Someone snuck into a Detroit learning garden over the Fourth of July weekend and walked off with most of its birds, leaving a hands-on program for young adults with special needs suddenly without its feathered co-workers.
Volunteers at the Full Circle Foundation's Edible Garden say they discovered the losses after what staff described as two break-ins at the nonprofit's garden and an adjoining 4-H chicken coop. In all, 22 of 26 chickens and two geese are missing, and staff and families are now trying to track down the birds and reinforce the coop so it does not happen again. A police report was filed with Detroit Police, according to WXYZ.
Students And Volunteers Left Confused And Worried
The missing flock is not just a numbers problem for the garden, it is an emotional hit for the students and volunteers who care for the animals. “We were very confused. We were looking. We thought maybe they had been lost ... we couldn't find them,” said Madison Chetham, a 4-H officer, describing how volunteers first reacted when they realized the coop was nearly empty. Fellow volunteer Megan Jolly pleaded with whoever took the birds to bring them back, saying the animals represented “a lot of time, effort, and love.” Those comments and images were recorded by WXYZ.
The Garden's Role And Where It Sits
The Full Circle Foundation uses the Edible Garden as a working classroom where young adults with special needs manage more than 55 raised beds and learn job and life skills through gardening and animal care. The garden sits next to the Riverview Rehabilitation Center at 18300 East Warren in Detroit, and the organization describes the space as central to its training and microenterprise programs. Volunteer and contact details for the garden are listed by the Full Circle Foundation.
How Neighbors Can Help
Volunteers are asking the community to keep an eye out for the missing chickens and geese and to report any tips to Detroit Police or to Full Circle staff. The foundation lists a garden contact at 313-469-6660 for questions or volunteer inquiries, and organizers say hands-on lessons will be limited until the flock can be replaced. In the meantime, they are urging anyone with information to come forward so the program can recover what it lost.
