As a white man in a managerial role, I recognize that I have a limited scope of experience when it comes to discussing issues of racial justice and how it relates to our work at the Urban Ecology Center. I also recognize that too often white voices have remained silent on these issues when we should have spoken up, and so on the occasion of the official release of our organizations Equity, Dignity, & Justice Anti-Racism Action Statement I’m humbly offering these reflections to add another voice to the chorus of Black and Brown voices that we all should be listening to with greater sincerity.

I’ve always thought that February feels like the longest month of the year. I know technically it’s the shortest, but after two months of winter cold and a lack of sunshine, the novelty of winter has worn off, and February’s ruthless assault of cold weather gets old fast. I always felt trapped inside my house while waiting for warmer weather when I could go finally enjoy the outdoors again.

Then I joined the Urban Ecology Center. The community here has a shocking enthusiasm for getting outdoors - even in the long stretches of February!

As part of our annual HKE MKE event this past month, I had the opportunity to lead a Ten Mile Hike along the west and east bank of the Milwaukee River, throughout the Milwaukee River Greenway corridor and into 11 different county parks. We saw fall flowers in full bloom, leaves just starting to turn red, salmon anglers sharing the river with migrating waterfowl, and even a small herd of deer not 30 yards from the trail in Estabrook Park. It was an amazing hike, and I would invite you to try it for yourself sometime. Before you go, be prepared! I’m sharing our Ten Tips for a Ten Mile Hike that you can use for your next urban adventure.

Summer is here! Perhaps one of the most encouraging and beautiful silver lining unintended benefits of the current pandemic is that a lot more people are spending more time outside. Parks have closed roads to vehicles to encourage more pedestrian traffic, and folks are enjoying social distancing in the beautiful natural spaces our city has to offer. As a result, a lot of community members have been turning their eyes to the Urban Ecology Center. “It’s summer… when can I borrow a kayak?”

The answer… soon! The Urban Ecology Center has a plan for the gradual restart of onsite work (GROW- click here to read the full article).

Of all my childhood experiences, waking up before sunrise to go fishing with my grandfather still holds a vivid place in my memory. My grandparents would pick me up from my house and take me up to Chetek, WI to go fishing for a week-long trip. We would stay at a humble fishing resort and I would share a pull out bed with my cousins who lay sleeping soundly while I quietly rose and put on warm clothes to go out alone on the boat with my grandpa. I always wanted to fish for northern pike or some other monstrous fish, and my grandpa would humor me and let me just keep casting over and over until I grew bored, then gently encourage me to throw a hook and bobber in and try for crappie instead. Of course, pan-fishing was much easier for me as a child, and I would delight in pulling in dozens of smaller but easier to catch fish. We always ended our week with a huge fish fry, and he would proudly tell everyone that I supplied the most fish for the fry, if not the biggest.

Deep down, we share an intrinsic desire to be connected to a place. The most obvious of these connections is social; the human need to belong to a community. At the Urban Ecology Center, we pride ourselves on helping people connect to the ecology of a place, teaching others about the interconnections between the rivers, lakes, and ecosystems around which our human society thrives, hoping to foster an ethos of mutual benefit between ourselves and the land. However, a third, historical connection to a place exists as well. These connections are not always obvious, but the decisions our ancestors made certainly have an effect on us as they impacted the land and society in which we live.

Environmental: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.

Community: an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area

Center: a building used as a meeting place for a particular group or having facilities for certain activities

I woke up in the morning to the sound of waves crashing against the shore on Rock Island, about 20 yards from my tent. I moved silently out of the tent so as not to disturb the sleep of my teenage son and stretched my muscles that were sore from yesterday’s bike ride. Enjoying the early morning quiet from my hammock, I reflected on the journey thus far... this was one of the most amazing camping trips I had ever taken, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the Urban Ecology Center.

On a regular basis I get to tell people the story of the Urban Ecology Center, and I love watching the way their eyes light up as I describe the transition that Riverside Park has gone through from beauty to decadence and back again in its 120 year history. So many groups have worked hard to make this transition possible, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.

Last summer, my eight year old son Benjamin and I borrowed a tandem kayak from the Urban Ecology Center for an overnight camping trip on the Wisconsin River. Thanks to a shuttle service through the Wisconsin Canoe Company, we were able to park our car 18 miles downstream from our starting point. Our goal was to stop at one of the many sandbar islands on the Wisconsin River to pitch our tent and finish the trip in two days. In order to pump Benjamin up for the trip, I talked about our awesome adventure for weeks in advance… little did I know just how exciting it was going to be!