Published July 29, 2025

To promote sustainable landscaping, the City of Dearborn has partnered with the nonprofit organization Friends of the Rouge to host workshops designed to educate and train residents on building and maintaining rain gardens. Registration is now open for the Rain Gardener 101 class on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 10-11 a.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Avenue.

Regina Sistrunk, Community Development Compliance Officer for the City of Dearborn, stated, “Rain gardens are a holistic way to prevent hundreds to thousands of gallons of rainwater from entering the sewer system each year. With Dearborn’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, we have found a partner in Friends of the Rouge to help us help residents protect their homes against flooding, while also helping nature and pollinators.”

The Rain Gardener 101 class is an introductory session on rain gardens. Attendees learn why rain gardens are needed, how they help reduce flooding, and what native plants are used. Registration for the course is now open at the following link: Dearborn Rain Gardens 101 Workshop. 

Friends of the Rouge works to restore and protect the Rouge River ecosystem by helping to install rain gardens in communities, aiming to reduce flooding, pollution, and erosion while supporting pollinators and native wildlife. Those interested can also create a Do-It-Yourself rain garden. For more information about this event, email sshell@therouge.org or visit TheRouge.org.

###