Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Two training workshops will be held this month.
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Wednesday, March 6
Volunteers interested in surveying Rouge River wetlands for frogs and toads are encouraged to sign up today for one of two upcoming training workshops conducted by Dearborn nonprofit Friends of the Rouge. Volunteers learn how to recognize eight frog and toad calls commonly heard in Michigan in spring and are assigned a nearby area to survey by listening. Interested volunteers need to pre-register for one of two training workshops held in March. Anyone interested in learning about local wildlife and willing to learn the calls and devote a few evenings every month to listening is encouraged to sign up. People from all walks of life participate in the survey, including students, retirees, families (children five and older are welcome when …
Saturday, January 5, 2013
The insects are a sign that the river, which runs through the Dearborn area, is healthy.
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Saturday, January 5
Are you looking for something to do this winter that is fun and helps a good cause? Friends of the Rouge is looking for volunteers to help with the 12th annual search for stoneflies on Saturday, Jan. 26. The Rouge River watershed flows through Dearborn. Finding a stonefly living in the river is a good indication that the river is healthy, because these small insects require cold, clean water. Last year, 73 volunteers found these “nuggets of gold” at 14 of 32 sites. This year, they hope to find even more. The search begins at the University of Michigan-Dearborn at 9 a.m. No searching is done in Dearborn; volunteers carpool out in 10-12 teams to Rouge streams located around metropolitan Detroit. Volunteers must pre-register by Jan. 11 at www…
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Friends of the Rouge released their annual report on the Rouge Rescue this week.
A report released this week by Dearborn-based nonprofit Friends of the Rouge shows the results of work done by volunteers during this June's Rouge Rescue. The Rouge Rescue is an annual river clean up event organized by the non-profit organization. This past May and June, 1,759 volunteers worked to clean and restore the Rouge River at 41 work sites in Detroit and 21 metro Detroit suburbs. The report summarizes the volunteer accomplishments during the event and provides details of the work completed at each site. A great deal of work was accomplished by volunteers, according to Friends of the Rouge. Trends over the past five years reveal less trash for volunteers to remove and an increase in restoration projects, such as invasive plant …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Friends of the Rouge's annual cruise includes dinner and a tour of the river.
Ride the Rouge River this summer when Friends of the Rouge hosts their annual Rouge Cruise. The event takes place Tuesday, Aug. 7, and includes dinner and a guided tour aboard the the Diamond Belle boat of the Diamond Jack River Tours. A narrated tour of the lower section of the Rouge River will be conducted by Dr. John Hartig of the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge and author of the book Burning Rivers. Departure is at 6 p.m., with an estimated 9 p.m. return. Cuise participants should arrive at Stroh River Place dock before 5:45 p.m. to board. Fenced parking will be available for $4 per car, and the event will take place rain or shine. Registration is open, but early sign-up is encouraged, as the boat fills up fast! Non-refundable …
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Dearborn-based nonprofit released the results of their Spring Bug Hunt this month.
Things are looking up for the Rouge River, according to Dearborn-based nonprofit Friends of the Rouge. FOTR’s 2012 Spring Bug Hunt Report, released this month, shows that two branches of the Rouge River–the Middle Branch and the Main Branch–are showing an upward trend in health. The Spring Bug Hunt is an annual event that is part of a program to collect data on certain types of bugs that live in the streambed. The type and abundance of mayfly, dragonfly and stonefly and other larvae can be translated into a “score” for a site, telling biologists whether a site is good, fair, poor or excellent. The two branches that showed improvement were the Middle Branch that includes Johnson Creek and the Walled Lake Drainage and follows Hines Drive …
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Four locations in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights will be hosting Rouge Rescue events this weekend.
The Rouge Rescue returns to Dearborn and 19 other communities June 2, and Dearborn-based nonprofit Friends of the Rouge is in need of volunteers. The 26th annual event takes place at 35 sites in 20 communities throughout metro Detroit. Times and activities vary by site. According to Friends of the Rouge, the Rouge Rescue helps to decrease the impact of storm events and improve water quality by stabilizing stream banks and installing native plants to filter out pollutants. Rouge Rescue began as a trash clean-up, and evolved to include more restoration activities as conditions improved. “People don’t realize the positive impact just one day of working along the river can have,” said River Restoration Program Manager for Friends of the Rouge …
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Join us every day until Christmas for a new way to give time and money locally. Today, we showcase the Friends of the Rouge.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Molly Tippen
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Name: Friends of the Rouge Website: www.the rouge.org What they're all about: The Friends of the Rouge River are a group of more than 1,500 dedicated volunteers that work every day to restore the Rouge River, create awareness about the importance of clean water and promote education among the public and the schools about the importance of the river’s health. Now celebrating 25 years of activism and volunteerism on behalf of the Rouge, Operations Director Karen Hanna said the viability of the river is a key issue for all southeast Michigan residents. “This water is in our back yards; it’s necessary to make sure it’s not polluted,” she said. “Water is our most important resource, and its finite, so once it’s polluted, it’s just gone.” Indeed…
Saturday, June 4, 2011
It's tough work to help keep the Rouge River clean, but for one day a year, thousands of Michiganders make it their cause.
I grew up on the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn. Though not close enough to see it from my backyard, I remember my mom telling me, on trips down to Ford Field, one very important thing to remember: Don’t go in it. Her fear was not of me being sucked away in a current or cutting my foot on a rock, but because the Rouge, in her opinion, was not clean enough for her daughter even to dip a toe into. And she wasn’t alone in that thinking. Not by a long shot. I’m not old enough to remember hearing the news that the Rouge caught on fire due to pollution, but I remember the stories of the three-eyed fish that lived there (never did catch one, though). And I remember the smell when you got close to it. Dirty. That about sums up Dearborn’s …
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Thursday, June 2, 2011
Friends of the Rouge will host their annual Rouge Rescue this Saturday at more than 30 sites across southeast Michigan.
Years ago, the Rouge River was seen as synonymous with a dump. The 126-mile-long river that stretches through 48 Michigan municipalities was not known for its superb nature scenes or rapids for kayaking. Instead, people spoke about the fact that the Rouge caught on fire due to pollution in 1969, and that it was so trash-filled that some Dearborn residents could not open their windows due to the smell. But things have changed–mostly due to the efforts of the Dearborn-based nonprofit Friends of the Rouge, which has spent the past 25 years working toward one goal: making the Rouge a clean, sustainable habitat for wildlife and natural resource for Michiganders. This Saturday marks the 25th annual Rouge Rescue, during which thousands of …
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Federal grants have powered efforts to turn the Dearborn-based island into recreational area and habitat zone.
Man-made islands in industrialized zones are not at the top of outdoor enthusiasts’ and nature lovers’ vacation destinations, but the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority is looking to change that. Through grants like the $150,000 Marine Debris Removal Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the DWCPA is hoping to turn Dearborn's Fordson Island into a place where residents can enjoy activities like kayaking on the Rouge River and share time and space with wildlife. “There is an effort along the Rouge to turn the river into a greenway system and use the waterway more for recreational and environmental uses,” DWCPA Director of Economic Development and Grants Management John Kerr said. This most recent grant is part of …
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9:47 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012
It appears you can visit www.therouge.org to learn more about Friends of the Rouge and other volunteer opportunities, including the 2013 Rouge Rescue, planned for June 1. :) more ›