Park construction projects continue as part of the planned City of Detroit improvements.
Along with the continued work on the shelter/pavilion, there is now a state-of-the-art fitness pad and brand new walkways and benches on the Woodward side of the park.

More projects in progress and planned to begin in the future:

• Picnic Shelter/Pavilion next to Lake Frances
• Volleyball Court to be rebuilt
• Baseball Diamond to be rebuilt in a new location when funds allow
• Power being pulled for more much needed lighting in the park
• Removal of the roadway that cuts through the middle of the park property near the cabin
• Removal of trees in a bad state and and effort to save the bigger healthier trees growing throughout the park
• Revitalization of Lake Frances (with National Fish & Wildlife Foundation grant funding). Begins Spring 2021

Join us for free, safe, and fun outdoor activities
(NOT JUST BASKETBALL!) in 5 city parks this summer! 
​
The Pistons Neighbors Program is in Pingree, Clark, Jayne, Palmer, and Adams Butzel Parks from 7/29 through 9/23. Programs occur Wednesday-Sunday from 2-7pm. 

For the full schedule and to provide feedback, please visit www.pistons.com/neighbors or text "pistons" to 31996 to take the community survey. 

Check out the events this week. See you at the parks!

THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES AT PALMER PARK:

WEDNESDAY 9/2

Games Cart - 2:00-7:00pm - Free, drop-in games, sports and fitness equipment.

YMCA SportPort Team - 3:00-4:00pm 

Detroit Pistons Basketball Clinic - 4:00-5:00pm 

Mint Art - 4:30-5:30pm - Youth teaching artists with the Mint Artists Guild lead guided art activities for kids (20 people max) . 

THURSDAY 9/3

Games Cart - 2:00-7:00pm - Free, drop-in games, sports and fitness equipment.

Live Music - 3:00-5:00pm- The Kenji Lee Band

FRIDAY 9/4

Games Cart - 2:00-7:00pm - Free, drop-in games, sports and fitness equipment.

SATURDAY 9/5

Games Cart - 2:00-7:00pm - Free, drop-in games, sports and fitness equipment.

SUNDAY 9/6
​
Yoganic Flow - 11:00am-12:00pm - Rest and relax at a beginner-level yoga flow class. Bring your own mat. 

Games Cart - 2:00-7:00pm - Free, drop-in games, sports and fitness equipment.

ArtLab J K-Pop Dance Class- 3:00-3:45pm 

EVERY DAY 9/2-9/23
Step To Greater Health Virtual Walking Club - Using the Map My Fitness app, track your walks for 21 days and make it challenging and fun with friends.

Visit our Walking page for full instructions:

Join us for free, safe, and fun outdoor activities
(NOT JUST BASKETBALL!) in 5 city parks this summer! 
​
The Pistons Neighbors Program is in Pingree, Clark, Jayne, Palmer, and Adams Butzel Parks from 7/29 through 9/23. Programs occur Wednesday-Sunday from 2-7pm. 

For the full schedule and to provide feedback, please visit www.pistons.com/neighbors or text "pistons" to 31996 to take the community survey. 

Check out the events this week. See you at the parks!

THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES AT PALMER PARK:

WEDNESDAY 8/26

Games Cart - 2:00-7:00pm - Free, drop-in games, sports and fitness equipment.

YMCA SportPort Team - 3:00-4:00pm 

Detroit Pistons Basketball Clinic - 4:00-5:00pm 

Mint Art - 4:30-5:30pm - Youth teaching artists with the Mint Artists Guild lead guided art activities for kids (20 people max) . 

As part of a collaboration with Eastern Market and the City of Detroit, we are proud to be a part of the new Palmer Park Farmers Market which will be open every Wednesday, 4:30-7:30pm beginning July 8th through September 30th.

The Market will take place at the SW corner of 7 Mile and Woodward, at the Detroit Exploration & Nature Center. The Palmer Park Farmers Market is a member of the Detroit Community Markets and aims to make essential things accessible to the community while supporting our local growers & entrepreneurs.

Know that the market will be enforcing some very practical social distance policies to keep everyone safe.

