| Rouge Park News & Updates: - FORP Annual Membership Meeting Recap
- Stewardship Monthly Update
- Nature Update
- Rouge Park History: The Park That Almost Wasn't
- Brennan Rec Center Set to Break Ground Fall 2025
- Improvements Coming to Detroit Sugarbush Project
- New Viewing Platform Coming to Lahser Marsh
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SUPPORT 100 YEARS OF ROUGE PARK! |
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In honor of over 20 years of support and to celebrate the centennial anniversary of Rouge Park, we've dedicated a page on our website to recognize our generous donors who have contributed $100 or more to support the Centennial Celebration. Their contributions help commemorate this milestone year and ensure the continued preservation of our beautiful park. Donations will be accepted throughout the year, and all donors will be acknowledged on this page as a heartfelt THANK YOU for their commitment to Rouge Park. |
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Rouge Park turns 100 years old this year! We are celebrating all year with a large celebration over the weekend of June 27-29, with a carnival, concerts, tours, nature walks and more. Mark your calendars. We also are currently looking for Centennial Celebration Sponsors and those willing to join the Centennial Club to make this an extra special celebration.
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Spring Wildflower Nature Walk Sunday, April 6th, 2 PM - 4 PM |
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Join the Friend of Rouge Park for a delightful Spring Wildflower Nature Walk along the beautiful Ma'iingan Wildwood Trail in Rouge Park. Led by our knowledgeable Land Stewardship Manager, Antonio Cosme, this guided walk offers a unique opportunity to explore the vibrant spring blooms and learn about the natural history of this stunning landscape. Don't miss this chance to connect with nature and deepen your appreciation of one of Detroit's most cherished green spaces! |
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Honeysuckle Happy Hour Fridays, 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM |
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Join us for Honeysuckle Happy Hour, a recurring event where volunteers help restore the historic trails of Rouge Park while enjoying great food and drinks! Each session, we’ll work together to remove invasive honeysuckle, improve the park’s natural beauty, and then celebrate our efforts with refreshments and camaraderie.
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Earth Day Tree Planting Saturday, April 26th, 10 AM - 1 PM |
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Celebrate Earth Day with Friends of Rouge Park on Saturday, April 26th, from 10 AM to 1 PM! Join us for a hands-on tree planting event as we continue to enhance the park by planting more trees and tending to our beautiful Cherry Orchard along Rouge Park Drive. It's a great opportunity to give back to nature, meet fellow volunteers, and enjoy some snacks and refreshments. All are welcome—come make a positive impact on the environment! |
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Rouge Park Appreciation Day Saturday, May 17th, 9 AM - 1 PM |
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Join us for Rouge Park Appreciation Day on Saturday, May 17th, from 9 AM to 1 PM—the biggest park clean-up of the year! This year, we'll be focusing on multiple locations within Rouge Park (locations to be announced). Volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, including trash clean-ups, invasive species removal, and other efforts to improve the park. Lunch will be provided to all volunteers as a thank you for your hard work. Come out and help us make Rouge Park shine! |
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FORP Annual Membership Meeting Recap |
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The Friends of Rouge Park Annual Membership Meeting Dinner, held on March 18th, was a wonderful evening of connection and celebration. Over 60 members and community leaders joined us to kick off the centennial year of Rouge Park. It was fantastic to see so many of our members and partners in attendance, sharing in the spirit of community and excitement for what lies ahead. During the meeting, we took a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of 2024 and share the exciting plans we have in store for 2025. One of our key focuses is expanding our stewardship program. This initiative will empower more individuals by providing them with the necessary training to lead stewardship projects in the park, allowing us to strengthen our commitment to maintaining and enhancing Rouge Park’s natural beauty. In addition, we are working on creating a Rouge Park Task Force—a dedicated team that will support a variety of events, ranging from festivals to nature walks and beyond, helping to ensure Rouge Park remains a vibrant and accessible space for all. A highlight of the evening was hearing from our members as they shared memorable moments and stories about what makes Rouge Park so special to them. We were also treated to an incredible presentation by park historian and board member, Paul Stark, who took us on a journey back to 1925, providing a fascinating glimpse into the park's rich history and growth over the years. The evening also included the special recognition of our Best Friend of the Park, Tea Montgomery, and our Best Partner of the Park, Libby Levy, for their outstanding contributions to Rouge Park. We would like to congratulate our newly elected board members and thank everyone for their continued dedication to our mission. It was a memorable night, filled with gratitude and anticipation for the year ahead as we celebrate Rouge Park's centennial. Here's to a fantastic year ahead!
Attached here is our slide deck from the evening highlighting our 2024 accomplishments and all of the great plans we have for the year!
