7:00-7:30 pm Optional Social Time
7:30-8:00 PM Announcements
8:00-9:00 PM John Hartig, PhD, talks about his most recent book
Rouge River Revived | University of Michigan Press (umich.edu)
From Amazon and U of M Press: The Rouge River is a mostly urbanized watershed of about 500 square miles populated by nearly 1.4 million people. While not geographically large, the river has played an outsized role in the history of southeast Michigan, most famously housing Ford Motor Company’s massive Rouge Factory, designed by architect Albert Kahn and later memorialized in Diego Rivera’s renowned “Detroit Industry” murals.
In recent decades, the story of the Rouge River has also been one of grassroots environmental activism. After pollution from the Ford complex and neighboring factories literally caused the river to catch on fire in 1969, community groups launched a Herculean effort to restore and protect the watershed. Today the Rouge stands as one of the most successful examples of urban river revival in the country.
Rouge River Revived describes the river’s history from pre-European times into the 21st century. Chapters cover topics such as Native American life on the Rouge; indigenous flora and fauna over time; the river’s role in the founding of local cities; its key involvement in Detroit’s urban development and intensive industrialization; and the dramatic clean-up arising from citizen concern and activism. This book is not only a history of the environment of the Rouge River, but also of the complex and evolving relationship between humans and natural spaces.
Prologue – John H. Hartig and Jim Graham
Chapter 1. The Setting: An Urban Watershed – Alan Van Kerckhove
Chapter 2. First Peoples of the Rouge River – Kay McGowan
Chapter 3. Putting the Rouge to Work – Nancy Darga
Chapter 4. Henry Ford and the Rouge River – Brian James Egen and John H. Hartig
Chapter 5. Rouge River Restoration: Revival of an Urban River – Annette DeMaria, Noel Mullett, and John H. Hartig
Chapter 6. The Need for Green Infrastructure – Cyndi Ross
Chapter 7. Rouge River Citizen Science – Sally Petrella
Chapter 8. Environmental Education: Realizing Bill Stapp’s Vision – Sally Cole-Mish
Chapter 9. The Rouge River Reborn: From Wen to Wonder – Orin G. Gelderloos, Dorothy F. McLeer, and Richard A. Simek
Chapter 10. Reconnecting with Our Home Waters: Rouge Offers Growing Number of Recreational Opportunities – Kurt Kuban
Chapter 11. Rouge River Champion – Jim Murray – John H. Hartig
Chapter 12. Reflections – John H. Hartig and Jim Graham
Related links:
Rouge River Revived | University of Michigan Press (umich.edu)
Great Lakes Moment: Rouge River Revived | Great Lakes Now
Currently, MGAWC members meet in-person at the Environmental Interpretive Center on The University of Michigan-Dearborn campus April-June and September-November. MGAWC meets on Zoom January-March.