Sites installing stream bank stabilization projects 1 Sites coordinating educational activities 8 Sites offering nature walks 6

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1 Friends of the Rouge thanks Jon Eric Cornellier with Canton Twp Leisure Services for creating the 2010 logo. Each June, Friends of the Rouge, in partnership with Rouge communities and other organizations, brings volunteers together from across the watershed to work toward the common goal of improving the Rouge River for generations to come. This annual event, known as Rouge Rescue, began in 1986 with volunteers removing large quantities of trash from the river. As river sites improved, public perception of the river shifted away from the thought that the river was just an open sewer and a place to dump trash. Today, much of the event is focused on river restoration and volunteers work to remove invasive plants from the river corridor, install native plantings and stabilize stream banks to improve the health of the river. Rouge Rescue 2010 attracted 1,900+ volunteers who worked to clean trash from the Rouge River, plant native vegetation to restore the land/water connection and remove invasive plants to maintain biodiversity in the river s corridor. Many sites also offered educational activities to raise awareness about the river s health. A breakdown of the activities sites participated in is provided in Table 1 below. Table 1: Site Participation by Activity Sites removing trash 34 Sites removing invasive plants 25 Sites installing plantings 18 Number of sites planting: Rain gardens 2 Riparian buffers 5 Native demonstration gardens 6 Bio-swales 2 Trees 5 Sites managing wood in the river 7 Thanks to our partners, who take on the additional responsibility of coordinating the individual sites, 40 work sites were held in 23 communities throughout the Rouge River watershed. Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) welcomed 5 new sites this year (noted next to the site name in the Site Highlights beginning on page 4). Sites installing stream bank stabilization projects 1 Sites coordinating educational activities 8 Sites offering nature walks 6 Rouge Rescue Assistant, Wayne Roper, helps out with the Run for the Rouge, a fundraising event coordinated with Canton Twp to raise funds for Rouge Rescue. Promoting restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River since 1986

2 Funding from REI allowed FOTR to hire a part time temporary employee to help with the coordination of Rouge Rescue. Wayne Roper, a student in the Environmental Science Program at the University of Michigan Dearborn, joined the team in January and completed his time with us in July. Sponsor participation continues to be strong. DENSO International America co coordinated a site on their corporate campus in Southfield again this year. Ford Motor Company employees held a workday in Ford Field Park in Dearborn (formerly called Ford Rouge Day). General Oil Company prepared a wonderful lunch for volunteers in Redford Twp. Marathon helped out with the Fordson Island worksite. ITC Holdings, a new sponsor, came out to our Run for the Rouge, Rouge Rescue and our Rouge River Boat Tour. Please join us in thanking all of our sponsors for supporting Rouge Rescue. A complete list is in the Sponsors section of this report. Friends of the Rouge thanks everyone involved in Rouge Rescue The success of the event depends on you, whether you are a site coordinator, corporate sponsor or a volunteer lending a hand for the day. Thank you! Board Member Sue Thompson and Biologist Bruce McCullough teach volunteers about life in the stream at the Meadows of Canton site. Many sites are offering educational activities in addition to stream clean up and stewardship activities. Volunteers plant a riparian buffer along the pond at EL Johnson Nature Center in Bloomfield Twp. A summary of the progress made during Rouge Rescue 2010 is described below and is listed in Table 2. The summary is a compilation of the data reported by the individual sites. A few sites did not provide detailed reports. As a result the accomplishments listed below may underestimate the actual numbers. They do Table 2: Summary of Accomplishments illustrate the impact of the event. by Task Trash Removal Bags of trash 330 Cubic yards of trash/debris 146 Vehicles 2 Tires 20 Shopping carts 7 Appliance 1 Invasive Plant Removal Bags of invasive plants removed 541 Native Plantings Trees and shrubs planted 105 Wildflowers and grasses planted 2,000+ Trash Removal: 146 cubic yards and 330 bags of trash were removed, including 20 tires, 7 shopping carts and 1 appliance. Aristeo Construction removed 2 vehicles this year from Rouge and Eliza Howell Parks in the City of Detroit. Invasive Plant Removal: 541 bags of garlic mustard and dame s rocket were removed. Buckthorn shrubs were cut and/or chipped at several worksites. Native Plantings: Volunteers planting 105 trees and shrubs and 2,000+ wildflowers and grasses. A one acre native buffer was planted by seed along the Upper Rouge in Lola Valley Park in Redford. Many of theses plantings (1,278 plugs) were made possible by funding provided to FOTR by REI, Inc.

