Blog

The United States from space showing light pollution during the night.

How Lights at Night Affects Wildlife

What is Light Pollution? Light pollution comes in several forms, including skyglow (glowing haze over highly populated areas), light trespass...

Join FOTR at the Novi Home and Garden Show!

April is Lawn and Garden Month, so start thinking about what you want your yard to look like this spring...

Celebrating World Water Day 2024

Come join us in celebrating World Water Day at the Penn Theatre! The Penn Theatre is showing free screenings of...

Your Yard Can Contribute to Clean Water!

What you do in your yard makes a big difference for your hometown Rouge River! Here are two ways we...

De-Icers: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Making a Difference in the Health of Your Rouge River So far this fall and winter, we’ve had unusually low...

RainScaping in Southeast Michigan – Get on the Map!

Do you have a rain garden, rain barrel, pollinator garden, newly planted tree, or other RainScaping project? Share your project...

May 2023 Monitoring Programs Update

FOTR’s Monitoring Programs Continue to Grow For over 20 years, FOTR has been engaging residents in collecting data about the Rouge...

Home Composting

The calendar says it’s now officially spring, and here in the Rouge River watershed area we’re having some warm, sunny...

Plan For Your Spring Landscape

Now is the Time to Plan for Your Landscape! Spring is in full bloom in southern states, but the temperature...

Friends Salute Rouge River Advocate, Senator Stabenow

Friends of the Rouge owes a debt of gratitude to United States Senator Debbie Stabenow for being a wonderful friend...

Show Your Love for Clean Water with Better Lawn Care Knowledge!

Do you ❤️ Clean Water? This time of year, do you notice a lot of high-pressure ads telling you what...

New Year’s Resolutions in Your Yard For Clean Water

Have you ever thought about making some resolutions for your yard? Here are New Year’s Resolutions you can make to...

DE-ICERS: Reduce your Use!

Winter is here once again and with that, a lot of ice and SALT. When using salt and other de-icers,...

2022 Stream Keepers

Friends of the Rouge partnered again with Trout Unlimited on a second session of STREAM Keepers, a program to engage...

2022 REP Teacher Training

Several teachers learned the basics of our Rouge Education Project (REP) throughout this week: looking at water chemistry, bugs, and...

Beware of Invasive Frog-bit

In continuation of a project with Oakland County’s Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (OC CISMA) begun in 2020, FOTR’s Education...

SHOCKING New Way to Survey for Fish

This summer, FOTR has been learning a new method of surveying for fish – electroshocking! This is the industry standard...

Friends Funded for Phase 2 of Lower Rouge Trailhead

Friends of the Rouge was awarded $10,000 (Canadian) to support the completion of construction documents and permitting for the Fort...

Getting Rain Barrels to Residents

Last Friday, we held our Rain Barrel Happy Hour Workshop, getting drinks for lawns and gardens across Detroit with free...

Student Research and Sediment Highlighted at State of the Strait Conference

On May 11, the State of the Strait, a binational conference that highlights research on both sides of the Detroit...

Rare Mussels Discovered in Rouge River

In July 2021, while conducting routine fish surveys in the lower Rouge, FOTR staff and volunteers noticed an unusually high...

Your Rouge, Your Story

We all have a story to tell; why we are passionate about the Rouge River, how we got involved with...

Spring Bug Hunt Results Show Decline in Bugs at Sites with High Levels of Road Salt

We want to give a big “Thank You” to all of our amazing volunteers at this year’s Spring Bug Hunt....

How Flooding in the Rouge Watershed is an Environmental / Public Health Threat

On June 25th of this year, the Metro Detroit area experienced a severe rain event that left many homes, parks,...

Summer Staff Spotlight

It’s summer and Friends of the Rouge has some new rays of sunshine! We warmly welcome our 2021 summer fellows...

Fun & Learning: Become a Rouge River Detective!

Looking for some summer fun and learning? Join our online, and interactive, “Explore the Rouge” game challenge. Take a self-paced...

Teachers: Take a Professional Development Workshop with Friends of the Rouge!

This August (August 2-5 plus Aug 6th as a rain date), Friends of the Rouge is offering a teacher education...

STREAM Girls Coming to the Rouge River!

Friends of the Rouge is excited to partner with Trout Unlimited to bring the STREAM Girls program to Rouge River Watershed! STREAM...

Explore the Rouge: Virtual River Education for Home, School and Lifelong Learners!

Looking for at-home or at-school learning activities? Become a Rouge River Detective and explore local environmental issues in your community...