General Motor’s vehicle chief engineer and vehicle line director for small cars starts urban gardens

Joaquin Nuño-Whelan – Green Place Detroit

Excerpt:

We recently met with Joaquin early on a Saturday morning. The sun was still low in the sky as Joaquin, a handful of people from his team at GM, and his young daughter and son harvested potatoes, melons, parsley and more from their urban garden. He explained, “We were tired of the negativity around Detroit, and what people were saying about the city and the auto industry. And over lunch and after work over some drinks, we got together with the core group of guys that I work with and said ‘Let’s do something about it, let’s set an example.’ And we started a nonprofit called Green Place Detroit.”

The group got together and took over two lots on Rademacher Street in southwest Detroit, near where Joaquin’s grandmother still lives. Where two burned out houses previously stood is now a garden that provides produce for the neighbors and a learning experience for students at the nearby Cesar Chavez Middle School.

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