Growing

To the Editor:

I am a student of Plymouth High School, and have been given the opportunity to evaluate the city of Plymouth’s “Green Grade.” This grade (A through D) is given by balancing what I find to be good ecological, or “green” qualities, against the ones that need to be improved or modified.

In my opinion, Plymouth gets a B. This is because I found that Plymouth has many good ecological qualities, but some can be improved to make the city of Plymouth a healthier, and “greener” city. Let me begin with the good qualities:

Plymouth has been growing over the past years with new neighborhoods. What I found to be a good quality would be that many of the new neighborhoods have been putting in sidewalks and bike lanes to encourage the residents of the new neighborhoods to use non-motorized vehicles to get to their destinations. This could not only make the air around us less polluted, but it would also save the neighborhood residents money, and it would make them healthier at the same time.

The second quality would be that Plymouth residents have planted trees in recently built neighborhoods. This provides homes for birds and other wildlife. Each home may have a different assortment of plants, which increases wildlife diversity. Homeowners are also likely to invest in a bird feeder, which will attract songbirds to the area.

The next positive quality of Plymouth would be the prairie restoration by Riverview Middle School. This land has been restored to what it may have been naturally. Now it acts as a natural “buffer zone” so that the geese stay close to the water’s edge and do not stray into the road or river walkway. This not only helps to eliminate the amount of droppings from the geese, it also helps to keep the geese safe.

The last positive quality that I will mention is that Plymouth has restored parks to be more ecologically functional and have more aesthetic values. The dam in Meyer Park has been removed, allowing the river to flow freely and naturally and the floodplain to be restored. There is also now a Frisbee-Golf course in the park. This encourages ecologically friendly out-of-doors activities.

On to the ecological qualities of Plymouth that have room for improvement. The first would be that storm sewer drains in the city of Plymouth are unprotected, unfiltered, and run directly into the Mullet River. Since the sewers/drains are unfiltered, they allow debris, fertilizers, and harmful chemicals into the river, which can be very harmful. It can cause an overabundance of algae, which can prevent other river organisms from getting enough oxygen from the water. A storm sewer filtration system may be something to keep in mind to help correct this problem.

The second negative ecological quality is that there is not a mass transit system to or from anywhere in the city of Plymouth or surrounding area. If there was one, I am positive that it would be very well used. It would also help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (air pollution) because instead of many people driving individually in their vehicles to, for example, the beach, they can just take the bus together.

The last, and I feel the most important quality that needs to be improved, would be the Millpond Dam. It was once a very important source of energy for the city, but now it serves no purpose other than being considered “historic.” Yet in reality the dam might be doing harm. It may be blocking the path that the Mullet would take naturally. It may be increasing water temperature, algae blooms, the amount of pollution-tolerant fish like carp, and increasing the amount of silt on the bottom of the river. The dam also makes it impossible to have a natural “flood plain.” To sum up, removing the Mullet Dam could correct these negative effects and have a great positive impact on the health of the Mullet River.

I am happy to say, once again, that Plymouth has earned a B for a “Green Grade.” With many good ecological qualities, the city of Plymouth has deserved the grade, and hopefully, with the help of this letter, the qualities that could be improved, might be.
Aubrey N., student of
Plymouth High School