3 1 Douglas Evans Nature Preserve 11 Gateway Trail 21 Bicentennial Park 31 Kosch Headwaters Preserve 2 Linden Park 12 HFCC 22 Fish Hatchery Park 32 Stage Nature Center 3 Cranbrook 13 Parkland Park 23 Allen Drive Park 33 Holliday Nature Preserve 4 E.L. Johnson Nature Center 14 Rouge Park 24 Stonewater Community 34 Dynamite Park 5 Roeper School 15 Eliza Howell 25 Rotary Park Novi 35 Lola Valle Park 6 Meadows of Canton 16 Shiawassee Park 26 Smith School 36 Bennett Arboretum 7 Canton Recreation Trail 17 OCC Orchard Ridge Campus 27 Plymouth Twp Park 37 Lindbergh Elementary 8 HF Estate 18 Heritage Park 28 Beech Woods Rec Ctr 38 Boy Scout Troop UM Dearborn 19 Botsford (Moelke) Park 29 Berberian Woods Sites not on map: 10 Fordson Island 20 Coventry Gardens 30 Denso City of Inkster Ford Field (Ford Motor Company)

4 Beverly Hills Douglas Evans Nature Preserve Evergreen Road between 13 Mile & 14 Mile Roads Coordinator: Erin Saur, Village of Beverly Hills # Volunteers: 18 Trash removal: 1 bag Other debris: 1 tire Invasive plant removal: 25 bags of garlic mustard, dame's rocket, buckthorn Other activities: Public education activities Local groups: Berkshire Middle School Birmingham Linden Park Between Lincoln & Maple Roads Coordinator: Connie Folk, City of Birmingham # Volunteers: 35 Trash removal: 2 bags cubic yards Invasive plant removal: 80 bags of garlic mustard, dame's rocket Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Institute of Science Woodward Ave between Long Lake & Lone Pine Roads Coordinator: Lisa Appel, Cranbrook Institute of Science # Volunteers: 8 Invasive plant removal: 11 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: Rain garden planting Pulling garlic mustard on the grounds of Cranbrook Institute of Science. The Roeper School Woodward Ave Coordinator: William Eisenman, The Roeper School # Volunteers: 9 Invasive plant removal: Volunteers removed garlic mustard New plantings: Native planting Bloomfield Township EL Johnson Nature Center 3325 Franklin Coordinators: Noah Mehalski, Bloomfield Twp # Volunteers: 23 Dan Badgley, EL Johnson Nature Center Trash removal: 5 bags Other debris: dead vegetation New plantings: 40 flowers & grasses, riparian buffer, and native plant demo garden over 1 acre Local groups: Trout Unlimited, Venture Crow 2977 Canton Township Meadows of Canton Lotz Rd between Palmer & Cherry Hill Coordinator: Kesh Raizada, Watershed Division, Wayne County Dept of Public Service # Volunteers: 115 Trash removal: 11 bags Other activities: Public education, storm drain stenciling, bird house building, stream monitoring, thermometer exchange, Fellows Creek clean up Lower Rouge Recreation Trail Michigan Ave & Morton Taylor Coordinator: Greg Pyle, Canton Township # Volunteers: 269 Trash removal: Removed trash New plantings: Native plantings along 3 ponds, approx. ¼ acre in size Other activities: 4 satellite clean up sites in local subdivisions, public education activities, bird house building Local groups: Wade Trim, Canton Twp Board of Trustees, Chet s Rent all Dearborn Dearborn Gateway Trail Brady St & Morley Ave, Ford Field Park Coordinator: Thomas Trimble, Christ Church Dearborn # Volunteers: 32 Trash removal: 10 bags Other debris: 4 tires, sports balls, consumer debris Invasive plant removal: 57 bags of garlic mustard Local groups: Christ Episcopal Church Dearborn, Sacred Heart Church Youth Group, Riverbend Neighborhood Association, Boy Scout Troop #1147 Volunteers in Dearborn's Ford Field Park pull garlic mustard, a non native invasive plant, from the forest understory. Ford Action Accelerator Day (new) Military & Cherry Hill, Ford Field Park Coordinator: Dan Ballnik, Dearborn Resident # Volunteers: 127 Trash removal: General park clean up New plantings: Installed native plants in floodplain and maintained existing plantings Local groups: Ford Motor Company employees Henry Ford Community College Ford & Evergreen Roads Coordinators: Kerry Wilson & Shelly Kadell, Henry Ford Community College # Volunteers: 13

