With an aim to better children's lives by teaching them useful skills—both mechanical and social—Open Roads provides a variety of after-school programs. Through simply building bikes, these students are taking steps towards a successful future.
Grand Rapids has a message for its children: Time to turn the television off. These days, the city is set on giving its younger residents plenty of reasons to abandon the TV. With a renewed focus on parks, outdoor learning labs and playgrounds, the city and its leaders aim to be at the cutting edge of reuniting children with the great outdoors.
The Grand River is certainly a fixture in our community. Yet, we don't drink its water. We don't dip our feet in it. And many of us have never even stood close enough to its banks to even get wet. Now, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and the city of Grand Rapids aim to change our access to the river with ambitious plans for an extensive network of trails near the water.
While many ArtPrize pieces are here for just a matter of weeks, others become permanent pieces of Grand Rapids. Where are these works now, and how have they influenced the artistic conversation in the city?
In two weeks, more than 1,000 volunteers will congregate at the Sixth Street Bridge Park to clean up the riverbank, gathering with a community that, for years, has worked to improve the Grand River. Before the Mayors' Grand River Cleanup, Rapid Growth explores the increasingly popular event's history, and what it means for the future of the body of water that gave our city its name.
Tulips, you may soon be sharing the limelight with bicycles. With almost 200 miles of trails in the greater Holland area, and plans for even more, city officials, volunteers and dedicated citizens are working together to continue making the area a major destination for cyclists.
You see it happening throughout our city, country and world: consumers trading in mass-produced goods in favor of hand-crafted, local items. From handbags to tables, silverware to sunglasses, products made by one person from design to completion are catching on proverbial fire and providing local artists with a platform for their creativity. Here in Grand Rapids, wood and leather goods are experiencing a resurgence as residents dedicate themselves to craftsmanship and the local economy.
From recovering after cancer to coping with divorce, these three women from the West Michigan Trails and Greenways Coalition have discovered running is about far more than just physical exercise. On West Michigan's trails, they've found camaraderie, confidence and a whole lot more.
The children of Michigan's migrant workers face wide-ranging and severe challenges: working alongside their parents in the hot summer sun, being exposed to dangerous chemicals, feeling isolated and vulnerable because of seasonal travel, and gaps in education. To support these children and their families, many West Michigan nonprofits are providing services geared toward youth education, medical and dental health, daycare, and more.
With nature centers, restaurants and even art installations, West Michigan's trails are becoming diverse pathways with unique destinations around every corner.
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