KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A literacy trail is underway in Kalamazoo's Edison Neighborhood. A little library box is just the beginning of the effort to help children dive into the world of reading.
"The Albert White Literacy Trail is a resident-driven initiative to really find ways to be able to celebrate the positive aspects of the Edison Neighborhood and address some of the challenges that we have," Kalamazoo Literacy Council Executive Director Michael Evans explained.
Evans says the trail that runs along Portage Creek will be transformed thanks to the help of the 30 residents who make up a group called the Edison Resident Scholars.
"The whole goal was to be able to make it so that this place, which can often times have challenges, we'll have a more safe option for walking and biking and reading," he added.
Dr. Karika Parker, a Western Michigan University postdoctoral research fellow, worked closely with community members to get the project off the ground.
Through her research, Dr. Parker found that many people who live in the neighborhood say they don't use the existing trail because it's "dangerous."
Now, they plan to use nature and books to turn that around.
"We have a disparity in our literacy rates in Kalamazoo. A lot of people do not have access to not only information in terms of book, print media, but it's not part of their day to day life," Dr. Parker told FOX 17.
The goal is to pave the trail and install lighting. Additionally, they want to add little library boxes, educational placards and benches.
"It will have a story walk that we'll be able to have rotating stories for our families to be able to enjoy the history of our neighborhood," Evans said.
The trail will also include history about the neighborhood and is set to be named after Albert White, an African American contractor who lived there back in the 1800s.
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