5 Invasive plant removal: 18 bags of garlic mustard, buckthorn New plantings: Strawberries, goldenrod, aster Local groups: HFCC, UM Dearborn Henry Ford Estate Michigan Ave & Evergreen Road Coordinator: Karen Marzonie, Henry Ford Estate # Volunteers: 14 Invasive plant removal: 4 bags of garlic mustard, weeds New plantings: 11 trees and shrubs, 120 flowers & grasses, and 240 sq ft trail garden Other activities: Refreshed woodchip trail Volunteers help maintain the grounds of the Historic Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn. University of Michigan Dearborn Evergreen Rd between Ford Rd and Michigan Ave Coordinator: Evan Finley, Volunteer Dearborn # Volunteers: 33 Invasive plant removal: 2 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: 15 trees and shrubs, 30 flowers and grasses, and a rain garden Other activities: Nature walk, refreshed woodchip trail, trimmed plants hanging over trails Local groups: Cub Scouts Dearborn Heights Hines Parkway, Dearborn Heights (new) Hines Dr & Outer Dr Coordinator: Helena Thornton, Teacher, Lindbergh Elementary # Volunteers: 14 Trash removal: 10 bags Invasive plant removal: Pulled garlic mustard Parkland Park Ann Arbor Trail, East of Outer Drive Coordinators: Steven Roberts & Barb Goryca, Dearborn Heights Watershed Stewards Commission # Volunteers: 55 Other debris: 1 street barricade removed from river Invasive plant removal: 10 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: 1 tree, native plant demo garden, and 150 sq ft bio swale area Other activities: Public education, nature walk, mulched wildflower garden, trenched wetland area Local groups: Dearborn Heights Watershed Stewards Commission Detroit Eliza Howell Park Telegraph & Fenkell Coordinator: Riet Shumack, Brightmoor Alliance # Volunteers: 34 Trash removal: 20 bags Other debris: 1 vehicle, 6 tires Invasive plant removal: 3 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: 75 flowers and grasses along park and 200 ft nature trail Other activities: Nature walk Local groups: MPRI, Friends of Eliza Howell Park, Blightbusters, City Mission, Brightmoor Youth Garden, Cooley Law School Aristeo Construction pulls 2 more cars from the river this year bringing the total cars removed to 22 and a half since 2006! Thank you Aristeo! Fordson Island Area Powell & Heidt St Coordinator: Marina Chavez Camarena, Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision # Volunteers: 31 Trash removal: 20 bags New plantings: 7 flats of annuals and 76 native perennials in a 95 sq ft garden Other activities: Woody debris management, neighborhood clean up Local groups: Marathon Oil, Marine Pollution Control, Ford Rouge Factory Tour Volunteers create a garden around the Rouge Park sign in the City of Detroit. Rouge Park Joy & Spinoza Coordinator: Sally Petrella, Friends of Rouge Park # Volunteers: 133 Trash removal: 70 bags Other debris: 1 vehicle, 1 tire, toilet Invasive plant removal: 44 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: 114 native flowers and grasses planted in an 100 sq ft area Other activities: Public education Local groups: Friends of Rouge Park, Detroit Aero modelers Farmington Shiawassee Park Powers north of Grand River Ave Coordinator: Martha Ross, Friends of the Rouge # Volunteers: 18 Trash removal: 2 bags Invasive plant removal: 6 bags of garlic mustard, dame's rocket, deadly nightshade New plantings: 89 flowers and grasses planted as well maintenance of an existing riparian buffer planting Local groups: Brownies

