18 “Look what I found!” The flashlight bobbed up and down as the child holding it ran over to a plant growing out of the gravel. She carefully plucked a burr from the top of the plant and placed it in a paper sack holding seeds for later examination. Later, she will inspect those same seeds under a microscope to better understand the natural world around her. That child was a member of the Downtown Boxing Gym, which has provided after-school programming, tutoring, transportation and meals for Detroit youth since 2007. In an unlikely partnership, the Belle Isle Nature Center visits in spring and fall to deliver nature-based educational programming, encouraging students to observe urban nature — even in the gym’s backyard. The Nature Center has been visiting the Downtown Boxing Gym for after-school programming since 2021, providing authentic and engaging nature-based experiences on various natural topics right in the city. In the words of one student: “The class was so surprising because we learned new things each time.” Some highlights of the partnership have included seeing a red-tailed hawk while birding at Elmwood Cemetery, successfully engaging in a mushroom hunt and hosting the children at the Belle Isle Nature Center for a celebratory campfire and s’mores at the end of the season. The Nature Center team looks forward to continuing to visit the Downtown Boxing Gym, helping children investigate the natural world with our young program participants for many seasons to come. An Unlikely PARTNERSHIP NATURE CENTER, BOXING GYM WORK TOGETHER FOR DETROIT YOUTH BY LUKE GRANGE, EDUCATION SPECIALIST
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