News & Notes - 5/24/23 Eastsider

Urban Seed to teach about growing food
EASTPOINTE — Justine Smith will give a presentation about Urban Seed at 6:30 p.m. May 25 at the Eastpointe Memorial Library, located at 15875 Oak Ave.

Smith, a board member of the Eastpointe Community Garden, will be joined by Katie Donnelly and Peggy DiMercurio. Urban Seed is a concept that helps promote all of Michigan’s urban gardens, including the Eastpointe Community Garden.

With a desire to help others, Smith wants to teach people how to grow their own food. During the presentation, Smith, Donnelly and DiMercurio will talk about common garden topics, with an interactive PowerPoint presentation and display of a few plants.

“Our hope is to educate people about the ease of beginner food sustainability by growing a small garden at their home, or by contributing to a local community garden such as the (Eastpointe Garden),” Smith said in an email. “We would love to see people of all ages attend this educational talk and be able to collaborate with like-minded folks who may have tips and tricks of their own from their own experiences.”

This season, the Eastpointe Community Garden has expanded its “Giving Garden” beds by an additional 24 raised beds in an effort to triple its food production for donation to its local food pantry/church kitchen. Members also restructured its community beds for easy access to the public, with hopes it will attract new volunteers and renters.

For more information, call the library at (586) 445-5096.

 

Memorial Day parades to take place Monday
ROSEVILLE/EASTPOINTE — The city of Roseville’s Memorial Day parade will be held at 10 a.m. May 29. The parade will begin at Roseville High School, 17855 Common Road, and travel east on Common to City Hall. A ceremony will be held immediately afterward.

The city of Eastpointe’s Memorial Day parade will begin at 11 a.m. May 29. It will begin at the Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society, located at 16600 Stephens Road, and travel to Spindler Park, 19400 Stephens. There will be a picnic and ceremony after the parade.

Memorial Day is observed on May 29 this year.

 

Summer courses to teach young adults life skills
MACOMB COUNTY — Michigan State University Extension is offering Adulting 101 this spring and summer.

The educational programs are designed for high school students and young adults. Each class teaches life skills and tools to live independently, with different topics planned for each month taught by experienced MSU Extension educators and 4-H volunteers.

“How to Buy a Car” will be held at 4 p.m. June 8.

“Sew What! Clothing Care saves Cash” will be held at 1 p.m. July 13.

“Eating Healthy on a Budget” will be held at 1 p.m. Aug. 16.

Register at canr.msu.edu/events/adult101s23. For more information, contact Macomb County MSU Extension educator Kathy Jamieson at jamies13@msu.edu.

 

AAA predicts 1 million Michiganders to travel Memorial Day weekend
DEARBORN — According to AAA’s 2023 Memorial Day Travel Forecast, Michigan residents will travel in numbers just shy of pre-pandemic levels during the Memorial Day weekend.

It’s estimated that 1.2 million Michiganders will journey 50 miles or more this holiday weekend. That’s 79,000 more than last year and just 36,000 less than before the pandemic, in 2019.

Michigan travel numbers are set to reach the third-highest in overall travel, just behind 2018 and 2019. An estimated 1.1 million Michigan residents will drive, which is 62,000 more than last year. Meanwhile, 66,000 are forecast to fly, which is 7,000 more passengers than last year’s holiday.

The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as the five-day period from May 25 to 29. The five-day holiday length is consistent with previous holiday periods.

According to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, May 26 will be the busiest day on the roads. The best times to travel by car during the holiday weekend will be in the morning or evening after 6 p.m. The lightest traffic days will be Saturday and Sunday. To avoid congestion, INRIX suggests driving during non-peak hours or using alternative routes.

 

To bee or not to bee
MICHIGAN — In observance of World Bee Day on May 20, Lawn Love ranked 2023’s best states for beekeeping. Michigan ranked No. 11.

According to the study, Michigan was 12th in the number of honey-producing colonies and 10th in value of honey production. The data also reveal that the state ranked fourth in number of honey suppliers and sixth in the number of apiculture classes. Apiculture is generally the scientific method of rearing honeybees.

To come up with the rankings, Lawn Love compared 39 of the 50 states with available data based on the four categories, among 15 total metrics. Lawn Love offers lawn care service nationwide.