6 Farmington Hills Heritage Park Farmington Rd between 10 Mile & 11 Mile Roads Coordinator: Randy Lovett, City of Farmington Hills # Volunteers: 34 Invasive plant removal: 8 bags of garlic mustard, buckthorn, honeysuckle New plantings: 8 trees and shrubs planted in the cleared Buckthorn areas and installed a native plant demo garden Other activities: Naturalist informed volunteers about the threat of invasive plants and methods to control them Local groups: Garden Club, City Council Professor Mantey signs in at the OCC Orchard Ridge Rouge Rescue site. Oakland Community College 12 Mile & Orchard Lake Road Coordinator: Mike Kadrofske, Oakland Community College # Volunteers: 19 Trash removal: 25 bags Invasive plant removal: 1 bag of garlic mustard Inkster Inkster Inkster Rd & Michigan Ave Coordinator: Commissioner Joan Gebhardt # Volunteers: 16 Trash removal: 16 bags Other debris: 1 tire, metal wheel, car jack Invasive plant removal: 3 bags of garlic mustard, honeysuckle Other activities: Woody debris management, public education, nature walk, 30 yards of fresh wood chips for the nature trail Local groups: Inkster High School, Dearborn Christian Fellowship Livonia Bicentennial Park 7 Mile between Gill & Newburgh Road Coordinators: Sharon Sabat & Doug Moore, City of Livonia # Volunteers: 61 Trash removal: 5 bags Other debris: Styrofoam containers, plastic lids, metal fencing, carpet Invasive plant removal: Buckthorn removal New plantings: 45 trees and shrubs as well as 380 native wildflowers and grasses planted in over an acre of land Other activities: Stabilized 150 ft of river bank Local groups: Churchill High School, Stevenson High School, Girl Scout Troop Botsford Park Lathers between Inkster & Middlebelt Roads Coordinator: Tom Horn, Trinity Church # Volunteers: 53 Trash removal: 28 bags Other debris: Chair, duck decoy, ladder Invasive plant removal: 10 bags of garlic mustard Local groups: Trinity Church Livonia, Redford Union High School, Boy Scouts Pack 287, Local Team Earth, Garden City Family Resource Center Coventry Gardens Park 5 Mile & Farmington Road Coordinator: Chuck Eastman, Coventry Gardens Improvement Association # Volunteers: 11 Trash removal: 3 bags Invasive plant removal: 14 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: Installed a native plant demonstration garden Other activities: Woody debris management Local groups: Coventry Gardens Improvement Association Northville Allen Drive Park 8 Mile & Novi Road Coordinators: Janine Bauchat & Shannon Sestak, Northville Residents Power lines were down blocking access to the site on Rouge Rescue day. True friends of the Rouge, Janine, Shannon and Selena Brown visited the site in the following week to complete the projects scheduled for the event. New plantings: Created a new native prairie area with mulch and rescued plants Bennett Arboretum (new) Hines Drive & 6 Mile Road Coordinator: Jordyn Salmon, Commissioner Laura Cox s Office # Volunteers: 49 Other activities: General clean up of the Bennett Arboretum and worked to maintain existing grow zones of native wildflowers and grasses Northville Township Fish Hatchery Park 7 Mile Rd between Sheldon & Beck Roads Coordinator: Jill Rickard, Northville Twp # Volunteers: 26 Other activities: Nature walk, Low Impact Development presentation by OHM, crafts for children on bug hunts and native plants with 7 simple steps to clean water card. Hines Drive Eagle Project (new) Hines Park through Northville Twp Coordinator: Cameron Albrant, Boy Scout Troop 755 # Volunteers: 18 Trash removal: 7 bags + 6 cubic yards Other debris: hot tub, treated wood Other activities: Log jams and woody debris moved in the river, and trash cleaned along Hines Drive. Local groups: Boy Scout Troop 755 Volunteers clean up trash from the Johnson Creek and neighborhood ponds in the Stonewater subdivision in Northville.

