Dalon Kennedy, May 18th, 2024

Dalon Kennedy, May 18th, 2024

In this interview, Dalon Kennedy discusses his work with the Manistique Community Treehouse Center, and how it helps his community.

In partnership with the Manistique Community Treehouse Center

Detroit Historical Society

Detroit Historical Society

en-US

Dalon Kennedy

Dalon Kennedy is a longtime Detroit resident and recent Jefferson Chalmers resident. He has been involved with the Manistique Treehouse Center's greening efforts in his community in the past few years

Kevin Hawthorne

05/18/2024

12:29

Kevin Hawthorne: This is Kevin Hawthorne with the Detroit Historical Society interviewing for the climate change oral history. I'm here with.

Dalon Kennedy: Dalon Kennedy.

KH: All right. Thank you. Dalon can you spell your name for the record?

DK: D a l on K e n n e d y.

KH: All right. So thank you so much for being here. I'm going to ask you a couple questions. I'm going to start off with a very simple one. Do you live in the city of Detroit?

DK: Yes I do.

KH: And which neighborhood?

DK: I live in Jefferson Chalmers.

KH: And how long have you lived in this area?

DK: About a year. But I've been in this area my family has my whole life.

KH: All right. What other neighborhoods have you lived in in the city of Detroit?

DK: In the city of Detroit. So we've lived over, my grandparents live off, Schoolcraft and Wyoming. My Aunt Denise lives across.. everywhere. I've lived in a few different spots, you know.

KH: And do you work in the city of Detroit?

DK: No, I work in Troy.

KH: Work in Troy? Where do you work In Troy?

DK: Accessories in Michigan.

KH: Accessories of Michigan. And what do you do there?

DK: I'm a driver.

KH: Driving for trucks.

DK: Just trucks? Yeah. We, GM is all GM accessories.

KH: All right excellent. And so how did you get involved with the tree house organization?

DK: So Mirella moved over here, about three years ago, and I was looking for a house at the same time, but couldn't. Couldn't quite find the right one butt once she moved over here, she really got involved and I bought my house last year, and I started getting involved with her and Tammy and it's just been a building thing ever since.

KH: So what is your relationship with her?

DK: Tammy and Marella. Oh, well, Marella is my girlfriend.

KH: Your girlfriend?

DK: Yeah. My girlfriend.

KH: All right. I didn't know, I just wanted to double check. I saw you guys together, and I didn't know the relationship and thank you for clarifying that. So definitely her moving to that area, and her work with Tammy encouraged you to, like, get involved with the tree house?

DK: Yes.

KH: Excellent. And, with the tree house, can you tell me a little bit about what you think they're really doing to be able to combat climate change?

DK: So with with the planting of fresh vegetables, not only for the neighborhood and people around that come. It's it's just building the community, you know, like, awareness is the most important thing. And people have to be aware of what's actually going on in our world and Tammy puts out the information. She makes sure that people know what is going on in the city of Detroit, especially like when it came to even, AB Ford Park. You know, she's always putting out combating... just how what's the best way to say that she's combating against climate change by delivering more awareness to the city of Detroit.

KH: Because do you think, like, some people just aren't as aware of the issues just because of, like. It's.. I feel like a lot of people we've talked to, like, Tammy's been this face of, like, sometimes when you hear about climate change, it feels like it's coming from, like, this group, but like, like a like a committee. Whereas, like, Tammy is like a singular person and it makes you feel much more engaged when one person is being like, this is important.

DK: It does, it does. Because even with like the with the tree house and the solar projects, you know, it's it's the knowledge that she's giving us, you know, even as like outsiders and how she has like students and things like that coming to learn and be a part of the solar project. To me, that's yeah, that's what makes her great, because she helps not only her community build up, but she also teaches the knowledge to the students.

KH: And, the solar, efforts definitely have seemed to be some of the most popular that the tree house is, offered. Have you, gotten solar panels?

DK: Not yet, but I really want to. So the project is coming from what? We, I talked to Tammy probably about two weeks ago about it, and it's coming, and we'll hopefully we'll be able to get the battery banks with, you know, so if you can get the battery banks and the generators with the solar panels and all at a reasonable rate. Yeah. That's. Yeah.

KH: Because I believe Tammy said like she's been able to help a lot of people understand that solar panels will often are very expensive with the program can, be a lot more accessible to the average person?

DK: Yes, yes. Also, also the fact that she brought the students in to learn and be taught how to install the solar panels themselves, and she, the how to install, how to install the solar panels, how to..it was the class, about started about maybe seven weeks ago.

KH: Excellent. And what about the Tree House's flooding prevention efforts?

DK: I'm so I haven't I haven't really worked with Tammy on the flooding prevention, but I know that she's got, rain barrels and different things like that to try to combat the water going directly into the ground.

KH: And you talked a little bit earlier about the gardening. What about the other tree house greening efforts? Do you think the gardening is, the one that's been the most, community driven?

DK: To me Yeah because the garden is very, very important you know, like, it's like having the kids come out for the summer and then actually learning how to garden, learning how to take care of nature properly, you know, and watching how excited they were. Yeah just, just to be able to be out there and do it, you know, that's to me, that's that's a big thing. You got to get the kids more involved into anything if you want the future to change.

