By Jaclyn Heikkila | Restoration Assistant
Generous support received from GlobalGiving and with funding available through the Erb Family Foundation, Friends of the Rouge awarded eight (8) rain gardens to Detroit residents participating in the Rain Gardens to the Rescue program in 2021. Rain gardens are a low cost solution to urban stormwater pollution. These rain gardens were installed in August and early September 2021 at the homes of Detroiters who have completed a five-part training course where they learned all about rain gardens, their installation and maintenance. Carla, a 2021 participant said “the classes were incredibly informative and inspiring, making me want to install a second rain garden in 2022” and that “it was a great experience from start to finish”. Another 2021 participant, Alicia, stated that installing a rain garden after seeing the damage this year’s storms and flooding caused, gave her a deeper appreciation for the project in managing stormwater, aside from the benefits for pollinators and having less grass to cut.
The rain gardens, designed by participants during the course, and with support from stormwater experts, have replaced 1,305 sq.ft. of lawn and will capture rainwater runoff from 5,279 sq.ft. of roofs – preventing 7,338 gallons of water from flowing into the combined sewer systems each time it rains! Overflows of the sewer which is a major source of water pollution in the Rouge and Detroit Rivers and the Great Lakes. These gardens are helping towards Friends of the Rouge’s goal of 5,000 rain gardens by 2035!
With additional funding, Friends of the Rouge was also able to support two (2) additional residential rain gardens on Hubbard Street where residents experienced the multiple flooding events in 2021 with damage to their homes. These gardens are helping reduce the amount of water going into the storm drains and keeping water from seeping into their basements. Joe who has installed a rain garden in his backyard on Hubbard Street has been elated that he has not had any water seeping into his basement since installing the garden and he plans to install another in his front yard next spring. Friends of the Rouge looks forward to supporting additional neighbors’ rain gardens in the community in 2022.
In 2022, Friends of the Rouge hopes to focus on underrepresented neighborhoods in Metro Detroit that receive disproportionately greater flooding events and other environmental pollution and whose residents are majority persons of color and low income households. The program will look to expand its audience by providing educational materials in Spanish and Arabic in addition to English. These gardens will include smaller scale residential gardens in addition to several large-scale gardens at local houses of worship which will educate the community on green infrastructure, involve neighbors in the design and installation of the gardens, inspire them to install their own gardens, and have a community green space to connect with nature. Thank you for your support of Rain Gardens to the Rescue!
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