Mark Maynard | Michigan Avenue

The Seed Bombing of Water Street will happen on May 1

By Mark | April 13, 2013

On Thursday evening, the Ypsilanti Parks and Recreation Commission met, and considered our proposal to adopt an acre of Water Street right alongside Michigan Avenue, just west of South River Street. I don’t think it will be official until Monday, but the members present agreed unanimously with the project as I explained it. So, it […]

Posted in Agriculture, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged adopt a park, Bill Schneider, bio-remediatin, Black Eyed Susan, brownfield, call to action, Canada Wild Rye, catapults, Common Evening Primrose, Common Milkweed, Dairy Queen, ecology, flowers, forbs, grasses, Indian Grass, invasive species, Jason Tallant, native plants, remediation, River Street, Sand Tickseed, seed bombing, slingshots, spotted knapweed, trebuchet, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project, Wildtype, Yarrow, Ypsilanti Parks and Recreation Commission | 41 Comments

The seed bombing of Water Street… Who’s in?

By Mark | April 6, 2013

Since we last spoke about the idea of seed bombing Water Street, quite a bit has happened. Most notably, I’ve been in discussions with representatives of the City, as well as various people in the community who profess to know a thing or two about native plant species, bio-remediation, landscaping, and the like. What follow […]

Posted in Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged bees, brownfields, buckthorn, call to action, garlic mustard, guerilla bio-remediation, industrial waste, invasive species, Jesse Tack, Lisa Bashert, May Day, Michigan Botanical Club, MSU Extension Service, myco inoculant, native plants, nectar, seed bombing, teraforming, Teresa Gillotti, toxic environment, trees, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project, Water Street tree farm, Whole Culture Repair, Wildtype | 24 Comments

1,000 seed bombs for Water Street!

By Mark | March 31, 2013

As I was walking my dog around Ypsilanti’s 38-acres of depressingly-barren downtown real estate known as Water Street yesterday morning, it occurred to me that it might be fun to pick a day sometime soon and encourage everyone in Ypsilanti to come out and plant sunflower seeds together. And, in a fit of inspiration, I […]

Posted in Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged brownfield, commons, flowers, gardening, gorilla gardening, guerilla bio-remediation, Lisa Waud, phytoremediation, Pot and Box, seed, seed bombing, seedbombs, slingshots, sunflowers, teraforming, toxic waste, trebuchets, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project, wildflowers | 39 Comments

David Landrum on the launch of Two James…. the first distillery in Detroit since Prohibition

By Mark | January 31, 2013

As you may have heard, a new distillery will soon be opening in the Corktown section of Detroit, not too far from where our friend Lisa Waud will be opening the new flower shop I told you about a few days ago. From what I’m told, it will be the first legal distillery to operate […]

Posted in Detroit, Food, Local Business, Locally Owned Business | Also tagged absinthe, Acetaldehyde, Acetone, American Liquor Company, bootlegging, bourbon, Cafe Felix, Calvados, Camp James, Canada, Chattanooga, cider vinegar, cocktails, Colorado, Corktown, Corktown 500, David Landrum, David Pickerell, Detroit River, Distilled Spirits Producer, Dry Fly, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurship, Ethanol, Farm to Bottle, Fred McLaren, Frederick Myll Co., George Washington, Hiram Walker, Lake St. Clair, Leopold Brothers, liquor, Lisa Waud, Makers Mark, martinis, Mercury Bar, Methanol, Milk & Honey, Mount Vernon, Peter Bailey, Phyllis Diller, Portland, Pot and Box, prohibition, Purple Gang, Robinson and Aronheim, Rodney Dangerfield, rye whiskey, Sasha Petraske, scotch, smuggling, St. Clair River, Stone House, Thornsby, Todd Leopold, Two James Distillery, Volstead Act, Washington State, whiskey | 20 Comments

Lisa Waud on her plans to expand Ann Arbor’s Pot & Box into the thriving entrepreneurial hotbed that is Detroit’s Corktown

By Mark | January 17, 2013

A few days ago, Linete and I foud ourselves in Detroit, without kids, poking around Corktown. The plan was to get something warm to drink at Astro Coffee, but it looked too crowded. Linette peaked in, through one of the fogged-up windows, to see if there was space for me. (She can fit most anywhere. […]