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2024 BEST FRIEND OF ROUGE PARK: TEA MONTGOMERY |
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Tea Montgomery, a nurse and community organizer based in Detroit, has consistently gone above and beyond for Rouge Park. As a hardworking and reliable stewardship volunteer, Tea tackles even the less glamorous tasks with dedication. She plays a key role in attracting young people to our stewardship efforts, energizing and inspiring a new generation to get involved.
In 2024, Tea expanded her role, stepping up to help lead events. At RPAD, she led a team of volunteers and worked alongside our Land Stewardship Manager to coordinate several workdays throughout the year. She also hosted groups of youth from the Boggs School and Hamtramck High School students from SOS Detroit. Tea's leadership at the Detroit Sugarbush, where she helped with the tapping, identifying, harvesting, and boiling of maple sap, further demonstrates her dedication. Additionally, she contributed to the landscape design process with Insite Design, helping shape the vision for the southern section of Rouge Park. Tea’s enthusiasm, energy, and commitment make her an invaluable asset to Rouge Park, and she is truly deserving of this award. |
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2024 BEST PARTNER OF ROUGE PARK: LIBBY LEVY |
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Libby Levy has been a dedicated advocate for Detroit Parks for over 15 years, making a profound impact on Rouge Park in recent years by helping us grow as an organization. Libby was one of the founding members of the Detroit Parks Coalition, formed in 2010 in response to the threat of closing 77 parks under the Bing administration. Her steadfast efforts with the Eastside Community Collaborative helped ensure Detroit Parks remained open and valued.
Libby’s connection with the Friends of Rouge Park deepened over the years, and in 2023, we hired her and her husband, Alan, to develop a staffing and fundraising plan for us. They worked tirelessly to create the plan and help us recruit new board members. But Libby didn’t stop there. Even after the paid work was completed, she continued to assist us, recognizing our need for full-time staff and helping us secure funding. She facilitated meetings with potential funders, spent countless hours helping us develop a sustainable budget, and played a vital role in the hiring process for our new staff. Libby’s dedication to our organization and her ongoing support have been invaluable. Libby Levy is truly a Best Partner of Rouge Park, and we are deeply grateful for her unwavering commitment. |
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Spring Has Sprung in Rouge Park! |
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The warmth is here, and spring has officially arrived following the spring equinox on March 22! The word "equinox" comes from Latin, meaning "equal night," marking the time when daylight and nighttime hours are nearly the same. |
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The Sugarbush Season – When Does It End? Each year, people ask, "When does the sugarbush season end?" The answer? When Mother Nature and the trees decide! Looking at past years, the date has ranged from as early as March 3 in 2023 to as late as April 5 in 2022.
The biggest factors are temperature and sap quality. Consistently warm daytime temperatures above 60°F can quickly end the season, while nighttime temperatures are crucial. Maple sap flows best with daytime temperatures above freezing (32°F) and below freezing at night. When nights remain warm, the sap slows, signaling the season's end.
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As temperatures rise, sap quality also declines due to fermentation caused by bacteria and yeasts in the air. Clear sap turns translucent, and the presence of pink mold or black mildew is a sure sign that the season is over. Additionally, as trees begin to flower, their sap becomes bitter. Red and silver maples are the first to bud, while sugar maples won’t flower until mid-April or later.
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Trees, Pollinators, and Signs of Spring Many don’t realize how crucial tree flowers are for pollinators. Early bloomers like maples, birch, and willows provide nectar for honeybees, bumblebees, hoverflies, and solitary bees before ground-level plants begin to flower. Other signs of spring in Rouge Park include: - Bird Migrations: Red-winged blackbirds, turkey vultures, American robins, and great blue herons have returned. We expect swallows back in April!
- Emerging Plants: While skunk cabbage is the first wetland flower in many places, it has yet to be found in Rouge Park. Instead, early spring brings native wild onions (Allium canadense) and invasive wild garlic (Allium vineale). Garlic mustard is also emerging—more on this in our next newsletter!
- Amphibian Calls: Spring peepers and chorus frogs are singing in the healthier parts of the Rouge Watershed. Have you heard them yet? Warm, moist evenings are the best time to listen. Learn to identify different frog calls here: froggyvoice.com.
- Vernal Pond Monitoring: In April and May, we’ll begin tracking the seasonal ponds in the southern section of the park. Stay tuned!
