Welcome to The GreenWays Initiative

Resources and Past Events

Past Events

GreenWays Initiative Green Forum IV:
Storytelling and Placemaking for Greenways and Communities

On October 5, 2005 the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan hosted the fourth annual GreenWays Green Forum at the New Detroit Science Center. This year's Forum focused on Storytelling and Placemaking for Greenways and Communities. The Green Forum featured two national speakers. Andy Goodman, a communications consultant, talked about the importance of storytelling as a method of effectively communicating your organizations message. Fred Kent, President of Project for Public Spaces talked about using Placemaking as a tool to reshape public spaces, and the role Placemaking can have in greenways design and development. Information on each of the featured presenters is below.

Using Storytelling as Best Practice
Andy Goodman, Communications Consultant
Every trail or greenway has a story; learning to tell yours will help you to engage your local community, your board of trustees, and potential funders. Telling stories helps us understand ourselves, bond with friends, and enter larger communities, but as professionals we tend to relegate storytelling to a place outside of work. Learn how this uniquely powerful communications tool can help you build support for your greenways efforts.

Placemaking
Fred Kent, President, Project for Public Spaces
Placemaking is a tool that allows diverse constituencies to identify how a public space can be reshaped to make it a welcome, well-functioning and attractive place for people. Improvements to public spaces should reflect community values and needs. The public involvement process that defines and responds to community conditions and needs from the outset is one of the most critical factors in achieving a public space that is truly sensitive to its context.

GreenWays Funders Workshop

On August 9, 2005 the GreenWays Initiative held its third GreenWays Funders Workshop. The event brought together 10 different funding sources for trails and greenways projects. Over 225 communities and non-profit organizations attended to learn about funding for their projects. A list of the funding agencies and their Web sites is below. You will also find below copies of all of the PowerPoint presentations made by each of the funders. They contain valuable information on the various programs including the types of grants awarded, who is eligible to apply, and how much funding is available.

RESOURCES for the 2005 GreenWays Funders Workshop

There are still Resource Guides available from the Funders Workshop. If you would like to receive a copy of the Resource Guide, please e-mail Sue Weckerle at sweckerle@cfsem.org with your mailing address.

GreenWays Initiative Wayfinding and Branding Workshop

On January 20, 2005 the GreenWays Initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan held a Wayfinding and Branding Workshop at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. Featured speakers at the workshop included: Patricia Mooradian, Chief Operating Officer of The Henry Ford; Mae Skidmore, President of Skidmore Inc.; Sue M. Pridemore, Partnerships-Area Heritage Coordinator of the National Park Service; Mark Pischea, Executive Director of Motor Cities National Heritage Area; Chuck Flink, President of Greenways Incorporated; Kelly Deines, Associate & Interior Design Director, Rossetti; and Brian Tolly, Graphic Design Director, Rossetti.

AGENDA from the Wayfinding and Branding Workshop (Adobe PDF document).

INVITATION from the Wayfinding and Branding Workshop (Adobe PDF document).

Note: There are Resource Guides and Wayside Companion documents still available from this workshop. If you would like to receive a copy of the Resource Guide or the GreenWays Wayside Companion, please e-mail Sue Weckerle(sweckerle@cfsem.org) or call (313) 961-6675.

Green Forum III
Green Infrastructure: Bringing the Region Together

On May 19, 2004 the GreenWays Initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan hosted our third annual Green Forum titled: Green Infrastructure: Bringing the Region Together. The Green Forum III featured guests from Denver, Minneapolis and Indianapolis who shared with the audience how successful greenways programs have been created in their cities. The Green Forum III also featured presentations from 4 Great Outdoors grantees on the progress of their projects throughout the region.

Guest speakers at the Green Forum III included: Chuck Flink, President, Greenways Incorporated; Ray Irvin, Greenways Administrator, Indy Parks (Indianapolis); Bob Searns, Principal, Urban Edges Inc. (Denver); and Tim Springer, Director, Midtown Greenway Coalition (Minneapolis). Great Outdoors representatives included: Kathryn Savoie, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services; Rebecca Salminen Witt, The Greening of Detroit; Christian Overland, The Henry Ford; and Lisa Raycraft, Girl Scouts of the Huron Valley Council.

Note: There are still Green Forum III Resource Binders available for those interested. The binder contains information on GreenWays Initiative Grantees and information on other greenway programs around the country, as well as copies of all presentations made at the Forum. To request a copy of the resource binder, send an e-mail to Sue Weckerle , or call (313) 961-6675.

