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friends@therouge.org | 734-927-4900 | Fax: 734-927-4920
Heart of the Rouge 2024
Join the Heart of the Rouge Celebration!
A Benefit on the Banks - AUG. 7
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Experience your Rouge River. Enjoy a wonderful evening with your Friends at HopCat Livonia. Let your heart create a better world.
Heart of the Rouge event promo for slider
Ashley Appointed New ED
Friends of the Rouge Appoints Ashley Flintoff New Executive Director
Scorched Earth Day?
Fall Native Plant Market
Save the Date: Fall Native Plant Market
Saturday, October 5th
Pre-order beautiful native plants, rain barrels, composters, and more NOW for Fall! Save the date for the pick-up and same day Fall Native Plant Market with local vendors selling a variety of native plants. Find what's right for your yard today!
2022 Volunteer Restoration Opportunities with volunteers planting trees
Leave Your Legacy Promo
Chart your legacy for a better River today and in the future!
FOTR staff letting a young girl volunteer see clams
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FOTR Happenings

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Be nature's hero, make July plastic free! Plastic pollution is one of the greatest threats to the environment and wildlife nowadays. So grab your reusable bags, skip the straw and buy produce not wrapped in plastic. How else can you go plastic free for July and every month?!

In need of a reusable bag? Stop by the FOTR office for a Friends branded one for all your shopping trips!

#MemeMonday #PlasticFreeJuly #DitchPlastic #PlasticPollution
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Be natures hero, make July plastic free! Plastic pollution is one of the greatest threats to the environment and wildlife nowadays. So grab your reusable bags, skip the straw and buy produce not wrapped in plastic. How else can you go plastic free for July and every month?! 

In need of a reusable bag? Stop by the FOTR office for a Friends branded one for all your shopping trips!

#MemeMonday #PlasticFreeJuly #DitchPlastic #PlasticPollution

Thank you to all these amazing folks who came out to clean up Foreman Park in Detroit today!
Downriver Delta CDC , local UAW and Councilwoman Santiago-Romero
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Thank you to all these amazing folks who came out to clean up Foreman Park in Detroit today! 
Downriver Delta CDC , local UAW and Councilwoman Santiago-RomeroImage attachmentImage attachment

TOMORROW join us for the rescheduled cleanup at Foreman Park from noon to 3pm with Downriver Delta CDC and the local UAW! ... See MoreSee Less

TOMORROW join us for the rescheduled cleanup at Foreman Park from noon to 3pm with Downriver Delta CDC and the local UAW!

The Heart of the Rouge Art Auction for a clean water future, featuring local artists, is coming soon! The online auction opens on August 1st and concludes on Wednesday August 7th at the Heart of the Rouge event. 🩵

Support your hometown river! 💧For more information visit: therouge.org/heart-of-the-rouge-a-benefit-on-the-banks/

Featured Artists Include: 🎨
Jocelyn Anderson Photography, Jodi Lynn Burton: Jodi Lynn's Emporium of Doodles, Tori Clawson, Yevgeniya Gazman: YGazm Art, Carla Gonzalez, Jacyln Heikkila-Stafiej, Ann Ivory Studios, John Jaranson, Kim Jones: The Sunlit Owl, Mary Lane, Jennifer Lanzilotti Jen L. Art, Elizabeth Lewandowski, Elizabeth Lurie, Nina Moon, Chris Pray, Marie Rust/Bear Track Studios, LLC, Chuck Schroeder, Jasmine Souchuk, Hannah Tizedes, Sally Wenczel, Casey Williams, Jette Wooten: Jette Avery Art, and Erica Zador.
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Carmeuse Americas three cheers for you for your support of Rouge River science for this generation and the next! Thank you for making riverside education and action possible! Thank you for launching the next generation of River leaders. ... See MoreSee Less

Carmeuse Americas three cheers for you for your support of Rouge River science for this generation and the next! Thank you for making riverside education and action possible! Thank you for launching the next generation of River leaders.
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Don’t miss a thing! Read FOTR news you can use in our Rouge Rundown.

Current Weather at FOTR headquarters

Updates affecting our Rain Gardens
Go to Weather Underground... →

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Rain Gardens 101

One Water – We Are the Rouge!

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Friends of the Rouge BBB Charity Seal

62,615
rouge rescue
volunteers
1,029
work
sites
101,311
students
educated
77,703
fish
surveyed

Our Services

Friends of the Rouge in ACTION

Rouge Rescue

Rouge Education Project

River Restoration

River Monitoring

Rouge River Water Trail

Our annual river clean up

Since 1986, volunteers have removed large quantities of trash from the river. Public perception shifted from the river as an open sewer and a place to dump trash to its restoration including invasive plants removal, installation of native plantings, and stabilization of stream banks.

Learn more...
School-based environmental education

We involve elementary, middle, and high schools from across southeastern Michigan. Students learn about the Rouge River in class, and then perform hands-on scientific exploration of the river on a field trip to its banks. They are encouraged to take action to restore and protect the river.

Learn more...
How we care for the land

How we care for the land impacts water quality in our local lakes and rivers. The River Restoration program teaches residents of the watershed how to manage their land to improve water quality and to provide wildlife habitat through hands-on projects and educational events.

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Residents become citizen scientists

This program engages residents to become citizen scientists, collecting data about the health of the watershed through biological indicator species (bugs, frogs, fish, etc.) that reflect the long-term health of the watershed. As water quality improves, bugs frogs and fish are returning.

Learn more...
Along 29.25 miles of the Lower Rouge

FOTR is currently working with local partners to develop a water trail on 29.25 miles of the Lower Rouge from Canton to the Detroit River. Much of the river corridor is protected within Wayne County Parks, making it ideal for the development of launches and amenities.

Learn more...

Volunteer to Make a Difference

Friends of the Rouge began as a volunteer organization, so volunteerism sits at the core of mission to serve the Rouge River watershed.

Become a Member

Be part of the legacy. Support the vital work we do by helping us meet critical milestones for programs that make a lasting impact of the Rouge River watershed’s health.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Get involved! Support our diverse programs through sponsorships that have the power to make real and lasting change for the health of the Rouge River watershed!

Networking to Build Community

Our community stakeholders, partners, and alliances make our watershed healthier! Thank you to all who make a difference by caring about the Rouge River.

Financial Transparency

We adhere to all federal and state regulations, produce annual financial audits, submit all reporting documents in a timely manner with clear accounting methods and record keeping.

FAQs

Curious about something in the Rouge? We may already have an answer to commonly asked questions regarding our organization or the watershed. Check out our FAQs HERE.

Our Sponsors

  • Gilbert Family Foundation Logo
  • Ralph C. Wilson Jr., Foundation Parks & Trails logo
  • Erb Family Foundation logo
  • Bosch logo
  • Alliance of Rouge Communities

Hear Our Voice
We acknowledge …the systemic injustices and pervasive racism that occurs for people of color.
READ MORE…

A Better Rouge For Us All

You care about the Rouge River. Watch how, together, we have been making your river cleaner and more vibrant for the plants and animals, and for the people of Southeast Michigan to enjoy.

Voices for the Rouge