KH: Yeah. I was, I think it's interesting that the tree house seems that it is, it's attracted young old... do you think it's important to just you know, get the wider demographic, especially a lot of people who are maybe older, are not as aware as as many issues as kids, you know, who can, like, you know, are much more internet savvy.

DK: Yes, yes. So I think it's good because it does affect and hit every demographic because you'll see people out there, even people from other races and creeds, you know, they're a part of a part of this. You know, we always have Muslim people and I'm not I'm I'm not sure who they are I only see them come in the summertime. It's been two summers in a row, and they come and they're always beautiful. They're they help so much and they.. she taught me so much about how to grow greens. Like she's she showed me like she the she is an amazing lady. I don't remember her name but she would come out and she for two years in a row, she's like no, no, no you can she taught us that you can grow greens all year round you can pull them in the winter, like just take parts of them in the winter and they still continue to grow. So it's it's just a really cool thing, you know.

KH: And with the tree house, do you think this is really engaging with, I feel like what you're saying is engaging with the students and the younger it really gives like a vibrancy to the project.

DK: Yes. It's like it's international, you know, like it's it'll teach you so much and the students like, it's the joy that it brings to the people. And then it's also the joy that it brings to the community, because those areas that were full of blight now are full of beauty. You know what I mean?

KH: Yeah. So, with. Do you think the community is able to educate a lot of people through just the programs that they're doing?

DK: Yes.

KH: What would be the main ones you think are really educate the most?

DK: The solar program to me has been the main one. Just the fact that you can utilize the solar energy and the fact that they're teaching the students how to sell. They're teaching them how to install the solar program, to me is probably one of the best programs. But the gardening program also because teaching the next generation how to grow their food, just in case, you know, like you never know because they never taught us, you know, we're all learning. Yeah, I have brown thumbs until about a year I'll tell you.

KH: Absolutely. And so, it seems like you would you say the, response from the community has been positive?

DK: Yes, yes. The response from the community, everyone, everyone enjoys, you know, while they come out, they you can see the joy on people's faces, you know, especially when they put up the tent last year, Tammy had a, they had a tent party where they gave out, different, plants to everyone. Everyone who came got to take a plant home with them from lavender, rosemary, you know, time, plants and citronella. It was really, really cool. And you just, you see, the there was just the neighborhood and the community, and you see people light up, you know, like when I could take a plant with me, like, you know, and it's just bringing that joy back into the community. That's the small things that equal great leaps and bounds.

KH: Because I know some people, when they hear climate change, they kind of get scared. But do you think, like if they knew, like the good that it does for the community, they would see it differently?

DK: Yeah. Most definitely. Yeah. I don't understand why people are scared or like, scared of climate change. But like, it's it's a part of it's part of everything we got to focus on have building a better.

KH: Have there been any skeptics in the like, Jefferson Chalmers community?

DK: I'm not sure about that. I haven't heard any skeptics. Everybody's pretty aware around here. It's it's actually the community is coming together more and more and more. Yeah.

KH: Well, what would you say to someone who's a skeptic of, like, I'm not sure climate change is a problem.

DK: I would tell them to actually like, do a little bit of research and look at the Earth from 20 years ago even, and you can look at New Orleans. The flood pattern has drastically increased. You can look at the fact that the North Pole is no longer a block of ice, but a few small islands. I would say that you can even look at, so fresh water levels in Michigan and how drastically they have dropped over the few years. So climate change is is real.

KH: One especially with climate change in the city of Detroit there was a report recently saying we're called Asthma City because of the air quality. Is the air quality been something you've been worried about?

DK: Yes. So we actually if the air quality is bad on certain days, we don't we don't go outside and we like to ride our bikes through the neighborhood and things like that. We used to actually ride through the park a lot before, before they told us that the Nike missile silo was leaching into the river and things like that. So, like, it's it's a little it's interesting to me like some of the things coming about, but the fact that the change is happening still around is great.

KH: Absolutely. And if you could have one piece of the infrastructure, would it be the solar panels is the one that you would like to see installed the most of that and wind turbines. What would be the piece of infrastructure you would like to see the most installed?

DK: So being that we live in Michigan, I would say wind turbines. But I would say solar panels, anything to do with, alternative energies. Yeah.

KH: And, which one would you like to see applied to? Like the whole if the whole city of Detroit, because obviously starting at Jefferson Chalmers is incredible start. But if we could see that spread throughout the whole city, which will be the one you want to see through the whole city.

DK: Actually, I probably want to see hydro. I would say that we have canals, and those canals aren't utilized enough. You can't really get large boats through majority of them. You can only get small boats through them. So why not turn those canals into some kind of power plant for the neighborhood, for the city you know? Instead of just dismantling, you can utilize what you have. I'd say the solar would also be my second pick.

KH: Yes. All right. And is there any final things you would like to say?

DK: When it comes to climate change, we all have to be aware because the next generation are the ones we're going to have to live with our faults and our mistakes, from not being aware and paying attention to the generation before us.

KH: I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you so much for being here.

DK: Yes, sir. Thank you.