Gretchen Abrams, July 17th, 2024

Gretchen Abrams, July 17th, 2024

Gretchen Abrams shares her history of involvement with the Detroit Bird Alliance and its conservation efforts, as well as how these efforts are affected by climate change.

Detroit Historical Society

Detroit Historical Society

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Gretchen Abrams

Gretchen Abrams has been the Executive Director of Detroit Bird Alliance since 2022. She lives in Ferndale, Michigan

Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo

7/17/2024

16:32

Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo: I'm Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo. It's July 17th, 2024, and I'm here with, please say your name.

Gretchen Abrams: Gretchen Abrams.

DLT: Can you please spell your name?

GA: Sure. Gretchen is G r e t c h e n. Abrams is A b r a m s.

DLT: Do you live in the city of Detroit?

GA: I do not.

DLT: Where do you live?

GA: I live in Ferndale.

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

GA: I do.

DLT: What organization do you work for?

GA: I work for Detroit Bird Alliance.

DLT: How long have you been involved with Detroit Bird Alliance?

GA: Two years.

DLT: How'd you get started with that?

GA: I had a great connection with a board member on some bird advocacy and bird celebration work, at a former place of employment where I used to work before. Her name is Rosann Kovalcik. And she turned me on to the organization and the position that I hold, actually, of executive director. So through birds, I actually got connected to Detroit Bird Alliance. Shocking, I know, but that's it.

DLT: Can you please spell the name of the person who connected you?

GA: Possibly. Rosann is R o s a n n, and last name is K o v a l c i k.

DLT: All right, thank you. And would you say that the Detroit Bird Alliance is impacted by climate change?

GA: Absolutely.

DLT: And what does that impact look like?

GA: I mean, climate change is the number one factor contributing to bird decline. We've lost one third of all bird species in North America in the last fifty years. Three billion birds. And climate change is the number one factor in that.

DLT: And have you personally noticed these impacts on your own life? Have you noticed fewer birds around in Detroit?

GA: Well. Bird decline is across the Americas for sure. Our focus has really been on watching birds increase in the past couple of years, honestly, in our areas where we're focusing our projects like Detroit Bird City. But climate change has definitely impacted me personally in ways that I notice, like flooding in my neighborhood from the storms. Again, as Diane [Cheklich] mentioned, the wildfires. I think we are all impacted by climate change in some way. I have air conditioning units that I put in my 100-year-old home in Ferndale, and I can track the dates of when I put them in from, you know, July in the early years to now at the end of May. So the summers are just hotter and hotter, where I need those units more. So personally, I can attest to that in ways that have impacted my life. Versus bird counts on my own, I rely on the data from the scientists for that.

DLT: And are there any particular years that you noticed the stormwater being worse than Ferndale?

GA: I think we had kayaks in the streets in 2014 and ‘18. [Laughs] We were kayaking in the streets from, not only the storms, but the lack of the infrastructure to handle that stormwater anymore, and there has been a complete restructure of that to try to better manage that. But, for a couple of years we've kayaked in the streets. Not me personally, but, you know, neighbors and kids.

DLT: And besides the restructuring, have there been any other lasting impacts of these large stormwater events?

GA: In Ferndale? For me, not so much. My neighbors have had, I mean, they've had to redo their entire basements. And then I think there's always this constant going fear with storms coming. Is it going to happen again, even though we know the infrastructure has been repaired? You're just worried about that again as it upturns your life, having to pump out your basements, lose property and then rebuild.

DLT: And do you feel that combating or alleviating the effects of climate change is an important part of your work?

GA: Yes, absolutely. I think it's central to the work. In fact, we are one of 400 affiliates of the National Audubon organization, and that is the primary focus of National Audubon at a national level, of advocacy and lobbying for climate change legislation and action from its membership, supporting all kinds of legislation, from solar energy packages to new building code: the clean energy LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] building regulations and that kind of thing. And renewing the, you know, various endangered species acts and making sure those all stay protected, and wetlands protection. Not just here locally in Michigan, but nationwide. Because we know those kinds of things will only help birds, and we need to keep those in place because of climate change.

DLT: And then your position at the Detroit Bird Alliance. What does your work on alleviating or combating climate change look like personally?

GA: Well, the work we do is collaborative, and not personal, I'll just add that. And really, the Detroit Bird City project was the primary reason I signed up to join this organization. I am immensely proud of this initiative. This is an incredible way to combat climate change on a really local level in a city that has so much opportunity to do so and take back its turf grass, land, and turn it into something beneficial for every living being. So that is a huge part of what we do here. That directly, I think, is related to climate change for sure, with all of the reasons that native plants and wildlife habitats are better for the environment than not having that.

DLT: And what about Detroit gives it this potential on the local level?

GA: Well, Detroit has 19mi² of vacant land, and a huge opportunity, as a city, to be a model for other cities and what you can do when you have a landscape like that. The depopulation has left us with vacant land, but it also can be viewed as an opportunity to [Laughs] redefine what that could look like for, you know, a renaissance of a city like this and the post-industrial age. So the opportunity to be a model to not only the nation but the world of creating landscape, restoring it in a way that benefits, again, people and animals and plants, is a really unique opportunity we have here in Detroit.

