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When I first moved back to the Detroit area 15 years ago, I was determined to stay put for a while. I had finished college, spent time at different jobs around Michigan, gotten married and was ready to put down some roots. After living out of boxes for so many years, I had developed a deep longing for a community to call my own. Once we had settled into our new home, my husband and I set about creating just that. We began by slowly making a few connections in our surrounding neighborhood. Then eventually when our children began arriving and school became our focus, we spread our roots even further throughout our town. School Board and city elections brought us out onto the streets where we met all kinds of people who were also trying to bring about change to our fair city. We became a part of something much bigger than ourselves. We became a part of a thriving community. As the naturalist and author Terry Tempest Williams once wrote, “I have inherited a belief in community, the promise that a gathering of the spirit can both create and change culture…… “ Community is the backbone of our society, the foundation from which the seeds of change are sown.
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This month we are taking an in-depth look at the many ways that people are coming together in their communities to make the world a better place. You can learn more about building green and help pave the way for “earth-friendly” communities. Or you can read about starting a “Timebank” in your neighborhood and empower people to enrich each other’s lives through the concept of reciprocity.
And on our cover this month are Kim Williams and Rob Mies, the co-founders of the Organization for Bat Conservation. OBC is a non-profit organization housed in the Bat Zone at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills. Kim and Rob are teaching people the importance of bats and how they affect our lives and our earth community. Protecting these furry creatures is a vital step toward understanding our role in the future of our beloved planet. With all these great ideas at our fingertips, it seems to me that the spirit of community is alive and well.
Linda Hasley
Managing Editor |
