Spring is officially here and with that comes new life, the sun, and Earth Day (April 22^nd)! It is hard to believe that this time last year we were gearing up to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day at all three of our centers. Because of the pandemic, and wanting to keep everyone safe, we decided to cancel our celebration. Not only was canceling sad for us, but it also was sad for you! Truthfully, the hundreds of volunteers that usually come for Earth Day were missed tremendously at all three of our locations. We missed the hundreds of pounds of trash pulled out of our parks and waterways, we missed the piles and piles of invasive species being removed, the trails being maintained, the smothering fabric being removed. Our land stewards and facilities teams spent last spring and summer just trying to catch up on all the work that our wonderful volunteers would have helped us with in celebration of Earth Day. We were reminded how much we love and appreciate our volunteers, and how much our natural areas rely on the work you do every time you volunteer with us, whether it's Earth day or not.

It's hard to believe that Earth Day is right around the corner. In some ways it feels like March was years ago and that we had so much time until Earth Day. When I look back before the "Safer at Home" state order was issued, we at the Urban Ecology Center were gearing up to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day through our Earth Day of Service event. We were excited to partner with Milwaukee Riverkeeper for their 25^th annual Spring River Cleanup, partner with organizations and businesses in our communities to work on projects in our parks, to partner with neighbors and schools to come together to clean up our community and celebrate the earth.

Did you know that Earth Day started 50 years ago by Wisconsin's very own Sen. Gaylord Nelson?

It's true! Originally, Earth Day was called the National Environmental Teach-in. The goal was to have a national day of ecological observance in order to mobilize public sentiment towards environmental issues and to positively impact future ecological decisions. Sen. Nelson based his idea around the teach-ins taking place all over the country around the Vietnam War. He hoped that students around the country would want to hold events on the same day to help grab the attention of news outlets and most importantly, lawmakers in Washington DC.

It is the end of April. That time again to gather on the 2^nd floor of Riverside Park – surrounded and absorbed in words words words and thoughts on nature and Oak trees not getting cut down, plastics and songs. The Earth Poets in their 32^nd year came together on April 19^th to celebrate the earth and our natural environment while sharing words they have written and songs they created. Like minded and like-energy, together for a night in the glow of the building.

In the calendar year of holidays, Earth Day is the young upstart. Full of possibilities, but not clearly defined.

We can tick off common traditions for holidays like New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Halloween, but what about Earth Day? Yet, even without exciting customs of gift exchanges or dressing up in costume, Earth Day is celebrated in 193 countries all over the world! Cool, eh?

We’d like to help the young holiday of Earth Day have its own annual ritual to mark the important day.

April 22nd is Earth Day, celebrated around the world as a day to protect, steward and learn about the earth. Here at the Center we're inviting everyone to help celebrate with our Earth Day of Service, a morning of pitching in with friends and neighbors at each of our three branches to show some love to our little corner of the planet - come join us!

Many thanks to all who dug in and made our recent Earth Day of Service event such a smashing success! After celebrating for the entirety of April, we capped off Earth Month on Saturday, April 25th with a city-wide day of giving back to the planet. We are overwhelmed with gratitude at the dedication and care that hundreds of community members demonstrated on this day. Enjoy this recap of our Earth Day of Service events!

... and this year we (or rather, you) get to do it all; digging in dirt, helping with trail or rain garden maintenance, eating great food and discovering new things about the earth!

We've had a terrific Earth Month so far celebrating all the wonderful and important resources of our planet. Our Earth Month culminates with a city-wide, all-hands on deck Earth Day of Service, a time to give back, pitch in, and show the world a little love on Saturday, April 25. Come join us!

This year the Urban Ecology Center is excited to host the 25th Anniversary Earth Poets and Musicians Earthstravaganza Event on April 26th from 7-10 PM at our Riverside Park Branch. Come spend an evening listening to eco-friendly poetry and music put on by over two dozen songwriters and poets this Arbor Day.

The following is a special sneak preview of poems and lyrics featuring the Earth Poets themselves.