Standard, high-impact home landscape

A realized vision: green landscaping for clean streams—applicable to all houses, no matter how far from the river

Sustainable Landscaping

A landscape created with Green Landscaping for Clean Streams techniques is designed to improve water quality and wildlife habitat and is much more sustainable. Plantings are clustered. Steep slopes are vegetated with deep-rooted native flowers and grasses. Rain gardens retain water from the home’s downspouts. Stream-side vegetation reduces streambank erosion. Habitat is created for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

Learn more about Green Landscaping for Clean Streams HERE

Compost acts like a sponge and soaks up lots of rainwater, reducing the amount of watering you need to do to keep your plants thriving. Compost provides nutrients and improves garden soil. Composting is easy and saves waste from being trucked to a landfill or a composting facility.

How to do it:

– Create space for a compost pile or purchase a commercial composter

– Add soil, grass clippings, leaves, garden waste, and some food waste (no meats, oils, dairy)

– Visit the SOCWA Lawn & Garden website for more composting information (www.socwa.org) Composting flyer

Mulch Garden Beds

Mulch helps to retain moisture in the garden and helps to reduce weeds. Mulch also keeps gardens looking fresh and cared for.

Many of the herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers used by gardeners today are harmful to the environment and should never be used near waterways. Excess nutrients from lawn fertilizers harm rivers and lakes. Opt for healthier alternatives for you and your family. More information:

MSU Extension

Healthy Lawn Care Tips

Mulch leaves into the lawn (Video)

Pick up Pet Waste

Pick up pet waste before rainy weather or snow melt to prevent bacteria from entering the river through the storm sewer. Many communities in the Rouge watershed have separate storm sewers that collect rain water from streets and parking lots and discharge directly to the Rouge River. The water isn’t treated and rain water picks up lots of pollutants from lawns, parking lots, roads and highways.

The #1 problem for the Rouge River is too much dirty runoff water each time it rains. Find out how you can do your part: Get RainSmart!

A cost effective method to reduce streambank erosion and save riverfront property is to plant deep-rooted native wildflowers and grasses. The fibrous root systems create a living mesh that will help hold the soil in place. Native trees and shrubs provide shade in warm months, which is important to keep water temperature from rising and dissolved oxygen levels from falling too low to support life in the stream.

Stabilizing the Toe (Bottom of the Streambank)

Coir logs or large woody debris can be staked in to reduce localized erosion at the toe of the bank. This may be necessary to allow native vegetation to become established in erosion prone areas. Erosion control blankets may also be necessary to protect plantings from washing away in high water. A permit from MDEQ is required before this work can be completed. More information: Woody Debris Management 201

Managing Woody Debris

In the recent past, logjams were presumed to be a significant problem in urban rivers, such as the Rouge River, and were completely removed from stream channels. New studies have now shown that properly managed logjams help reduce erosion, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and are an important part of a river system’s natural processes. More information: Woody Debris Management 101 Clean and Open Method