Rouge Rundown – April 23, 2026: Toad Day | Block Party | Native Plants & More

We’re overjoyed by the abundance of support of native plant orders this year! By popular request, the native plant sale deadline has been extended through TOMORROW, Friday April 24th at midnight. Native plants are beautiful, low-maintenance, great for pollinators, and perfectly suited for the local environment. 

Your order also directly supports our work in your Rouge River community, which means your garden can make a difference!

The second installment of our 2026 speaker series, on April 26th, is officially SOLD OUT!

But don’t worry, tickets are still available for the July and October sessions:

• July 26th – Restoring Balance: Native habitats and invasive plant management at UM-Dearborn
• Oct 25th – Growing in the Gardens at Fair Lane Estate

Rescheduled due to the weather, the Grow Hamtramck Block Party and Tree Planting Workshop will take place this upcoming Saturday, April 25th, from 10 am to 1 pm at Pulaski Park (9625 Lumpkin St, Hamtramck, MI 48212).

Community members are invited to join in the tree workshop and enjoy a fun, family-friendly day with local vendors! The block party will have crafts, games, giveaways, and other activities!

This event will kick off the planting season for the “Grow Hamtramck” project, the City’s grant-funded program to plant 1,000 trees in 4 years. Want to help make this event more successful? Consider joining as a volunteer? Check out the volunteer opportunities at the Bloomerang Volunteer registration. 

This past Saturday, 98 volunteers joined together and searched for bugs in the Rouge River. Bug hunters met at the Plymouth Arts & Recreation Complex for a short intro, refreshments, and to meet their teams. With the help of 15 teams, 29 sites across the watershed were sampled! Volunteers spent the day sifting through trays, chatting with fellow bug-lovers, and enjoying the fresh air. 

Thank you to our amazing volunteers, both team leaders and pickers, who spent the day collecting these bugs. Your time and efforts help the FOTR monitoring team track the health of the river and catch any problems that may have been spotted. 

Data is currently being compiled, and a report of the findings will be released soon. The next bug hunt will be on Saturday, October 10th, 2026. Keep an eye out for registration! 

Many consider April 15th to be tax day. Did you know it is also TOAD DAY! The American toads start calling about this time every year! 

Frog and Toad Surveyors are reporting hearing the “long trill, varying in pitch” call of American toads.  The American toad is abundant all over the state and is the most commonly heard frog or toad species in the Rouge River Watershed. The size of the American toad is from 2 to 4.37 inches long. Toads are easily distinguished from frogs by their dry warty skin and their short back legs.  They are useful to have in a garden or backyard since they eat a lot of insects, spiders, and earthworms!  

Want to learn more about the amphibians in the Rouge River? Join the interactive Who’s Calling? Frog Hike on May 1st in West Bloomfield with other FOTR volunteers! Register below. 

Forty years. Friends of the Rouge has been in existence for forty years. This in and of itself is impressive. According to the National Center on Charitable Statistics, 30% of nonprofits do not make it past 10 years, so the fact that we are celebrating our ruby anniversary this year is a true testament to the power of people like you. People who were fed up with the trash and pollution in their river. People who got tired of being told the solution was just to “not touch the water.”