierra Clark, an Odawa and Anishinaabe journalism fellow with the Traverse City Record-Eagle and Indigenizing the News offers the following perspective on the term: Regenerative agriculture is not a new concept to me as an Anishinaabe Kwe. My ancestors are the original stewards here (in Michigan) and we have continued to be so. Our teachings are deeply rooted in having respect and honor for all walks of life, which include our plant and tree relatives. I recognize the need for our society to reconnect with the land and water, and hope this concept helps encourage non-Indigenous to be good stewards for the land they occupy. We must all come together to entrust a good future for the next seven generations.

Who is doing it locally? Verdant Hollow Farms in Southwest Michigan has implemented regenerative methods. Farm manager Molly Muchow told Local 4 News earlier this month that she and her husband, Brett, wanted to restore the “soils, forests and wetlands.”

“The previous landowner of the farm had raised livestock for many years on the property, however, at some point in the last decade they began leasing the ’tillable’ acreage to someone who grew conventional soy and corn,” she explains. “We had the benefit of moving to the farm without a background in conventional agriculture (Brett was a teacher, and I was a chef) and knew that we wanted to somehow restore the soils, forests, and wetlands at Verdant Hollow. After working with a permaculture design team (Peter Bane and Keith Johnson) we came to realize that the best way to do this would be through multi-species livestock rotation.”

There are many organic farmers in Detroit engaged in regenerative land tending and food cultivation, but it’s important to remember that not all organic farming is regenerative.