Confirmed vendors for first market include:

• Deeply Rooted Produce
• Judella's Sweets and Treats
• McElroy Farms
• Extravagant Organics
• Detroit Garden Girl
• Pastry Luv
• Eastern Market
• CiCi's Seamoss

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS
To sign up: https://forms.gle/uHdfdQhzmjT2A7qC6

For more information and to follow the Market updates throughout the summer:

Facebook + Instagram: @PalmerParkFarmersMarket
Email: PalmerParkFarmersMarket@gmail.com

Powered by Eastern Market, Detroit Community Markets, City of Detroit Parks & Recreation Department and People for Palmer Park.

TEXT ALERTS FROM PEOPLE FOR PALMER PARK!

Will tonight’s bike ride be cancelled due to rain?
Is the ground too wet this week for yoga or t’ai chi?
Now you can receive instant updates for our recreation programs and events, in text form RIGHT ON YOUR PHONE.

INSTRUCTIONS:
(This is a one time setup and will only take a moment...)

Text “PalmerPark” to the number 41411.
No quotes, no spaces. It is not caps sensitive. Now SEND.

You will receive a reply that looks something like this:

Rply Y to confirm 4+msg/mo automated mktg txt msgs from PeopleForPalmerPark @your number here
Consent not reqd for purchase
Msg&DataRatesMayApply
Info? Rply HELP


Reply with just the letter Y.
You will receive next msg like this:

Welcome to PALMERPARK.

Msg&Data Rates May Apply
4msg/mo 
Rply HELP for help
Rply STOP to cancel 

Reply with your first and last name.
You will receive next msg like this:

Your name has been changed to: your name here

Pro-Tip:
Rply #NAME to change your name at any time.


Then you're all set!
Expect to receive approximately 4 messages per month. These will ALL be People for Palmer Park related (weather updates for recreation programs, event reminders), Not spam. Charges may apply, check your individual cellular/data plan.

This past week marked the first day of spring 2020! In Palmer Park, we can begin to see the greenery brighten, flowers and plants sprouting from the ground, leaves on trees – our park is greeting the warm weather and sunshine. This week, also marked an unprecedented experience for almost all of as we were encouraged to self-quarantine, keep our social distancing and avoid groups or social gatherings. At this point in time, parks and green spaces can provide a necessary solace to help us all cope with this emerging situation.  

The City of Detroit has mandated that all recreation and community centers be closed, so the Palmer Park Community House will not be open for any meetings or events. Given this is our slower season of activities and events in the park, our main community cancellation is indoor yoga with Yoganic Flow, which has been consistently offered on Saturday mornings in the Palmer Park Community House. Until further notice, yoga is canceled. Note that Yoganic Flow is offering online classes: youtube.com/user/YoganicFlow  for free online Yoganic Flow classes;  yoganicflow.com/online-yoga-classes  for personalized classes.

We have also decided to postpone our planned Annual Meeting, which was to be held on April 18th. I am using the word postponed intentionally as we sincerely hope to host the meeting in the near future as soon as rescheduling is safe. We have much to share about news of upcoming spring and summer events. Stay tuned for announcements of future events. 

Also, sadly, recent evidence suggests that COVID-19 virus can live for several days on surfaces such as playgrounds or other “high touch”  areas in public spaces. For this reason, we discourage use of the playgrounds in Palmer Park. As all of you, we are following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other health authorities, regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, which includes following a 6-ft separation guideline, even when outdoors, to help prevent community spread. We have all been inundated with what not to do. However, one of the positive guidelines is to urge all of us to get outside, enjoy fresh air, exercise your body and clear your mind. My husband, dog and I have been taking daily walks in the park along the miles of trails – we have greeted friends and neighbors along the way and have been grateful for our beautiful neighborhood park. And recently a Detroit firefighter asked if they could do their weekly workouts in Palmer Park, and we have encouraged them to do so. 

What better place to get outside, enjoy fresh air and get some exercise than Palmer Park !

Rochelle E. Lento
People for Palmer Park 
Board President 

​"The Garden Blog: A Family Grows in Detroit" will follow one of our new garden bed renters and her family on their first bed-rental experience this season at Palmer Park.

