Milwaukee Urban Ecology Blog

Last year, while brainstorming ideas for summer camps, I suggested a photography camp for middle school aged campers. This summer was the first year, to my knowledge, that we offered a photography camp, and I was lucky enough to lead it.

Summer camp at the Urban Ecology Center is awesome for me as an educator. It’s laid back and having the same campers for four days means we have the opportunity to focus on activities they are interested in and help them gain a more in-depth knowledge of the environments just outside the Center’s doors.

Do you like DIY projects? Are you a seasoned mechanic or carpenter looking for a new challenge? Are you lacking skills but big on enthusiasm? Whether expert or novice, we have a new opportunity for you!  This fall, we are starting a regularly scheduled volunteer opportunity at our Riverside Park branch called Fixin’ Facilities. It is a great way to hone your skills or learn new ones as you work with others and help the Center.

He first arrived at the Urban Ecology Center as a guest presenter who shared the story of his solo 61 day wilderness trip tracing the steps of Charles A. Sheldon through the back country of Denali on the 100th anniversary of Sheldon’s trek. Shortly thereafter, Willie Karidis was hired at our Washington Park branch. Five years later Willie is returning to Alaska where, tapping into his deep appreciation for nature, wilderness and the depth of the human spirit, he will be the Chief Operating Officer of the world famous, 1049 mile Iditarod dogsled race!

Hiking. Backpacking. Campfire cookouts. They sound like great vacation activities, but for the Center's new class of High School Outdoor Leaders, this was all part of the job!

Our 2014-2016 class of High School Outdoor Leaders have returned from an adventure in the Northwoods, finished their summer training, and are gearing up to start working with the Center as part of their paid two-year internship. Please join us in welcoming these 18 wonderful high school students that will become integral parts of the Urban Ecology Center community over the next two years.

We are excited to welcome Kirstin Anglea to the Urban Ecology Center team as Environmental Education Manager. Kirstin starts her new role at the Center with some familiarity; she has been a volunteer at the Riverside Park branch for several months and has played a key role as a Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP) substitute this spring. 

I have often seen many Odonata species without taking the time to look closely. Today I did however (actually, I was not familiar with the word Odonata until a couple months ago when I took a workshop. They are the damselflies and dragonflies). With an ecologist and experienced naturalists at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I walked along for a survey of these long bodied flyers.

  It feels a little like one of those movies of intrigue that involves the rare collection of unknown value, a chance rendezvous in a far away place, large sums of money, serendipity, strategy sessions, encounters with powerful people and in the end, a perfect exclamation point to a life well lived. In this instance Pieter Godfrey's legacy lives on in the most unexpected of ways.  

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Jozlynne Zbichorski (pronounced Spee-or-ski), learned about the Urban Ecology Center several years ago. Both of her parents are public school teachers at Milwaukee Public Schools (Jozlynne is also going to UW-Milwaukee for a teaching certification) and she had lived next to Riverside Park for several years. However, she had never considered becoming a member of the Center until this summer when she and her boyfriend tried to plan a kayak trip down the Milwaukee River.