Rouge Rundown – May 17, 2023 – 700 Happy Saplings | Free Rain Garden Course | Headwater Findings and More!

May 17, 2023
ROUGE RUNDOWN

Your Last Chance to Plant Trees!

Thank you to the amazing volunteers who have come out this spring for the Lower Rouge Reforestation project! With only have 700 saplings left, this is your last call to plant trees with Friends!

Then, the tree love continues, and you are warmly invited to join this special habitat restoration project by installing lightweight, biodegradable weed mats. Your kindness will protect the trees and enhance their survival!

Are You Ready to Be a Stormwater Specialist?!

Stormwater Specialist Training is an opportunity for you to train in a green career field. In Stormwater Specialist Training students will learn about: Different green infrastructure types like rain gardens and bioswales; native plant identification; and green infrastructure maintenance. Training includes a travel stipend for classes and employment opportunities upon completion! Apply today through the link below!

Spring Birding Paddle Trip Success! 

Over 30 paddlers joined Friends of the Rouge for its Spring Birding Paddle Trip with Detroit Audubon! There were almost two dozen birds identified around the shores of Phoenix Lake in Plymouth, including Great Blue Heron, Tennessee Warblers, a Red Tailed Hawk, Chimney Swifts, a Baltimore Oriole, and a Red Belly Woodpecker. "Today was awesome!" said Detroit Audubon Program Coordinator, Brittany Leick-Laird. "We saw or heard even more birds than we did last year. It was very exciting". The next paddle trip is on National Canoe Day, June 24th. Hope to see you there!

Free Online Rain Garden Workshop!

Do you want to learn more about what a rain garden is and how it can rescue you and your yard? Join us for the Rain Gardens to the Rescue educational workshop series held Wednesdays from May 31 to June 28, 6-8pm at Kemeny Recreation Center in Southwest Detroit! Workshops will teach what a rain garden is, all the benefits they bring, and walk you through all the steps to plan and design your very own garden for success. These classes are FREE and open to the public, sign up to join the class TODAY! 

Thank you Friends: FOTR's Monitoring Programs Continue to Grow!

For over 20 years, FOTR has been engaging caring residents you in collecting data about the Rouge River watershed. These long-standing programs—frog and toad surveys, bug hunts, stonefly searches, and fish monitoring—accomplish the dual goals of gathering long term data and developing stewardship. After several years of scaled back funding, these programs have begun to grow again thanks to your support and with new funding and partnerships. 

Invasive species work and fish surveying in particular have expanded. You are invited to read more using the link below. Thank you for your support that makes this critical work and exciting growth possible!

Friends Welcomes DeShé Mathis to the Team!

Friends of the Rouge welcomes DeShé Mathis to the team as the new Administrative Database Specialist! DeShé brings a host of skills to the team from her prior experience as a service woman in the United States Army National Guard and as a Freelance Web Developer. DeShé is currently working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Communications at Indiana Tech. In her free time, DeShé enjoys spending time with friends, family, fur babies, and plants. Welcome DeShé!

Watershed Wanderings – Happy Findings in the Headwaters

- by Colleen Sturm

Tucked away in a far corner of the watershed, Kosch-Headwaters Preserve protects a bit of the Lower Rouge River’s headwater streams. On a warm and sunny afternoon, the forest is alive. There are delicate, spring blooms, fluttering butterflies and chirping frogs. For a nature lover, these are happy findings. Spring ephemeral flowers, butterflies and frogs are all signs of a healthy ecosystem.

And while I happily snap pictures of trout-lily blooms and a tiny wood frog, I am really there to work. It is an organized community workday to pull invasive garlic mustard plants that threaten the preserve. Right now, the Kosch preserve is a special place – a small fragment of high quality, woodland habitat. But it takes a strong, ongoing community effort to protect such a lovely space. Please remember that all around the watershed and all throughout the year, there are similar community workdays in need of volunteers because our watershed is ours to protect.

Upcoming Events

Thur. May 18, 9am - 12pm

PARC Rain Garden Spruce-up

Thur. May 18, 1pm - 4pm

PARC Rain Garden Spruce-up

Sat. May 20, 9am - 1pm

Tree Planting Along the Lower Rouge River, Inkster Area

Wed. May 24, 9am - 1pm

Tree Planting Along the Lower Rouge River, Inkster Area

Thur. May 25, 9am - 1pm

Tree Planting Along the Lower Rouge River, Inkster Area

Fri. May 26, 9am - 1pm

Tree Planting Along the Lower Rouge River, Inkster Area

Partner Events

March-June, Various Times

Ecorse Creek Public Meetings

Sat. May 20, 9am - 1pm

Wilcox Lake Clean-up, Plymouth

Sat. May 20, 8am - 1pm

Rouge Rescue - Rouge Park Appreciation Day, Detroit

Sat. May 20, 9am - 12pm

Rouge Rescue - Merriman Hollow Workday and Plant Giveaway

Sat. May 20, 8:30 - 11:30am

Garlic Mustard Pull, Cold Spring Nature Area

Sat. May 20, 1pm, Wild Birds Unlimited of Woodhaven

"Rouge River Revived" Book Talk

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From Your Friend, Erin

Education Manager

Friend & Volunteer Spotlight:

Hector Escalera-Esparra

Bug Hunt Team Leader

A volunteer since 2019, Hector appreciates the connection to nature and access to watershed health information that Bug Hunts and Stonefly Searches provide.

A better River is made possible thanks to these supporters and thanks to caring Friends like you