2025 marks the start of a strategic planning process for Friends of the Rouge. To make sure the current REP programming aligns with the needs of teachers, students in the Rouge River Watershed, the organization is going to take the next year to conduct a thorough review of the Rouge Education Project and K-12 work as a whole. The goal is to return in 2026 with an evolved and enhanced framework that is better able to provide watershed education support to educators.
The Rouge Education Project (REP) is school-based environmental education program involving elementary, middle, and high schools from across southeastern Michigan. Students learn about the Rouge River in their classroom, and then perform hands-on scientific exploration of the river on a field trip to its banks. They assess chemical, biological, and physical parameters of water quality to determine overall stream health, and report their results to Friends of the Rouge. Students are further encouraged to take action to restore and protect the river based on their results.
Our Mission:
Promote awareness and stewardship of the Rouge River watershed through school-based water quality monitoring, investigation, and problem-solving.
Our primary goals are to:
(1) Provide opportunities for schools to engage students in hands-on, real-world science, through water quality monitoring of the Rouge River
(2) Increase participants’ awareness of the Rouge River watershed by showing them how they impact the river, and how its health impacts them
(3) Empower participants to apply knowledge and awareness gained through the Rouge Education Project to identify and address environmental issues in the Rouge River watershed and beyond.
The REP is coordinated and facilitated by Friends of the Rouge, who trains K-12 teachers how to monitor surface water quality through a series of workshops. Resources are provided to help them plan the Rouge River watershed unit and field trip in their classroom(s), along with monitoring equipment [with the availability of funding]. Friends of the Rouge also trains volunteers, our REP assistants, and pairs them with each classroom to assist during their field trip to the river.
In addition to Friends of the Rouge staff, guidance and support for the program comes from an Education Committee.