DLT: And can you talk a little bit more about the Detroit Bird City project?

GA: Sure. The Detroit Bird City project, again, is the number one way that we combat climate change as an organization, where we work with the city parks and recreation department, we work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Michigan State University, and countless neighborhood organizations where these parks impact the people that live in those neighborhoods, to turn underused parks into a viable, beautiful space for all creatures. And people, too, with the focus on restoring them for bird habitat, but also with intentionality so that humans are aware and welcome and feel like it is a space created for them as well, with the way that we create paths and benches and interpretive signage. Detroit Bird City was started with what, eight to twelve acres? And then, after this year, we'll have almost fifty. And it's just growing exponentially, as this has really become embraced by the city. It's a great way to, you know, benefit to the city, right? Who has 300 city parks in a city built for two million people, that only houses about 600,000 now. And so how do we best maintain those parks for as little cost as possible, without all of that revenue we once had generated by property taxes? When those houses aren't there anymore, they're empty properties. So, it saves the city money and they have less mowing and less maintenance, but yet still creates a great space for people to enjoy their neighborhood park, creates bird habitat so they can thrive and multiply, we hope. And then, you know, the environmental impact as well, with native plants and deep roots and carbon sequestration. Sequestration. I can't say that word. [Laughs] Apologies. And helping mitigate flooding. Those are the kinds of things that we try to share each and every time we're engaged in a new community and want to expand the Detroit Bird City initiative.

DLT: And are there any of the neighborhood organizations that have worked on this project that you'd want to mention here?

GA: Oh gosh, I do fear leaving too many people out. The Urban Neighborhood Initiative, the Arboretum Detroit, the Woodbridge Neighborhood Association, the People for Palmer Park. Oh my gosh, there’s so many. Detroit Hives is our partner currently, they're not a neighborhood organization, but, Diane, you want to put some in the chat? Oh, East Ferry Warren Neighborhood Organization. Did you just write that? [Laughs] Sorry. Yeah, so we— There are so many.

DLT: And have you been involved in the Detroit Bird Alliance's work on Belle Isle?

GA: Well, the Detroit Bird Alliance has been a conservation nonprofit for 85 years, we’re celebrating our 85th birthday. And the advocacy work that we have done over 85 years, in part, over those decades, we have contributed to research, advocacy, field trips, programs, community engagement on Belle Isle, in some capacity, for a very long time. So personally, for me, the work that we are currently doing there is more about advocacy to keep the Grand Prix off of Belle Isle. And then also to help restore areas of land that may look like a meadow to the average person's eye, but could use a little help with more diverse plantings. And we're looking to do that. We've also installed a bluebird trail, just to help bring attention to the birds that do live in this meadow habitat, and provide a space for them as well and do some monitoring. We've monitored tern colonies over the years. We do field trips there so many times. If there is a nesting pair of eagles, we are knowing about it, sharing about it, so on and so forth. So it really has varied over, I mean, 85 years is a very long time. [Laughs] So we've definitely, it's been central to our work in some capacity for that duration.

DLT: And what do you feel that the community response has been to all of these different public efforts?

GA: The response is really overwhelmingly positive. I find it to be inspiring, too, that residents who live next to Detroit Bird City parks want to do the same in their next door lot, maybe buy a lot next to them, or two lots next to them and create a space like that to sort of engage that space rather than just letting it sit or have to worry about dumping. We notice that with these Detroit Bird City parks, when they're engaged and intentional, they don't look like a vacant lot where someone might do something like, you know, dump garbage. And other residents have embraced the beauty that is these bird meadows. So, the response is really incredible. And we've actually kind of just dubbed it this, a bit of a meadow movement in Detroit. We have a huge list of residents and smaller neighborhood and community organizations and farms that kind of want to do it, too. They're like, how do I, what can I do with this quarter acre next to my farm? Or, the street across from us, the entire block is vacant land, and we want to do something with that as a neighborhood. So people are gathering together to try to sort of recreate what we're doing with Detroit Bird City. And we're [Laughs] 100% excited about that as well.

DLT: Are there any other current initiatives that you'd want to mention?

GA: I think the other initiative that we'd like to share as Detroit Bird Alliance is, as we see the city just in this amazing renaissance era, [Laughs] you know, renewal and new building, just to remind everyone in our work and at large that we have a unique position geographically, as we lie on where two flyways converge. These are superhighways in the sky for migratory birds. So millions and millions of birds fly over our city twice a year. And I think we have a unique obligation to protect them, as best we can. And with that, I mean, when we're building new buildings in our beautiful city, that we keep in mind the birds as they're using this path, this is their path, and we want to make it as safe for them as possible. So thinking about bird-friendly building codes, lights out during migratory season to protect them so they're not disoriented. So for us, those are two big initiatives that will really help save birds in the end: Detroit Bird City and Lights Out.

DLT: And was there anything else you wanted to discuss that none of my questions have brought up?

GA: I think we're good. Just to clarify, our two biggest initiatives are our Detroit Bird City, our meadow restoration, and then our safe passage or safe flight initiatives for birds as they migrate through our city!

DLT: All right. Thank you very much for your time.

GA: Yeah. Thanks for having us. Take care.