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March was a busy month for volunteer workdays! We hosted youth from Cody High School, American Indian Health and Family Services, and Wayne State’s Alternative Spring Break program. With over 30 volunteers each session, we've made significant progress: - Nearly eliminating honeysuckle along the Stone Bridge Trail loop and Sugarbush area
- Expanding our efforts down the Ma'iingan Wildwood Trail
Big thanks to stewards Sage, Tea, and Adele for their dedication! Special Stewardship Highlights: - Pancake Breakfast (March 22): Hosted with Catch the Vibe Detroit
- Nain Rouge Volunteer Day (March 29): A community-driven shift in tradition
- Rocket Community Fund Volunteers: Contributing to Rouge Park improvements
Get Involved! As daylight extends into the evenings, our workdays are shifting to Friday afternoons. Sign up for a workday here! This April, our efforts will focus on the ephemeral ponds in the park’s southern section. Research shows that invasive honeysuckle contributes to water enrichment, which depletes oxygen and creates conditions where mosquitoes thrive while amphibians struggle. By removing invasive species, we aim to restore a healthier wetland ecosystem. Rouge Park is a precious gem, and we invite you to experience the beauty of seasonal changes on the trails, in the prairies, and throughout Detroit’s largest park! |
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The Park That Almost Wasn't |
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(Photo: The 1925 General Plan for River Rouge Park) |
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On April 6, 2025 it will be exactly 100 years to the day that Rouge Park officially became Detroit’s largest park. That was the day that 1203 acres of land purchased by Detroit along 4.7 miles of the Rouge River, half in Dearborn Township and half in Redford Township, was annexed by the City of Detroit. It had been six years since Mayor James Couzens endorsed, and City Council passed, the proposal to create the new park. A long and politically tumultuous six years followed that saw six different mayors rise and fall from power, and that very nearly ended the vision to create such a park. It did, in fact, kill what would have been Rouge Park’s 360 acre sister park on the east side, Conner Creek Park. Rouge Park never would have been proposed in the first place if not for four true visionaries coming together all at the same time, occupying the office of the mayor, James Couzens, the head of the city’s Recreation Department, Charles B. Lundy, the head of the Department of Parks and Boulevards, Edward G. Heckel, and perhaps most importantly, councilman John C. Nagel. It was a bold and forward-thinking idea to purchase 1203 acres of farmland six miles outside the city limits of Detroit, half again the size of Central Park in Manhattan, knowing one day the city would grow to surround it and it would become Detroit’s signature park. But as with all visionaries, their vision quickly collided with reality. In 1924, John Smith defeated John C. Lodge to become mayor and encouraged the sale of Conner Creek Park for development of City Airport and other businesses. He failed to entirely eliminate Rouge Park as he wanted, though he did succeed, as a cost-saving measure, to sacrifice much of the original park to be used instead for the 60ft. wide, 4-lane Outer Drive project, running the road right down the middle of the park. |
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Left: Original Plan - Outer Drive and Rouge Park plans kept separate Right: Rouge Parkland sacrificed for the Outer Drive Project |
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Rouge Park did survive, though the grand original plan was severely compromised. The park was only three years old when the Great Depression hit leading to severe funding cuts canceling most of the original park development plans. Consequently, much of the park was left undeveloped and some areas were still being farmed by the previous landowners well into the 1930s. Then WWII and the Cold War led to much of the park being taken for military purposes and a Nike nuclear missile base. Nonetheless, Rouge Park thrived, rivaling Belle Isle in the number of park visitors and activities for many decades! As we travel through this centennial year, each month we will continue to share more of the thrilling story of this amazing park.
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Brennan Rec Center Set to Break Ground Fall 2025 |
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The city’s plans to build a new recreation center in Rouge Park are progressing, though slowly. The groundbreaking has been postponed from this spring to September 2025. The good news is that this delay will allow Brennan Pools to remain open throughout the summer, and the poolhouse will continue to be available for meetings and events. Additionally, it will enable the Pistons Neighbors Program to take place again in the parking lot. |
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Improvements Coming to Detroit Sugarbush Project |
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Since 2019, the nation’s largest urban sugarbush project has been thriving in Rouge Park. Founded by Antonio Cosme and a dedicated group of native leaders and volunteers, the Detroit Sugarbush Project engages a diverse community in the ancient Indigenous practice of tapping maple trees and making maple sugar. As the project has grown, the need for improved access and other enhancements at the site—located on a bluff overlooking the Rouge River floodplain—has become clear. The Friends of Rouge Park have hosted regular stewardship days to improve trails, clean up the site, and remove invasive species. This year, state funding, along with support from the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, is being allocated to enhance the project, including the creation of an accessible pathway that will better accommodate elders and other improvements to the boiling site. A big thank you to the Detroit Parks Coalition and State Representative Stephanie Young for securing these vital funds for Detroit. |
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New Viewing Platform Coming to Lahser Marsh |
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We have applied for a building permit to install a 36' x 16' viewing platform at Lahser Marsh, complete with an accessible ramp. A big thank you to engineer Michael Darga for providing the design documents. This project is made possible through funding from the Conservation Fund and the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, and we plan to complete the installation this year. |
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Click here to see DPL Edison Branch April events. Edison Branch is now open on Saturdays but closed on Fridays. Hours: Mon. & Wed. 12-8pm, Tues., Thurs., & Sat. 10am-6pm |
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We would LOVE your help in supporting the future of Rouge Park! |
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