30 | JULY 28 • 2022 

A 

new $1.5 million donation from 
Rachel Bendit and Mark Bernstein 
will help support climate change 
awareness and educational program-
ming provided by the Detroit Riverfront 
Conservancy (DRC).
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, a 
nonprofit organization founded in 2003 
that aims to develop public access to 
Detroit’s riverfront and encourage eco-
nomic development, serves as permanent 
stewards of the Detroit Riverwalk and the 
Dequindre Cut.
Like many areas of Detroit, it stands to 
be affected by climate change if steps aren’t 
taken to prevent the crisis from worsening. 
 The Detroit Riverfront attracts 3.5 mil-
lion visitors each year, with more than $200 
million invested in its revitalization by the 
DRC — an effort that has now generated 
more than $2 billion in public and private 
investment.
The riverfront is home to many public 
spaces, wildlife and plants. The DRC raises 
crucial funds for construction, operation, 
maintenance, security and programming 
in those spaces along the riverfront. Now, 
thanks to the donation, many of those efforts 
will have the financial backing they need to 
positively influence generations to come.
“Our gift is focused on funding program-
ming related to climate change and sustain-
ability,
” explains Mark Bernstein, who is 
president and managing partner of the Sam 
Bernstein Law Firm. “The Detroit Riverfront 

Conservancy creates a 
natural opportunity to 
engage with the commu-
nity on issues related to 
climate change.
”

IMPROVING ACCESS 
TO CLIMATE CHANGE 
EDUCATION
The donation brings the DRC one step clos-
er to reaching its ultimate goal of developing 
5.5 miles of riverfront from the Ambassador 
Bridge on the west to Gabriel Richard Park 
and Belle Isle on the east. It will also help 
educate the riverfront’s thousands of annu-
al visitors on the grave risks that climate 
change can pose.
Bendit and Bernstein, both residents of 
Ann Arbor, share a personal passion for 
climate change awareness. Bendit is also a 
Detroit Riverfront Conservancy board mem-
ber and active in its efforts. 
“We face an existential threat with climate 
change,
” Bernstein says. “We felt it was essen-
tial that we do everything possible to address 
those challenges.
”
In honor of the donation, the DRC will 
soon debut the “Bernstein Bear” at Ralph 
Wilson Park, a two-story playscape designed 
by Denmark-based playground equipment 
designer Monstrom. Located in the Delta 
Dental Play Garden at Ralph Wilson Park, 
the “Bernstein Bear” will feature several 
climbing surfaces for children and a slide.
The park is currently under construc-

tion along the West Riverfront. It’s a $75 
million investment that will transform the 
Detroit Riverfront into what leaders hope 
will become one of the most beautiful public 
spaces in the country. It’s set for completion 
in 2024.
“It’s a fun opportunity,
” Bernstein says 
of the playscape named in his honor. “The 
goal is to build a special place to bring our 
community to the river.
” The hope, he says, 
is for it to become a “favorite spot” for fam-
ilies across the region to enjoy while visiting 
Detroit.

MAKING THE 
WORLD A 
BETTER PLACE
The new playscape, 
among other program-
ming, can be used to 
teach lessons about cli-
mate change to all ages, 
Bernstein explains. “It 
aims to provide real 
tools to put these values 
and this awareness to 
work in our communi-
ty,
” he says of the effort.
“It is also important 
to us to provide deeper 
support for a program that has the potential 
to benefit future generations,
” adds Rachel 
Bendit. “That is why we have invested in the 
Conservancy’s climate programming, to help 
young people learn what they will need to 
become effective stewards of this park, river 
and planet for decades to come.
”
It’s an essential donation that DRC leaders 
are excited to receive.
“We are thrilled with this generous gift 
from Rachel and Mark,
” says Mark Wallace, 
president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront 
Conservancy. “This gift will help us to devel-
op educational programs focused on the 
importance of environmental stewardship 
for everyone in our community.
”
Prioritizing the environment and climate 
is a notion that ties back to the Jewish con-
cept of tikkun olam, or “repairing the world.
” 
It’s one that Bernstein doesn’t take lightly.
“There’s no question that this honors our 
Jewish values,
” he says of climate efforts, 
“that demand that we engage in making our 
world a more just and equitable place.
“
Addressing climate change and sustain-
ability,
” Bernstein continues, “is central to 
those values.
” 

OUR COMMUNITY

$1.5 million donation will boost 
climate change programming 
at the Detroit riverfront.

A Bernstein Bear

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A rendering of the 
“Bernstein Bear”

COURTESY OF DRC

Mark Bernstein and 
Rachel Bendit

