Last updated: September 2024
The Sacred Heart Church, a historical landmark in Detroit's Eastern Market since 1875, faced persistent stormwater and surface flooding issues. The church's parking lot, once marked by cracked concrete and stagnant water, has been transformed through an innovative Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) retrofit. GSI leverages natural processes to manage stormwater, using plants to absorb, retain, and slow runoff. This retrofit, a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and the parish, stands as one of Detroit's largest GSI projects at a faith-based institution. By introducing bioretention gardens filled with native plants, the project manages runoff from 1.4 acres of impervious surfaces and diverts 1.5 million gallons of water annually from the sewer system. This green space not only mitigates flooding and reduces combined sewer overflows (CSOs) but also provides a cooling effect, enhances community recreation, and significantly cuts the parish's drainage charges by 49%.(Ref.1,2,3)
Sacred Heart2
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/michigan/stories-in-michigan/demonstrating-success/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Green areas for water management
- Rain gardens
- Swales and filter strips
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Green parking lots
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Sense of community and community engagement
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation)
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of any other green urban spaces, Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Implementation of green areas for water management (e.g. rain gardens), Strategy, plan or policy development, Community-based programs (e.g. "Green Your Laneway Program")
Project objectives
1. Effectively control and manage stormwater runoff on the church property to reduce flooding and drainage issues. The GSI retrofit aims to manage an estimated 1.1 million gallons of stormwater annually, directly addressing the challenges posed by increased precipitation and urban flooding (Ref.2, 4).
2. Enhance the local environment by implementing bioretention gardens with native plants that support biodiversity and can provide cooling and address urban heat (Ref. 1)
3. Transform and beautify the church grounds, making it a more pleasant and aesthetically appealing space for the community.
4. Increase community awareness and understanding of GSI and its numerous benefits through active engagement and educational efforts. The project’s beautification efforts, coupled with educational initiatives, aim to foster community pride and engagement, enhancing the overall quality of life for the parish-goers (Ref.2,3,4).
5. Significantly lower the church's drainage charges by managing stormwater
Implementation activities
From May to June 2018, a site investigation was conducted to assess the conditions of the parking lot. The design phase followed from June 2018 to May 2019, during which a blueprint for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) was developed. Funding for the project was secured through a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
Construction took place from May to August 2019, installing the key GSI elements ( plants, trees, and permeable surfaces to help capture and slow stormwater runoff), while landscaping was finalized in August and September 2019 with the completion of bioretention gardens, featuring native plants and greenspace. Community engagement efforts led to the formation of the Sacred Heart Church Garden Club, and real-time data collection was implemented to monitor the GSI's performance. Educational outreach was also conducted to raise awareness about the benefits of GSI.
(Ref. 2, 3).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
- Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
- Other
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Deliberative decision-making processes (e.g., consensus building, deliberative polling)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Nature Conservancy (TNC):Lead organization managing the project. Secured funding, conducted site assessments, designed the GSI blueprint, oversaw construction, and managed community outreach and performance monitoring.
Sacred Heart Church: provision of land.
Sacred Heart Church Congregation: Primary beneficiaries and active participants. Formed the Sacred Heart Church Garden Club to maintain the GSI facilities, participated in educational outreach, and engaged in community activities fostered by the project.
Constructors - SmithGroup: Implementation of the GSI elements. Executed the physical installation of bioretention gardens and other GSI features during the construction phase.
Project founders: Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and EDT Foundation.
(Ref.2, 3,8)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(ORDINANCE NO. 2020-43, Post-Construction Stormwater Ordinance - Detroit, first approved in 2018 and revised in 2020 (Ref.7))
Type of enablers
Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Private Foundation/Trust
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Other
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved stormwater management
- Achieved improved stormwater management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Expected enhanced support of pollination
Economic impacts
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Achieved generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Other
Socio-cultural impacts
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Achieved improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Achieved increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Achieved increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Bozick, J. (2021). Slowing Stormwater And Preventing Flooding In Eastern Market. Detroit: Detroitisit, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
2.
The Nature Conservancy (2018). Green Infrastructure at Sacred Heart Church. Detroit: Accessed on August 6, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Detroit Stormwater Hub (2021). Sacred Heart Church Parking Lot GSI Retrofit. Detroit: Accessed on August 6, 2024, [Source link];
4.
The Nature Conservancy (2023). The Heart of Green Stormwater Infrastructure. Detroit: Accessed on August 6, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Restuccia, E. (2020). Detroit's Sacred Heart Church turns over new leaf with green stormwater project. Detroit: Detroit Catholic, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Lugo-Thomas, A. (2022). Sacred Heart Catholic Church congregation gathers to celebrate green stormwater project. Detroit: Planet Detroit, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation (n.d.). Grant for The Nature Conservancy by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation . Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Sacred Heart Detroit (n.d.). About Us - Sacred Heart Catholic Church…The Mother Church of Black Catholics in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Eastern Market Partnership (2020). Stormwater Management Network Plan. Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
Sacred Heart1
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/michigan/stories-in-michigan/demonstrating-success/
Community engagement
TNC/Melissa Molenda
Before and after GSI parking lot retrofit
TNC
Sacred Heart Church Parking Lot Project
TNC
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.