Today we had a free day to explore Detroit before starting some service tomorrow! We had a relaxing morning, packed some lunch, and headed to Belle Isle Park. Belle Isle is a 982 acre park in the Detroit river with multiple attractions such as museums and various education centers. We parked, hiked around parts of the isle and had a picnic lunch. We were able to see the William Livingstone memorial lighthouse, a nature center dedicated to native species of Michigan, and even got to see Canada from across the river!!

Later in the evening, we attempted to start a fire to have a cookout for dinner. It started to rain slightly but we made it work eventually and ended up having food on the table! Our night was spent with reflection looking into how we will work as a team throughout the week. We watched a TedTalk given by Devita Davison titled “How Urban Agriculture is Transforming Detroit.” We reflected on the impacts community has while working on projects such as this and it was a great introduction into the topics and activities we will partake in throughout the week.

Ted Talk Video Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/devita_davison_how_urban_agriculture_is_transforming_detroit?language=en