Milwaukee Urban Ecology Blog

The final days of 2022 are fast approaching so you may be turning your attention to gifts for family, friends and your favorite non-profits!  While we can’t help you decide what pair of socks to get Uncle Joe, we can help when it comes to end-of-year charitable gift planning!  Whether you choose to support the UEC or other amazing organizations across our city, use this email as a guide—and don’t forget, December 31 falls on a Saturday this year which may require a little extra planning!

“I guess I don't have a real understanding of how helpful $100 is - I think your budget is much bigger.” An Urban Ecology Center supporter recently expressed worry that his gifts weren't impactful. His concern stemmed from the realization that there are those who give significantly more to the UEC than he does.  A gift is not meaningful because of its size - a gift is meaningful simply because it was given. Every single gift, no matter the size, makes a difference. Here’s why:

What do you want to be when you grow up? In high school this question quickly becomes a daunting task to figure out. Luckily for Milwaukee students, the Urban Ecology Center is on a mission to keep this question full of hope and wonder.  The Urban Ecology Center High School Outdoor Leadership program is a unique paid internship that helps teens build a wide range of skills including leadership, studies of ecology, environmental justice, and job-readiness. After completing an 8-week summer internship, high school students have the opportunity to apply for an academic year position (September-April). 

Since the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) Washington Park branch opened in 2007, we have had the privilege to work in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks, Washington Park Partners, Washington Park Senior Center patrons, our neighborhood schools, numerous student and corporate volunteer groups, community neighbors, and a variety of workforce development partners to help care for and activate Washington Park.

Traditionally, one of the most popular days of charitable giving, Giving Tuesday falls after Black Friday and Cyber-Monday. Giving First Day flips that script. Before the hustle and bustle of the traditional shopping weekend, we invite you to reflect on the needs of our community and invest in shared values. In 2021, a collaboration of over 40 non-profits was formed in Milwaukee, WI.  This idea, originally set into motion by the Urban Ecology Center, started in part with a need for more collaboration between area nonprofits. By working together, we have the opportunity to strengthen the complex and interconnected landscape of organizations addressing difficult issues and creating robust community assets that all of our neighborhoods need to thrive.

Cameron Flynn is a Photographer, Videographer, and Editor. He recently started volunteering with the Urban Ecology Center taking beautiful video footage of the parks we manage! Read on to learn about his journey and connection to nature and also learn how to volunteer at the UEC!

When her son’s Boy Scouts troop announced that they’d be hosting a camping trip at the Milwaukee County Zoo in early June of this year, Riverwest resident Tanya Wiedenhoeft took some time to warm up to the idea. After all, it felt like it had taken her days to thaw out after her last camping trip a couple of decades earlier. She went with a friend from college, and “we had no gear,” she recalled. “It was so cold. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I never want to do this again.’”

What is Urban Nature?  Urban Ecology is based on the radical idea that nature is everywhere. And, the Center works by engaging communities in restoring critical local ecologies - parks, open spaces, river systems, and more - right where they live. These natural spaces tucked amongst towering buildings and city streets are what we call “Urban Nature”.

We are so fortunate to have had Kim Forbeck as the Manager of Land Stewardship for 22 years! Today she is officially retiring and we wish her the very best on her new adventures. Kim has guided our Land Stewardship department as a tireless advocate for green spaces in Milwaukee. Due to her leadership, the UEC has provided a variety of ecologically diverse and resilient spaces for all to enjoy. The biodiversity and access to three distinct public greenspaces within the city of Milwaukee have been genuinely transformed, including two conversions from brownfield rubble, the enhancement of a degraded forest, and the evolution from sterile trees and lawn to an amazing diverse habitat in the middle of the city.

Just after sundown on a recent July evening, I squinted into the blue silhouettes of maple and ash trees at the Urban Ecology Center’s Washington Park branch, where our Research and Community Science Department’s monitoring equipment told us hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) were swooping for insects. Officially, I was there to help conduct one of our bat monitoring surveys, but soon I found myself gazing not into the inscrutable night sky but at the lampposts that lined our path below the canopy.