Rain Gardens to the Rescue

Thank you deeply for your support for rain gardens for Detroit residents. Given the wintery conditions, rain garden installations paused over the past six months, but we're starting to gear up for the 2021 growing season.

Friends of the Rouge is now taking applications from Detroit residents to participate in Rain Gardens to the Rescue, with funding available through the Erb Family Foundation for eight (8) applicants to receive rain gardens. The application deadline is April 26th, 2021. The workshops have capacity for upwards of 20 participants, so with your generous support we can help more Detroit residents green their homes and become part of the solution to Combined Sewer Overflows in the city, a major source of water pollution to the Rouge River and to the Great Lakes. 

Links:

• Info and application page for Rain Gardens to the Rescue

Thanks in part to your kind heart and your generous contribution, in 2020 Friends of the Rouge worked with Caroline P. to build a rain garden at her home in Detroit on the west side. Caroline participated in the 2020 Rain Gardens to the Rescue program, which worked with ten Detroit residents to design and build their own rain gardens. GlobalGiving supporters like you contributed towards buying the native plants that went into Caroline's rain garden. These ten rain gardens together replaced 1,800 square feet of lawn with beautiful gardens. These gardens provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and pollinators, AND store upwards of 90,000 gallons of stormwater per year!

But you should hear it in Caroline's words:

Thank you for your contribution(s) that ensure programs like Rain Gardens to the Rescue are accessible. I found it to be pleasant, very enriching and lead by kind, passionate people. Upon completing the program I am motivated! The skills gained from the workshops, planning tools and hands-on experience have all better positioned me to help my community get creative as it relates to stormwater management on a larger scale. Who knew a possible solution to a reoccurring street flooding problem could be a beautiful community butterfly rain garden!

Caroline is now taking on a new project: leading her neighborhood to purchase two vacant lots and build a large 1,500 square foot rain garden to solve street flooding problems that plague her neighborhood, while also creating a pocket-park for neighbors to enjoy. The park, titled Lanita's Butterfly Garden, will honor a beloved friend and neighbor who recently passed away. Your contribution to Rain Gardens to the Rescue is empowering Detroiters to come together to solve big problems. Thank you for your support!

Links:

• Learn about Detroit efforts for clean water through rain gardens