Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/21/23
11am - 2pm
Location
LaNita's Pocket Park
Categories
- Accessibility: uneven terrain
- Activity: Invasive Species Control
- Activity: Litter Clean-up
- Activity: Planting / Maintaining rain gardens or habitat gardens
- Difficulty: Level 1—sitting, chatting, paperwork
- Difficulty: Level 2—light effort, standing, walking, some bending, lifting 5-10 pounds
- Difficulty: Level 3—moderate activity, bending, kneeling, digging, lifting 10-15 pounds
- Difficulty: Level 4—somewhat strenuous work, bending, kneeling, lifting 15-30 pounds
- Family Friendly
- Restrooms not available onsite
Register HERE
Site Coordinator: Dallas Ford, Restoration Coordinator, Friends of the Rouge
Project description: Thank you for your interest in making a positive impact on this newly-created community rain garden and pollinator garden!
LaNita’s Pocket Park was brought to life to memorialize LaNita, the cornerstone of her community and family. This memorial park is a haven for people, songbirds, butterflies, and pollinators. It includes in its design a native pollinator garden and paths in the shape of the Prince symbol and a giant rain garden. Rain gardens reduce flooding in the community and reduce pollution in our Rouge River.
This event is co-led by Carolyn and My Community Speaks. It’s an event for everyone who is interested in contributing to this beautiful park and in supporting a healthier Rouge River community.
For this beautiful autumn day in LaNita’s Park, Friends of the Rouge staff will be leading a team of volunteers to create two gabion basket style benches for the park. No experience is necessary.
A gabion basket is a welded wire mesh basket filled with rocks. These baskets will be the “feet” of the benches, and a wooden seat will be attached. Together we will create a level foundation for the benches, fill the baskets with beautiful 6-inch skipper rocks, and then install the wooden seat on top. You can learn this skill set (if you don’t already know it!) while creating a peaceful place for LaNita’s neighbors and visitors to rest and enjoy the native gardens.
Along with bench-building, volunteers have the opportunity to support the health of the pollinator gardens by removing weeds. These native flower gardens are really beautiful in the fall. They are also hard-working! They provide food and shelter for visiting songbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Meanwhile, their extremely deep roots soak up excess stormwater, preventing flooding in the community.
Come spend a few hours on Saturday with a friendly bunch of people, enjoying LaNita’s Memorial Park, and making a difference for clean water and a healthier Detroit!
**SPECIAL REQUEST!** Do you have carpentry skills to contribute, and equipment to help build the wooden seat for LaNita’s Memorial Park benches? Please let Dallas Ford know right away! (info below) Thank you!
Workday location: LaNita’s Memorial Garden – 5651 Hartford St. Detroit, MI, 48210
Friends of the Rouge provides: Gardening tools and light refreshment
Accessibility & Difficulty: Listed activities will include difficulty levels ranging from light effort (standing, walking, some bending, lifting 5-10 pounds) to somewhat strenuous effort (bending, kneeling, lifting 15-30 pounds) on even and uneven ground.
Questions or accessibility-related needs:
What accommodations do you need to fully participate?
Please email Volunteer Coordinator Rosina Newton RNewton@therouge.org and Site Coordinator Dallas Ford DFord@therouge.org 734-927-4913
Thank you for your support of LaNita’s Memorial Park, a cleaner Rouge River, and a healthier Detroit!
Register HERE