Erin Whitney

Stories

Erin Whitney

Erin Whitney is a Community Programs Educator at Washington Park. She graduated from UWM where she studied Community Arts. Erin’s enjoyed connecting community members to nature through urban adventures like canoeing the Milwaukee River and hiking with kids to find the most “popping” jewelweed.

When she’s not exploring the parks with school groups, you can find her and her dog, Elliot-Wallace, biking, walking by the river, or gardening their pepper plot. She hopes to get her community excited about all their neighborhood parks and learning what the space can be through listening and sharing together.

Saturday, 03 April 2021 15:58

How to Make an Invasive Plant Species into a Delicious Pesto!

'Tis the season for Garlic Mustard Pesto! As the soil warms up, this sea of green takes over local forest floors. Garlic Mustard is an invasive species to North America and discourages native plants from growing by releasing lasting antifungal chemicals into the soil.

Removing garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata, is no one-day task, take some time to correctly ID a bunch and remove its root and all! Its seed can survive up to 10 years in the soil. So bag it up and dispose, or blend up its leaves and stems for a tasty pesto or soup. Note the roots should be discarded into a garbage bag, not your compost.

Learn how to make chalk right at home!

Let's get ready for those warmer afternoons and make your own sidewalk chalk! I enjoy the plaster of Paris recipe best because I can keep the chalk I don’t use for next time, but this chalk paint recipe is pretty neat too! Haga clic aquí para encontrar esta información en español. Translated by Angélica Sánchez Mora.