Riverview

About the Program
BASF Riverview is a remediation site located a few miles from a larger BASF production site in Wyandotte, Michigan, just outside of Detroit. The site includes a 1,000-square-foot landscaped garden and a two-acre fish spawning habitat. The team manages the habitats on-site to promote native flora and fauna and to increase awareness of native species.

Practices and Impacts

• The landscaped pollinator garden, shaped like a butterfly, was planted with native flowers and grasses to promote pollinator use — in particular, the monarch butterfly and gold moth. The team monitors the garden for both plant health and pollinator use.
• The team created two acres of spawning habitat for the lake sturgeon, an endangered species, to encourage spawning and create shelter from currents. The project has been a huge success. Prior to the installation of the habitat, no confirmed sturgeon spawning was observed. Since the installation, confirmed spawning and larvae of sturgeon have been documented, indicating successful spawning and survival of sturgeon eggs and larvae.
• Since 2018, the site has hosted an annual Earth Day planting event. This event gives the employees an opportunity to learn and share knowledge of what native plants can be used to expand the space of the pollinator garden and attract different pollinators.