When I first started working at the Urban Ecology Center, I had only been in the United States for a year or so. I was still struggling with a lot of stuff: language, friends, work, and what the heck I was going make of myself in this new place. The UEC was my beginning. It was where I began to find myself, my passions, and my place. 

The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the word ecology almost 150 years ago. He combined a couple of Greek words to do this trick: “oikos” means "habitation" and “-ology” means "the study of."

This fact may already be part of your ample knowledge, but a quick reminder won´t hurt: ecology started off as the study of where things live. In ecology, sustainability (from sustain and ability) is the property of biological systems to remain diverse and productive indefinitely. Who doesn't want to be diverse and productive indefinitely? I remember when I was younger and able to dunk a basketball…

The Menomonee Valley is a special place. I could write endlessly about all the cool stuff we do at our branch and in the surrounding neighborhoods. I have had rich personal experiences as I dove into this south side community.

Some of the most fun adventures involved … food!

We talk a lot at the Urban Ecology Center about “So much life!” In our south side community you could also say “So much food!” We provide community gardens for our neighbors, enjoy guest teachers who share their cooking knowledge, and share meals with colleagues from others organizations to build community.

It was 5pm on a late fall, Friday evening and I was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate at the Menomonee Valley branch’s reception desk. A group of our regular youth visitors were running around the building as it was too dark outside to explore Three Bridges Park and they were having too much fun to go home. It was a quiet evening, perfect for kids to just hang out and be themselves in our safe community center. I couldn’t see anybody around, but I could hear little feet moving fast.