7 Stonewater Community (new) Ridge Rd between 6 Mile & 7 Mile Rds Coordinator: Lora Wright, Stonewater Community # Volunteers: 23 Trash removal: General clean up along Johnson Creek and neighborhood ponds New plantings: Native plant demonstration project Novi 2010 Daniel G. Beckett Jr. Who invited the mosquitoes?! That was the question of the day at all sites, not just by this young volunteer in Novi. Rotary Park 9 Mile & Novi Roads Coordinator: Wendy DuVall, City of Novi # Volunteers: 85 Trash removal: 15 bags + 30 cubic yards Other debris: Bottles, can, ropes, plastic bags, foam, trees, shoes, pipes Invasive plant removal: 2 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: 91 flowers and grasses planted along with a bioswale area Other activities: Log jams opened Local groups: Beautification Commission, Toyota Bushoka, City Council, Novi Rotary, Girl & Boy Scouts, Novi High School, Master Gardening Association, city staff, Orchard Hills Elementary Smith School Sheldon & Ann Arbor Trail Coordinator: Chris Porman, City of Plymouth # Volunteers: 24 Trash removal: 37 bags Other debris: 2 tires, shopping cart, printer, 3 bikes, metal pole. Area cleaned: 3 blocks Plymouth Township Plymouth Twp Park Ann Arbor Trail & Beck Rd Coordinator: Susan Vignoe, Charter Twp of Plymouth # Volunteers: 22 New plantings: 20 trees and shrubs and 16 flowers and grasses planted for a riparian buffer and native prairie Other activities: public education Local groups: Salem High School, DBA Redford Township Lola Valley Park 6 Mile & Beech Daly Roads Coordinators: Jen Lawson, Resident & Karyn Aho, Redford Township # Volunteers: 56 Trash removal: General clean up Other debris: Bike, chair, sink. basketball, garbage can lid, "For Sale" sign, sled, steel rods, 2 metal boxes, 2 picnic tables, New plantings: Installed 1 acre grow zone of native wetland seed mix and 3 flats of native plants Other activities: Boy Scout Troop 401 built 2 bat boxes and hung them at the site Local groups: Boy Scout Troop 401, General Oil Co. Prepping the river bank along the Upper Rouge in Lola Valley Park to install a Grow Zone of native plants to reduce erosion and improve water quality. Southfield Beech Woods Rec Center & DENSO 9 Mile & Beech Roads & DENSO Corporate Campus Coordinators: Brandy Siedlaczek, City of Southfield & Melissa Smith, DENSO International America # Volunteers: 196 Invasive plant removal: 139 bags of garlic mustard Other activities: Woody debris management, log jam removal Local groups: DENSO, City of Southfield, Korean Presbyterian Church, Southfield Schools Friends of the Rouge Congratulates the City of Southfield for Celebrating 40 years of Rouge River Clean-up Berberian Woods 12 Mile & Telegraph Roads Coordinators: Heather Huffstutler, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy & Gail Barber, Resident # Volunteers: 5 Invasive plant removal: 17 bags of garlic mustard, dame's rocket Superior Township Kosch Headwaters Preserve Ford & Prospect Roads Coordinator: Scott Tyrrell, Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy # Volunteers: 8 Invasive plant removal: Lots of bags of garlic mustard Local groups: SMLC, GCF

8 Troy Stage Nature Center Coolidge Hwy & W. South Blvd. Coordinator: Stacey Yankee, Lloyd A Stage Nature Center # Volunteers: 105 Invasive plant removal: 51 bags of garlic mustard, dame's rocket, thistle New plantings: Four 32 sq ft landscaped beds and 6 large pots Other activities: Woody debris management, woodchipped trails, mulched rain garden, log jams opened Local groups: REI, SDA, AMS, BLIA, HRC, Nature Center Volunteers Wayne Dynamite Park Michigan Avenue & Venoy Coordinator: Kurt Kuban, Wayne Resident # Volunteers: 50 Westland Holliday Nature Preserve Newburgh & Warren Roads Coordinators: Kevin Buford, City of Westland & Bill Craig, Holliday Nature Preserve Association # Volunteers: 59 Trash removal: 32 bags Other debris: 3 tires, 1 shopping cart, mattress, sleeping bags, electronics, clothes, sporting goods, books, playground eqp, light bulbs, styrofoam Invasive plant removal: 2 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: Planted 5 ft Dogwood and Redbud trees Other activities: Opened log jams, woody debris management, built and installed 6 boardwalks along nature walk and spread woodchips along path Local groups: Holliday Nature Preserve Association, Friends of the Detroit River, City of Westland, VFW Detroit Post 4553, Orchard, Hiltz, & McCliment Inc., Canton High School, Churchill High School, Stevenson High School Trash removal: 11 bags Other debris: 2 vehicle parts, 5 shopping carts, pool, couch, ladder, plastic guitar, Invasive plant removal: 34 bags of garlic mustard New plantings: 3 trees and a landscaped berm around park sign Other activities: Woody debris management, opened log jams Local groups: City of Wayne, Wayne Rotary, Civitans Site coordinators at Holliday Nature Preserve poke fun at the mosquito misery! 2010 Daniel G. Beckett Jr. Volunteers remove a boat load of trash in the City of Wayne. Volunteers build boardwalks at Holliday Nature Preserve in Westland.

9 This volunteer in Redford proudly wears his 1990 Rouge Rescue t shirt. Servin' up hot dogs to hungry volunteers in Rouge Park. Sprucing up a bench along at the Fordson Island Rouge Rescue site. "How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world. -Anne Frank Thank you for helping to improve our little piece of it! -Friends of the Rouge Volunteers receive their assignments from site coordinator Commissioner Joan Gebhardt at the Rouge Rescue site in Inkster. Removing trash from the Upper Rouge River and floodplain in Botsford Park.

10 Rouge Rescue is supported, in part, by a grant from the Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project. Friends of the Rouge thanks them for the support. To learn about sponsorship and volunteer opportunities contact Cyndi Ross at or visit us online at Promoting restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River since 1986