Milwaukee Urban Ecology Blog

Spending time outdoors, actively engaging with nature is what our Summer Camps are all about! Our campers explore the secrets of nature by looking under logs, hiking in the woods, climbing trees, building forts, creating art projects, taking pictures and more with kids from all over the city. They’re building science and engineering skills to be better prepared for school year.

Did you know that September is Coastal Awareness Month? Here at the Center we’re celebrating our amazing “third coast” with a number of water-based educational programs geared toward educational exploration and recreation of Milwaukee’s watersheds.

Being outside is awesome because there is something for everyone. This was perfectly illustrated on a camping adventure with the Menomonee Valley Young Scientists Club this past summer. We packed two buses full of tents, sleeping bags, food and ourselves and drove up to Blue Heron Wildlife Sanctuary for our first Young Scientists and parents camping trip. Camping was a new experience for many, so we planned to do the basics like preparing dinner over a fire, telling stories and exploring the woods at night. But perhaps the best parts of the whole trip were the things that had not been planned.

“Twelve high schoolers spending seven days in the wilderness without their cell phones? We will see how this goes!” I thought as we boarded the plane on our way to Wyoming. This adventure is a highlight of our two-year High School Outdoor Leadership internship that introduces teens to environmental careers and gives them solid employment experience they can put on college applications.

  The thing I enjoy most about working at the Urban Ecology Center is the occasional unforgettable experience I get to share with volunteers. They don’t happen every day, but sometimes Mother Nature waves her wand at a precise second and a really special moment is created. I’ve seen volunteers cry in reverence to close natural experiences and I’ve experienced the pure magic of nature more times than should probably be allowed. But last week a trio of beat cops shared with me a moment that was surely conjured by the powerful mother herself.

One of the longest running programs we have at the Urban Ecology Center is called River Connections. Through this program, students get right into the Milwaukee River in hip waders to test water quality at two locations – one urban, here in Riverside Park, and one rural, at Riveredge Nature Center. The students are amazed when, on occasion, the readings they find in the city are better than the rural readings. We teach them that this is due, in part, to the removal of the North Avenue Dam which allowed the river to flow free, cleaning itself. This free flowing water is essential to river health, which is essential to our health.

"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.

All month long we have asked our members and friends to use the hashtag #MyUEC on social media to show us how you make the Urban Ecology Center yours! Whether it’s exploring one of our parks, participating in a summer camp or community program, or borrowing one of our many pieces of equipment to take on your own adventure, the Center has something for everyone.

Here in Milwaukee we're lucky to enjoy a vast network of bike trails and routes throughout the city and beyond. Hitting 4 the Cycle is a bike ride hosted by the Brewers Community Foundation, and will take advantage of these routes while raising funds for four local non-profit organizations, including the Urban Ecology Center!

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!