Beautiful Pests
​By Amy Kuras

Because of my work schedule and my kids’ schedule, my garden time often comes late in the day, sometimes late enough that I’m racing dusk to get my chores done. It’s a very peaceful time to be there – golden light on the meadow, kids joyfully shrieking through the splash park, and the normal bustle of this busy city oasis beginning to slowly wind down. 

A few weeks ago, I was puttering around in the garden when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I was scared at first, fearing a mean dog, but it was instead something so much better -- a deer! looking for food in the wild meadow that surrounds the garden. I know some people hate deer, because they are pests and will clean out months of hard garden work with a few minutes of munching –and believe me, I put the deer netting we were offered on my raised bed just like everyone else did. 

But for me, a deer sighting is magical. I grew up in the city, and I never saw a deer until I was 24 and working as a reporter on Grosse Ile, a small island in the Detroit River. It’s still exciting and rare for me to spot them, and I relish their grace and loveliness and intelligent soft eyes. I knew they lived in the park, but I’ve hardly ever seen one. This time, there were two. 

I haven’t been this close to one of these beauties. I was worried they might challenge me for my plants or something (again, city kid, I’m completely unfamiliar with wildlife, but ask me about cats!) but instead one of them, a female, kept munching milkweed and tall grass just outside the clearing of the garden area. Every now and again we’d look at each other for a few minutes, me delighted, her wary. She’d stare and then, flipping her tail like an irritated cat, she’d go back to her meal and I’d go back to my weeding. 
​
Since we started this garden project, I keep thinking about the idea of something sparking joy. The garden has been an unalloyed spark of joy for me on many levels. And that night, it was the joy of communing with a wild and beautiful creature, both of us engaging in our evening chores. It’s one of the things I hope I always remember, and one of the many gifts from the garden I’ve already received. 

​Amy Kuras is Research and Policy Program Manager for Detroit Food Policy Council and member of People for Palmer Park.

​"The Garden Blog: A Family Grows in Detroit" will follow one of our new garden bed renters and her family on their first bed-rental experience this season at Palmer Park.

We have harvest!!
By Amy Kuras

One thing I have learned about gardening is that a lot can happen in a little time, and sometimes there’s a lot of waiting and then bursts of frenzied activity.

​Case in point: We put in our cold crops in late April. And we waited, and waited, and worried about what to do when it was time for the hot crops to be planted when the cold crops hadn’t even begun to really take off yet. Thanks to some great advice from Molly and some surprisingly meticulous garden planning from me (let’s just say “meticulous” isn’t a character trait one typically associates with me) I figured out how to find good spots for the hot crops without crowding out the cold crops. So we planted, and watered, and hoped.  That was May 18, the first day the garden officially opened.

We had a long-standing plan to head to DC and Maryland for a family reunion the following weekend, because it was Memorial Day. I slogged through the mud to look over the garden the day we left, May 23, and was happy to see a little bit of growth in just the five days since we’d planted. We got back late the night of Memorial Day (May 27) and finally moseyed over to check the garden on Tuesday evening.

Well. Mother Nature apparently held quite a Memorial Day party because things have just exploded. The lettuce plants doubled in size, the band of lettuce seeds needed a third thinning because the seedlings were all crowding each other out, the peas and broccoli grew a good couple inches, and beans and cucumber seedlings were starting to push above ground. The beets and carrots are starting to look well established, too. Teaches me to come to the garden without anything to bring home a harvest -- I pulled up the deer netting, had my husband hold out his shirt, and began piling lettuce into it!

It’s amazing what a little sun, a lot of rain, and good soil can do.

However, not all is perfection. I’d planted Brussels sprouts down the middle of the bed, because they take a long time to mature. Unfortunately, half of them look great but half have died, as have some of my kale plants and all of my collards. It’s disappointing, but realistically I’m the only one in my family who would have eaten a bunch of it anyway. More room for juicy tomatoes and snappy beans, right?

​Amy Kuras is Research and Policy Program Manager for Detroit Food Policy Council and member of People for Palmer Park.