DEARBORN – The Dearborn City Beautiful Commission is honoring the creators of environmentally-friendly landscaping at 11 homes, schools and a residential facility in its 2026 Rain Garden Recognition Program.
A rain garden is a planted, shallow depression, specially designed to catch, filter and absorb stormwater runoff from hard surfaces like roofs and driveways. This can reduce the impact of flooding, including basement flooding.
They include native plants, which benefit pollinators like bees and butterflies. They also lessen the pollution that goes into the Rouge River.
The City Beautiful Commission accepted self-nominations from rain garden creators from mid-August through Sept. 3, 2026, and confirmed the following homes, schools and facility for recognition:
•7700 Pinehurst, Noelle McKinley, front yard garden
•24046 Chicago, Patti Picard, side yard
•22201 Cherry Hill, Heather Yeaw, backyard garden
•727 N. Mildred, Rene Ziaja, front yard garden
•Allegria Village, 15181 Ford Road, created by dedicated residents led by Joanne Dalla Santa
•Henry Ford Elementary, 16140 Driscoll, Principal Miriam Farhat
•Lindbergh Elementary School, 500 N. Waverly, Principal Zaina Tiba
•Lowrey School, 6601 Jonathon, Principal Rima Younes
•Salina Elementary School, 2700 Ferney, Principal Susan Stanley
•Salina Intermediate School, 2623 Salina, Principal Eman Ali
•Geer Park Elementary, 14767 Prospect, Principal Hanaa Faraj
Those being highlighted in the 2026 Rain Garden Recognition Program received a congratulatory lawn sign. A QR code is part of the sign design, so that neighbors can scan it and learn more about rain gardens, their designs and their benefits.
Under Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s leadership, the commission is using the 2026 Rain Garden Recognition Program to encourage the creation of more rain gardens, which are one component in the city’s comprehensive plans to address flooding issues.
Friends of the Rouge and other nonprofit organizations and agencies are teaching Dearborn residents and students how to build rain gardens, and assisted in the creation of the rain garden at several schools and Allegria Village. You can learn more at the Friends of the Rouge website, TheRouge.org.
Plants, mostly native to Michigan, that were used in the honored rain gardens are (partial list): Black Eyed Susans, Wild Columbine, Purple Cornflower, Blue Flag Iris, Prairie Dock, nodding onion, golden rod, blazing star, Tall Blue Indigo, Joe Pyeweed, Cardinal Flower, and American Aster.
Among the City Beautiful Commission’s 2026 Rain Garden Recognition Program honorees is Noelle McKinley, shown with her children, for her rain garden at 7700 Pinehurst.
Students and staff at Lindbergh Elementary School, 500 N. Waverly, are among the creators selected in the City Beautiful Commission’s 2026 Rain Garden Recognition Program. Included in the photo are Green Team students with their teachers Yazmin Gerardo and Alliesha Ingram, Principal Zainah Tiba, Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent Mike Esseily, and Commissioners Rene Ziaja, Janet Damian and Chris Draper.