To ensure plant survivability, maintenance is vital. Following each community planting event, nursery installation, and neighborhood tree planting, The Greening provides our community partners with the directions on how to maintain their sites. We ask our partners for a maintenance agreement, asking the community group or neighborhood association to care for the new trees, including watering, keeping the area litter free, and reporting any vandalism or illegal dumping activity. Our staff is available at any time for questions or problems, and makes frequent visits to the planting sites to check on the plant material.
Community garden sites receive the year-long support offered by the Garden Resource Program Collaborative as well as supplemental support during the growing season from a volunteer gardening program administered by The Greening of Detroit called Dig in Detroit.
In addition to maintenance provided by our community partners, The Greening's employment program, The Green Corps, visits each tree planting site for three years following the planting to ensure the trees are receiving the necessary care. Working from spring to fall, the Green Corps teams comprised of both youth and adults are responsible for watering, weeding, mulching, pruning, hedge trimming, litter pick-up and other non-mechanical maintenance duties at more than 100 sites in Detroit, including neighborhood parks, playgrounds, school yards, and other green spaces.