Adele Hawkins is excited to join Friends of the Rouge as one of the first Green Stormwater Infrastructure Apprentices. Growing up she spent countless hours exploring the lower Rouge, from the wooded mountain bike trails in West Dearborn to the concrete channels constructed by Ford Motor Company. She trained as an animator, but like many others, lost her job in the Covid-19 pandemic. During the intervening years of making ends meet with various delivery jobs, she grew more passionate about climate change resiliency, insect conservation, and stewarding natural areas. In 2023, she completed the Stormwater Specialist Training program at St. Suzanne’s Cody Rouge Community Center in Detroit, which gave her a way to apply her budding interest in botany and native plants to the growing field of Green Stormwater Infrastructure. She adores working in the rain gardens, and learning more about the ecology of plants and the wildlife they support. Outside of work, Adele likes to garden, sketch plants, and volunteers as a Land Steward at Rouge Park in Detroit, helping tackle invasive species such as honeysuckle and buckthorn.