The Greening of Detroit requests your support by signing this petition and officially naming the park located on Jefferson just 1 block east of Rivard, to Elizabeth Gordon Sachs Park. The Greening of Detroit has provided education, tools and resources to grow a greener and healthier Detroit. For over three decades The Greening of Detroit has invested over 2.5 million to develop this greenspace and be a meeting place for environmental and training programming while also welcoming the public to volunteer and educational activities.

Over 100 years ago, Detroit was honored as one of the country’s first City of Trees, recognized for its tree-lined boulevards, lush parks and wooded neighborhoods. Unfortunately, between 1950 and 1980, half a million trees were leveled by disease, storms, and urban expansion, leaving streets barren.  During that same time, economic constraints prohibited the city from replacing the trees.  Devastated by the deforestation, Elizabeth Gordon Sachs mobilized key Detroit residents, businesspeople, and industry professionals in support of an effort to reforest the city of Detroit.  In 1989, she founded The Greening of Detroit as a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the city raise tree planting funds. For its first project, The Greening raised $100,000 for a 1990 planting along the median of Larned from I-375 to Mt. Elliott. Most of those trees, now grown tall, stand as a testament to her dedication to creating a greener Detroit.