AGENDA from the Green Forum III (in Adobe PDF format)

The Funders Workshop 2003
August 27, 2003

On August 27, 2003 the GreenWays Initaitive of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan hosted our second Funders Workshop, and event that brought together representatives from 10 different public and private funding sources to present information about their various programs. A list of the funding sources represented and links to their Web sites is below. You will also find below copies of the PowerPoint presentations made by each of the fund representatives. They contain valuable information on the various programs including the types of grants awarded, who is eligible to apply, and how much funding is available.

RESOURCES for the Funders Workshop 2003

Download a list of names and addresses of Potential Funding Sources for Trails and Greenways (Adobe PDF Document)

PowerPoint presentations: Note: The PowerPoint Presentations listed here are very large files. When prompted, we recommend you download (save) them to your own computer rather than try to open them directly from this site.

General Session Presentations

PowerPoint Presentation by William Rustem of Public Sector Consultants (www.pscinc.com): Final Report of the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council

PowerPoint Presentation by Mark Coscarelli of Public Sector Consultants: Effective Grantwriting Strategies

Funding Organization PowerPoint Presentations and Web sites

The Green Forum II: Healthy Communities, Healthy People
April 16, 2003

On April 16, 2003, the GreenWays Initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan hosted the second annual Green Forum: Green Forum II: Healthy Communities, Healthy People. Recent studies have shown that walking and bicycling can yield substantial health benefits. The goal of the Green Forum II, which wat attended by over 220 people, was to show how greenways can provide opportunities for people to connect with each other and with their communities while improving their health. Speakers at the Green Forum II included: Mark Fenton, Physical Activity Program Manager for the University of North Carolina Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center; Richard Killingsworth, Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living by Design National Program Office; and Anita Twardesky, Co-Chair of the Downriver Linked Greenways Initiative and Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Woodhaven in Michigan.

RESOURCES from the Green Forum II

Note: There are still Green Forum II Resource Binders available for those interested. The binder contains information on GreenWays Initiative Grantees, articles on health and greenways, and copies of all PowerPoint presentations made at the event. To request a copy of the Resource Binder, send an e-mail to Sue Weckerle or call (313) 961-6675.

AGENDA from the Green Forum II (in Adobe PDF format)

The PowerPoint Presentations listed here are very large files. When prompted, we recommend you download (save) them to your own computer rather than try to open them directly from this site.

PowerPoint Presentation by Mark Fenton (a.m.): "Learning to Communicate: The Many Languages of... You Know... Whatever You Call It"

PowerPoint Presentation by Richard Killingsworth: "Creating Activity Friendly Places for Healthier People: Why Community Design is Important to Public Health"

PowerPoint Presentation by Anita Twardesky: "Greenways: Connecting People and Places; The Benefits of Community Partnerships"

PowerPoint Presentation by Mark Fenton (p.m.): "Overcoming the One Million Year Problem"

Mark Fenton's Neighborhood Walkability Checklist (in Adobe PDF format)

Questions and Answers: This Adobe PDF document contains answers to the questions asked of the GreenWays Initiative and the Community Foundation on 3 x 5 cards at the Green Forum.

The Green Forum
April 16, 2002

On April 16, 2002, over 200 individuals interested in greenways came together to celebrate greenways developments taking place in southeast Michigan. Hosted by the GreenWays Initiative, the Green Forum was a day of education and celebration. The day started with the announcement of $951,800 in GreenWays Initiative grants (for more information about grants, see the Grantees section of this web site). It included a presentation about the changing landscape of the region and the state, followed by presentations about the economic benefits of greenways, construction considerations for greenways, and the importance of community support. The Green Forum is part of the education and outreach component of the GreenWays Initiative.

To download an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the AGENDA for the April 16, 2002 Green Forum, click here.

The Funders Workshop
August 1, 2001

On August 1, 2001, the GreenWays Initiative brought together representatives of seven different public agencies who outlined the ten different public funds administered by their agencies. These funds - the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, Michigan Department of Transportation TEA-21 program, and others - all award grants that can be used for greenways-related planning and construction. The Funders Workshop was attended by over 200 individuals representing organizations and agencies that may apply for GreenWays Initiative grants.

In addition to awarding grants, the GreenWays Initiative sponsors events, such as the Funders Workshop, that build the capacity of organizations and agencies responsible for greenways planning and development, and help identify resources to assist in that planning and development. Additional events providing organizational development are planned for the future.

To download an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the AGENDA from the August 1, 2001 Public Funders Workshop, click here.

These documents are in Adobe Acrobat format. To download Adobe Acrobat Reader click the button to the right.