St. Patrick's Day in America

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Detroit - Photo by Frank Nemecek

St. Patrick's Day.

Here in America, St. Patrick's Day has become a holiday where we celebrate Irish heritage - regardless of whether or not one is of Irish decent - with Czech and German beers as well as food first cooked by a Jewish guy. All of which is done on the feast day of a saint who was born in Scotland to Italian parents.

And that, I believe, says a lot about the Irish American experience.

It all started on the Emerald Island. However, it has been heavily influenced by everyone that the Irish have encountered along the way.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! As someone whose family traces its roots, at least in part, back to Ireland, I hope you have a blast no matter how you celebrate it or with whom.

Volunteers needed for Rouge Park water quality testing

The Friends of Rouge Park are looking for volunteers to assist in leading 4th-8th-grade students. No experience is necessary; all information will be provided.

The Greening of Detroit's Our LAND Program will take 10 Detroit Public School classes, grades 4th - 8th, to test water quality at Rouge Park.  

Field trips are from 9:30 am-1:30 pm for the dates below.  The first groups are a high priority because more help is needed. However, any and all dates that volunteers are available for will be extremely helpful.

The priority dates, with the highest need for volunteers, are:

• Friday, March 27;
• Monday, March 30;
• Tuesday, March 31; and
• Wednesday, April 1.

Volunteers are also needed on:

• Thursday, March 19;
• Friday, March 20;
• Tuesday, March 24;
• Wednesday, March 25; and
• Thursday, March 26.

Volunteers will need to be able to pass a background check.  Interested volunteers can contact Jac by emailing Jentringer [at] greeningofdetroit [dot] com. One may also leave a message at (313) 285-2253.