"It’s a dangerous business Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” This Bilbo Baggins quote perfectly sums up my summer as an Urban Ecology Center intern. Before I came here, I had no idea what my summer would have in store. As my internship draws to a close next week, I can honestly say that the experiences and places I was swept off to by this job have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

Summer Camps have started at the Center, and what a start it was! The Urban Ecology Center became a few decibels louder as campers ages four to fourteen arrived to learn about nature in the city. It was amazing to hear and see as young minds were awoken by the engaging activities in their camps. Even more amazing, the camps at the Center take place in the heart of the city, allowing kids to experience Summer Camp without leaving Milwaukee!

My first month as an Urban Ecology Center intern is in the books, and while I already feel totally at home here, I still have a lot to learn about the everyday happenings at the Center.

Last week there was a brief lull in activity for myself and the other interns; our official training sessions had ended, and most of the interns were working on refining their lesson plans for the coming Summer Camps they would be assisting with. I used the quiet week to explore some of the activities that happen at the Center every day, all year long.

Summer internships tend to get a pretty bad rap; most people hear the phrase and immediately conjure up images of windowless offices with fluorescent lighting, mind numbing data entry tasks, and endless coffee runs. At the Urban Ecology Center, however, interns do pretty much everything but sit in an office! Over the last two weeks, the Center’s thirty summer interns participated in training and teambuilding activities at all three branches, and we had a blast doing it. Check out these highlights!

They say that you don’t know the true value of what you have until it’s gone. I grew up in Milwaukee, and while I spent lots of time in the parks, I never fully appreciated the uniqueness of our city’s urban natural spaces. Now, as I begin my summer working with the Urban Ecology Center, I'm excited to explore these recently rediscovered hidden outdoor gems!