Paris has its Tuileries. New York has its Central Park.
“This is our Central Park,” says Beth Crick, Senior Communications Specialist at DTE Energy, of Belle Isle, the 1.534-square mile island that lies on the banks of the city. As the vast expanses of acreage are to other metropolises, so too is the skinny swathe of land in the harbor of the Detroit River, our personal pride and joy.
Crick’s comment came on the heels of “Keeping Belle Isle Beautiful!” a volunteer effort of DTE Energy during their second annual Month of Caring. The utility company has set aside the month of August to rally employees in an effort to have them give back to their communities, and the community in which they work. The program has been guided by Susan Sullivan, Office Administrator for DTE Midstream, who reported that 12 able and willing DTE Energy employees took to the canals around Belle Isle this week to clean up trash floating in the water and clinging to the shore.
“The cleanup is one of the efforts of our anti-littering campaign. We try to cultivate action and provide solutions,” says Genevieve Nowak, Director of Volunteer Services for Belle Isle Park.
Riverside Kayak provided the vessels for the clean-up that was piloted last year and proved a huge success. The park conducts its own an annual spring cleanup and has since the 1970s. This year it took place on April 22. “It’s always near Earth Day and always involves residents from the community. About 900 people came out this past spring—one man even kayaked over from Canada,” says Nowak.
During this week’s effort, volunteers paddled from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and hauled a total of 12 garbage bags out of the shallow water.
“It was mostly plastic,” reports Sullivan, “but a lot of Styrofoam bits and some unusual items as well—like a tequila bottle, a toothbrush, and a seat belt. One man hoisted out a 3-foot-high barrel.
”The serene setting proved challenging though when it came to retrieval. Volunteers really had to comb the edges of the canals, and reach into the plants to fish out the garbage that had wound itself around fallen trees. “It’s not like it was obvious,” Sullivan contributes but says that a great sense of fulfillment was had by all over a job well done. “There was a huge sense of accomplishment. Everyone’s already told me they want to come back next year.”
The Canal Clean-up is a partnership effort between the Belle Isle Conservancy, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Riverside Kayak Connection. DTE Midstream is a business unit of the company that provides tailored midstream solutions, best-in-class customer service, and project execution.
“DTE has had a strong volunteer program for decades, but a year ago we decided to expand our efforts and dedicate the entire month of August to give back to community,” says Sallie Justice, Senior Communications Specialist at DTE. “Our Midstream group wanted to take part so we developed this day with Belle Isle.”Justice goes on to say that they had been looking for a good outdoor activity to get the best out of summertime in Michigan. She contacted the Conservancy and the idea took hold.
Justice says they expect approximately 2,000 employees to participate in more than 200 volunteer projects across the state of Michigan just this month. The company provides gas and electric services to Michigan customers.
Sullivan reports that DTE conducts a full roster of ongoing volunteer activities year round. “We feed the hungry at soup kitchens and city shelters,build houses with Habitat for Humanity, and just launched a“Stuff the Bus” initiative where we pack a school bus full of supplies for area schools in need.”
“We’re doing work where we live,” says Crick. “We all live in these communities and love serving them. You don’t need to be experienced to do this. Anybody can join in.”
Beautiful Belle Isle: Volunteer effort by DTE ensures that Detroit’s waterways stay pristine added by Cindi Cook on
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