Milwaukee Urban Ecology Blog

The easiest way to have a BIGGER impact in 2024? Ask your employer to match your 2023 gift! Matching gifts are a type of giving program set up by companies and corporations as an employee benefit. After an employee donates to a nonprofit, they can submit a matching gift request to their employer and the company will make an additional donation to that nonprofit. Most employers will match gifts 1:1 meaning if you give $100, they company will give $100 as well.  But, some employers will double or even triple gifts!

So, you’re deciding which season is best for your wedding and I’m here to advocate for Winter.  As I usually say in all of my venue tours, wedding planning is just making hundreds of decisions with thousands of options. Since working in the wedding and event industry, I have made it my goal to help renters make informed decisions with as many details as possible. 

The widely popular song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” highlights the numerous gifts given to the singer’s “true love.” At the UEC,  our true love is nature… so here’s a song celebrating 12 specific ways your support has impacted urban nature at the Urban Ecology Center’s three Milwaukee branches.

“Giving Season” refers to the last two months of the year, when charitable giving is at its peak. According to a “Charitable Giving Statistics” report published by the National Philanthropic Trust,  the majority of charitable giving in the U.S. is provided by individuals. In 2022, individual Americans gave $319.04 billion, which represented 64% of the total giving that year.

It's that magical time of the year again! Grab your scarves, mittens, and your sense of adventure because the Urban Ecology Center is about to turn up the frosty fun! From candlelight walks to snowy adventures, get ready to chill out with us as we dive into a winter wonderland! 

I had the pleasure of joining the Galápagos and Mindo Ecuador Eco-Travel trip through the Urban Ecology Center in April of 2023. For me personally, it was a trip of a lifetime.  For me professionally, it was a profound experience filled with fascinating natural wonders. Considering this trip includes up-close experiences with iconic flora, fauna, geology, and natural history of the most unique archipelago on the planet, it felt like a bucket list no-brainer and the culmination of a 17yr career as an environmental educator at the UEC. 

When I started at the UEC, I realized fairly quickly there was going to be a steep learning curve.  Not in the duties of my role. Those were well-defined.  Not when to speak up in meetings. All opinions are valued right from the beginning. Not in navigating a new work culture. The UEC is rooted in compassion and kindness.  What I had to learn was the jargon, the slang, the lingo. And all the acronyms - we love an acronym here. Some examples include: 

Ten years ago, on September 28, 2013, the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum opened. Totaling 40 acres of restored land, the arboretum winds along the Milwaukee River and Oak Leaf trail expanding into Riverside Park. With a generous lead gift from Milwaukee Rotarians, the dedication of partner organizations, and the support of our community, the last un-damned, but unfortunately degraded, stretch of the Milwaukee River was transformed into a thriving urban nature space loved by all Milwaukeans. 

This summer, I’ve had the honor not only of joining the Urban Ecology Center’s Research and Community Science (RCS) Department as a Science Communication Intern, but also of working alongside my fellow RCS intern, Cameron Brown, while we show new volunteers how to identify an indigo bunting call or a monarch butterfly egg, or when I tag along to help him feed the UEC’s resident snakes and turtles.

The first time LaShaun Taylor brought her son and granddaughter to a Fishing Club event at the Urban Ecology Center’s Washington Park branch, her son, who is six, was crestfallen when the outing ended before he was able to catch a fish. That was all forgotten after the family’s second visit when he succeeded in catching and releasing five fish in one afternoon.