Rouge Rundown - August 23, 2023 - Oars & Birds | Pollinator Gardens | Back to School | Crayfish & More!
Rouge Rundown – August 23, 2023 – Oars & Birds | Pollinator Gardens | Back to School | Crayfish & More!
August 23, 2023 ROUGE RUNDOWN
Thank You for Bringing Students to the River this Fall!
Thank you Friends for answering the call in the Back-to-School River Science Challenge. Your kindness met the gift match from Friend and Challenger Laraine Deutsch. Together you raised over $1,300 to bring 26 students (that’s an entire classroom!) to the Rouge River to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience with the Rouge Education Project!
“You have a lot of kids who come in and say ‘I don’t like science.’ ‘I am not a scientist.’ ‘I have never even been to the river.’ The Rouge Education Project changes them.” – Tracy Ortiz, Teacher at Clippert Academy, Detroit
Volunteer with Friends for Strength, Satisfaction, and Happiness
You are invited to fill up your heart with Friends! Tend baby trees and rain gardens for a better Rouge River and a better you! Click the link to below to make an impact.
Water Trail adventures are in high season. Thanks to all who made it out to any of the 3 recent trips along unique stretches of the Rouge. Now you can combine two loves – paddling and birding – for a beautiful morning on the Newburgh Lake.
You are invited to a birding paddle trip—in partnership with Detroit Audubon—on Saturday, October 7. Click the link to register. See you—and the great fall migration—soon!
Merriman Hollow Native Pollinator Garden is Calling You, the Butterflies, and the Birds!
You are invited to make the world more beautiful on Saturdays through October, from 9 am to 12 pm. Experience the award-winning native demonstration garden at the Merriman Hollow Recreation Area in Hines Park. The site is on Hines Drive at the Merriman entrance between Ann Arbor Trail and Warren (the same entrance used for the December Holiday light show).
Red Swamp Crayfish Monitoring Scuttles to a Triumphant Close
This summer Friends were hard at work sampling for an invasive crayfish called the Red Swamp crayfish. This bright red crayfish can cause a variety of issues: erosion, reduced native crayfish numbers, and degraded habitat for organisms like frogs and juvenile fish.
That is why it is great news that in the fifteen sites sampled throughout the watershed, no Red Swamp Crayfish were found! Friends did see Virile Crayfish, Faxonius virilis, which is a native species regularly found throughout the Rouge River Watershed. Currently the populations of Red Swamp are concentrated around Novi, with additional sightings in Farmington Hills and Livonia. Phil Kukulski, a longtime Friend, volunteer, and member, reported the first local Red Swamp Crayfish encounter to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Monitoring for invasive species is critical to conserve the health of the watershed—and you can play an important part! If you see a bright red crayfish with red spots, please take a photo and report the location to the DNR.
YOU! Thank you Friends. And a warm WELCOME to the newest Members and “Friends” of Friends of the Rouge who joined since July:
Katherine Borninski, Douglas Cale, Diane Gregory, Olga Johnson, Lorrine & Frank Koitek, Ari Kornelis, Valerie Leveille, Robert & Bettye Moore, Kathy Pellikka, Doug Peterson, Donna Posont, John & Mary Rudzinski, Paula Szelag, Joe & Beckie VanHollebeke, Lisa & Mike Warrick, Sheila Waters, Mary & Lars Watts, Charlotte & David Wirth
