Plant Pot Swap!
Have a spare plant pot? Bring it over to the gardens to swap it with a Friend, or spruce it up with some community painting! There will be a pot-painting demonstration after working in the garden. Share your love of plants with Friends on Saturday September 7th at 10 am. |
Rain Garden To the Rescue Installations
Your Friends of the Rouge Restoration team has been steadily working to install five community-scale rain gardens as part of the Rain Gardens to the Rescue (RGTTR) program, funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Participants completed their rain garden application in February of this year, and five rain gardens were awarded to Transform Communities Network in River Rouge, Salina Intermediate, Lowrey Middle, and Oakman Elementary Schools in Dearborn, and Allegria Village Retirement Community in Dearborn. Three of these gardens have been planted, and there are two more to go!
Friends, you are invited to join us in our next rain garden planting day at Lowrey Middle School in Dearborn on Saturday, September 7, from 10 am – 1 pm. Come early to join in a great morning of planting and community, as we plant these 6 small rain gardens on the grounds of this magnificent 100-year old school. |
Fall Bug Hunt: Who is Living in Your River?
Do you ever wonder about what lives in the river besides fish and turtles? Go to the Friends Of The Rouge 2024 Fall Bug Hunt and see for yourself the amazing variety of critters that make up the bottom of the river food chain. Volunteers will be divided into teams prior to arrival, and then visit two sites throughout the headwaters of the Rouge watershed and search for aquatic invertebrates. Children must be at least 8 years of age, and be accompanied by a participating adult.
Event Date: Saturday October 12, 2024 10am-3pm |
Plymouth Rain Garden Planting!
You are invited to install a beautiful rain garden at the brand new PARC pickleball court. The garden of Michigan native plants will add colorful blooms and support native wildlife and pollinators. All ages and gardening experience welcome! Gloves, tools, and water will be provided. Please come dressed in weather appropriate gardening clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty and closed toed shoes. Join in the planting fun on Saturday September 14 at 9 am and make your mark on the PARC rain gardens!
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Your New Fish Passage Dashboard: Culvert Survey Results
This summer, FOTR culvert technicians Ben Walski and Jerrad Jankowski led the sampling of over 225 sites along the Lower Rouge and its tributaries where the stream crosses a road. Check out the new stream crossing dashboard, where every single site can be found with corresponding data and scoring. The next step will be to connect with partners and municipalities to identify which sites are good candidates for an improvement or replacement project to help with fish passage along the river. A giant thank you to Ben and Jerrad for their hard work, project dedication and dashboard creation!
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Fall Native Plant Market: Pre-Sales Now Open!
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 on Saturday October 5 at Keep Growing Detroit Farm. Find what’s new, colorful, and just right for your yard today! ORDER DEADLINES:
Pick-Up Plants: Fri. September 20
Pick-Up Rain Barrels + Composters: Fri. September 27 |
Your Rouge, Your Story: Notes from a Frog Watcher, Diane Rushlow
Hello everyone! My name is Diane Rushlow. I’ve been monitoring Frogs and Toads for Friends of the Rouge for 8 years. My favorite of the frogs I monitor would be the Green Frogs who live in a wooded permanent pond on the Lower Rouge Trail. You have to be very patient waiting for their call at night. In the daytime you may be lucky enough to see them sitting in a log or even along side the trail. Participating in the monitoring program has been extremely rewarding for me. I get very excited at each of their first calls of the year starting with the Chorus Frogs in March, then soon the Spring Peeper joins in then the Toad; by May the wonderful, joyful sound of the Tree Frogs start; ending the season for my 6 blocks is my favorite Green Frogs.
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Farewell to Your Amazing Summer Monitoring Team
A fond farewell to the amazing seasonal summer monitoring team. These young environmental scientists were in the river all summer surveying culverts for fish passage, tracking the invasive Red Swamp Crayfish, surveying the fish community, and taking water quality measurements. This incredible team gathered so much important data. Their work will help us better understand and protect the river! To these next generation environmental leaders (left to right), Jerrad, Lian, Ben, Kelsey, and Adrianna [pictured on far right, Monitoring Manager Lauren Eaton], all the best to you on your future endeavors!
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| From Your Friend, Allison Operations Assistant |
A better River is made possible thanks to these supporters & in thanks to caring Friends like you
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