VOLUNTEER WITH FRIENDS OF ROUGE PARK
For more than a century, Rouge Park has been the west side’s premier green space; a 1,122 acre urban landscape that provides critical habitat for wildlife, absorbs stormwater in one of Michigan’s most urbanized watersheds, and offers Detroiter’s space to play, learn, and reconnect with nature.
As one of the largest urban parks, caring for a landscape this large and ecologically important takes many hands. This is hands-on, outdoor restoration work — but it’s also about community and learning. You’ll meet fellow nature lovers, build friendships, and deepen your understanding of the land while learning to identify native, invasive, and potentially hazardous plants.
We need your support and remain grateful for the time and energy you invest in stewarding
Detroit’s largest park. Join us today!
For more than a century, Rouge Park has been the west side’s premier green space; a 1,122 acre urban landscape that provides critical habitat for wildlife, absorbs stormwater in one of Michigan’s most urbanized watersheds, and offers Detroiter’s space to play, learn, and reconnect with nature.
As one of the largest urban parks, caring for a landscape this large and ecologically important takes many hands. This is hands-on, outdoor restoration work — but it’s also about community and learning. You’ll meet fellow nature lovers, build friendships, and deepen your understanding of the land while learning to identify native, invasive, and potentially hazardous plants.
We need your support and remain grateful for the time and energy you invest in stewarding
Detroit’s largest park. Join us today!
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Activity Level: The work is active and will involve moderate physical work such as bending, lifting, pulling, carrying tools, and spending extended time outdoors. Bathrooms are available seasonally in the park.
- Stewardship: May include invasive species removal, seed collection, prairie and forest restoration, trail building, light forestry work, and park beautification.
- When: Workdays take place year-round across all four seasons. Winter workdays are scheduled as conditions allow.
- What to wear: Dress for the weather and be prepared for physical activity. We highly suggest water resistant boots and long sleeves/pants for this work. Friends of Rouge Park provides tools, gloves, and water (please bring a refillable bottle).
- Accessibility: Projects prioritize the park’s highest-quality natural areas and may take place on hillsides, in wet floodplains, within forests, tallgrass prairies, and oak savannas. Terrain can be uneven, muddy, snowy, or brushy depending on the season. Volunteer sites are usually a 1/4 mile walk from parking to the work site.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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Attend a Volunteer Work Day
Join us for one of our public volunteer work days, including Rouge Park Appreciation Day and Earth Day.
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Bring Your Group or Organization to Volunteer
We typically reserve Wednesday and Thursday mornings for group volunteer days. We are also open to consider alternate days and times for group volunteer days upon request. Group Details:
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Become a Lead Steward - Leadership Training Program
Lead Stewards receive specialized training in native and invasive species identification, seed collection, habitat restoration techniques, tool safety, and the ecology of Rouge Park. Participants also gain access to additional learning opportunities and a growing network of community leaders and environmental practitioners. As a Lead Steward, you’ll participate in hands-on training to learn skills related to natural areas and restoration and get practice supervising volunteers during the season. The program also equips you with the knowledge and confidence to take on a meaningful leadership role in caring for Detroit’s largest park. Stewards who complete program requirements are eligible for a small training stipend. 2026 Lead Steward Program Orientation typically takes place 3 times per year beginning in April. If you’re considering conservation, ecological restoration, forestry, or land stewardship as a career path, we encourage consistent participation and invite you to explore the Lead Steward Program to deepen your training and leadership experience. |
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Join our Stewardship List for Updates
In addition to our scheduled workdays, we are building a network of dedicated volunteers to expand our ability to care for the park with consistent, hands-on land stewardship work involving community volunteers. When you sign up for our list, we'll keep you posted on upcoming opportunities to get involved, which may include specialty workdays where more skills are required for the tasks, special projects, last minute projects, etc. The best part is you’ll meet other nature nerds as we work together to support habitat restoration and expand our capacity for workdays in the park. You’ll receive text notifications about upcoming workdays and can attend based on your availability — there is no rigid attendance requirement. |
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Questions about volunteering?
Contact Antonio Cosme, our Land Stewardship Manager at [email protected]
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