Milwaukee Urban Ecology Blog

Throughout the month of July we've been asking our members and partner organizations to post what they love about the Urban Ecology Center using the #UECmember hashtag. We were blown away by some of the fun and creative posts we saw! Here are some of our favorites:

Did you know that there are roughly 10,000 species of moths in North America? Moths are under-studied yet important pollinators of certain plants, and their populations may be impacted by human activity such as urbanization and pollution. Studying moths allows us to gain a better understanding of how this group of pollinators may change over time, especially in an urbanized setting, and even allow us to monitor or infer the impacts of other organisms.

Nature is magnificent. Nature is brutal. Nature is utterly awesome. No creature understands this better than the dragonfly. Dragonflies live their lives fast and furious; as fearsome carnivores, as creatures on a determined mission living on borrowed time and as inspiration for art. What must it be like to live such a life?

Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is part of the Balsaminaceae family, or Touch-me-not family. The members of this family all have the same characteristic where the fruit, or capsule, dehisces (bursts open) explosively when touched, scattering the seeds.  Even though the word "weed" is in the common name of this plant, I wouldn't consider it a weed. It usually coexists very well with other native plants in the same habitat, has some useful value, and even lives here in Riverside Park.

One year ago, we were busily preparing for the grand opening of Three Bridges Park. So many people worked so hard leading up to that day: to design the park, to build it, and to create a celebration that we hoped would capture the spirit of creativity and invitation that we wanted Three Bridges Park to be for Milwaukee. As exciting as that experience was, it was also a daunting task. We had huge hopes for what Three Bridges Park would become, and though all of us working closely on the project were excited for the park’s potential, we just couldn’t know how people would respond to the park once it was actually open.

One of the best things about being an organization focused on mentoring is that we get to experience both sides of mentoring, and we get to watch “mentees” become “mentors.” I’ve had three great experiences recently watching the transition from “visitor” to “ambassador” and I thought I’d share them:

Last month, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recognized the Urban Ecology Center as one of Milwaukee's top small workplaces for 2014. Acknowledged for its career opportunities, innovation, and workforce morale, the Center strives to provide the best work environment for employees for maximum community impact. I have enjoyed working at the Center since nearly its beginning. For the past 18 years, the positive energy and accommodating work environment have made it easy and fun to come to work year after year!

In the spring of each year, all sorts of adorable baby animals can be seen. This spring, I saw baby Great Horned Owls (called owlets), baby White-footed Mice (called pups, pinkies or kittens) and baby Brown Snakes (called snakelets or hatchlings). We don’t usually pay close attention to “baby” plants, but they’re showing up now too!

This summer and fall, bring your inquisitive 8 – 12 year olds to Driven to Discover: Outdoor Inquiry Camp at Riverside Park. This 10-week program guides kids through the process of discovering answers to their own questions while being active outdoors.

“Miss Katie, I love nature!” “Nature is the best!” I absolutely love hearing these exclamations as students dance on Washington Park’s Band Shell, climb fallen trees or dip nets into the lagoon. As my first year of teaching students in our school program comes to an end, I begin to reflect on everything I have learned during this year.