Southeast Michigan is wrapping up April with temperatures trending slightly higher than average, according to the National Weather Service. Despite several days in the 80s, early April brought cooler conditions.

“Overall, I think we are coming in just slightly above normal,” meteorologist Trent Frey told WDET. “We did have a couple of really hot days. We had 83 degrees on the 18th and then we had 80 [degrees] on the 23rd and 82 [degrees] again on the 24th.”

Rainfall totals for the month are near typical levels, with just under 3 inches. 

Frey say a low-pressure system is expected to move in Thursday into Friday, bringing widespread showers and a drop in temperatures.

“This week is kind of a microcosm of the whole month,” Frey said. “We’ll be kind of up and down the rest of this week.”

Looking ahead to summer, Frey says the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center gives southeast Michigan a 30% to 40% chance of warmer-than-normal conditions.

A once-forgotten cluster of vacant lots on Detroit’s west side is now home to Circle Forest, a community-led reforestation project created by the nonprofit Arboretum Detroit. Co-director Andrew “Birch” Kemp says the space, made up of 12 formerly vacant lots, was transformed from illegal dumping grounds into an accessible public green space.

“We cleared out like 60 yards of garbage and did a tree assessment, pulled out invasives, planted 200 native trees,” Kemp said. “It’s a park where there wasn’t a park.”

Now, neighbors and visitors can walk more than a mile through a continuous green corridor woven through backyards and hidden blocks that were once overgrown and avoided.

Kemp says the group’s philosophy is about honoring what already exists, rather than starting from scratch.

“I’m not mad at any tree out here because they’ve been providing shade for decades before I got here,” he said. “So who am I to come through and just decide you have to go?”

The project, which includes programming, nature walks, and a tree nursery, is one example of ongoing grassroots movements to restore native ecosystems and increase access to nature in Detroit’s neighborhoods and beyond. 

More from WDET:

• Local nonprofit aims to plant Detroit’s first-ever forest of giant sequoia trees
• Detroit’s tree canopy is growing, despite federal funding cuts
• Massive flooding in Southwest Detroit may have affected trees

Detroit Opera’s latest production looks to the future by reinterpreting Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” through the lens of artificial intelligence. 

Artistic Director Yuval Sharon reimagines the classic opera with humanoid robots created as ideal companions, and the ethical consequences of programming them to serve human desires.

“This production of “Così fan tutte” begins with the concept of the entire piece being about robots, artificial intelligence, humanoids that are created with the express purpose of being the perfect lover, the perfect companion for humans,” Sharon said.

Performed by human singers in the role of machines, the opera questions whether AI can ever move beyond its programming and whether humanity will learn to engage with it ethically.

The final two performances of “Così fan tutte“ take place this Friday, April 11, and Sunday, April 13 at the Detroit Opera House. 

American Forests, the nation’s oldest conservation nonprofit, says Detroit has planted 25,000 trees since launching a local tree equity partnership in 2021 —part of a broader plan to plant 75,000 by 2027.

Benita Hussain, chief program officer of American Forests’ Tree Equity Program, says the initiative targets neighborhoods with fewer trees and higher exposure to extreme heat and respiratory illness.

“We’re talking about planting and maintaining trees in places where they historically have not existed,” Hussain said.

The program has been supported by federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed $1.5 billion to urban forestry initiatives nationwide. American Forests received $50 million of that funding, which Hussein says is being deployed in cities across the Midwest, including Southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit.

However, recent changes by the Trump administration have led to the cancellation of several federal environmental justice grants, including those increasing urban forestry in the U.S.

Hussain acknowledged the “turbulence” coming from the federal level but said the organization remains committed to its work.

“We are certainly keeping an eye on all of the different sort of guidance and turbulence… and we’re in it with all of our partners,” she said.

The Detroit partnership includes local conservation groups like the Greening of Detroit. Hussain says the effort also includes training 500 Detroiters in tree care and maintenance to ensure the long-term health of the city’s growing canopy.