Winter took its time getting here this year, but it definitely showed up ready to go! In a matter of days, Washington Park became covered in beautiful snow, and things are lining up beautifully for our annual Winterfest!

Our Candlelight Walk and Candlelight Walk for Kids on Saturday, December 19th, are dedicated to enjoying the quiet solace of a winter’s evening on one of the longest nights of the year.

Take a guided stroll down the luminary-lit paths of the Milwaukee Centennial Rotary Arboretum and enjoy stops along the way for readings of seasonal poetry and prose as you experience the serenity of the nighttime forest in the heart of the city. Back at the Center warm yourself by the fire as you enjoy snacks and hot cider as well as live music from Toco Rio, playing a mix of jazz, Brazilian, and seasonal tunes.

Price: $5 ($10 for nonmembers)

Walks begin at 7 and continue every fifteen minutes through 9 o'clock, with no registration necessary.

Our Candlelight Walk for Kids offers earlier start times, kid-friendly readings and stories, shorter routes for littler legs, and of course hot chocolate and snacks back at the Center!

Walks begin at 4:30 and leave every fifteen minutes, with the last kids' walk leaving at 6. New this year, participants can register below to reserve a spot on the walk time of their choice.

This special evening is an Urban Ecology Center tradition. Spend it with us as we enjoy the gentleness of our longest nights and celebrate the increasing daylight still to come.

Price: Adults: $5 ($7 for nonmembers) Children: $3 ($5 for nonmembers)

Candlelight Walk for Kids - Register for your preferred start time!

I love working at Riverside Park on a Sunday. It is unlike any other day of the week. True, it is the shortest day that we have open hours (only from 12-5), but in those five hours the laughter, playing and energy cannot compare to any others. "Walk" with me and see what a typical Sunday is like.

The cool quiet moments before the building opens there is an almost palpable peace as our small but strong weekend staff prepares for the day. After we walk around straightening this and that, make sure the coffee is brewed and the music is turned on, we unceremoniously unlock the front door.

Thanks to enthusiastic interest all walks on our Enchanted Forest event have filled and registration is closed. For a less whimsical but no less fun look at Riverside Park at night, consider our Park After Dark event: this educational program explores the nocturnal life of the park and finishes with a campfire and treats.

Our Enchanted Forest event features the best nightlife in Milwaukee! Kids and their grown-ups will enjoy a guided nighttime walk through Riverside Park and encounter costumed characters along the way. "Uprooted" is this year's theme, and participants will learn fascinating facts about plants taught by the trees themselves!

Back at the Center kids can join in games, crafts, and an indoor forest scavenger hunt, while everyone can refresh themselves with some snacks.

Walks begin at 5:30 pm and leave about every 20 minutes. The last walk leaves at 7:20 pm. New this year, participants can register to reserve a spot on the walk time of their choice.

Thanks to enthusiastic interest all walks on our Enchanted Forest event have filled and registration is closed. For a less whimsical but no less fun look at Riverside Park at night, consider our Park After Dark event: this educational program explores the nocturnal life of the park and finishes with a campfire and treats.

While going on a camping trip can become second nature after a few times out, the first encounter with all those tent poles, vacant fire pit, and the expectant eyes of your children can be a bit daunting. Well, be daunted no more! The Urban Ecology Center is offering our Family Camping Trip - an overnight camping trip at the beautiful Blue Heron Wild Life Sanctuary in Saukville, less than an hour north of the city. Come with questions, leave with confidence in your own camping skills, and have a fantastically memorable time with your family in between!

Acrophobia. That’s the Latin name for a fear of heights – but forget that for a second. Instead, let me introduce you to Abstentisfelixtriumphusphobia. Admittedly a word made up without any knowledge of Latin, but if you’ll allow it: “A fear of missing out on a really fun time and/or the opportunity to feel triumphant.” Or how about Ascendopetropariesiphilia, an “irrepressible love of climbing rock walls?” Well, with the opening of the rock wall for our 2014 climbing season, we’ve got a cure for all these conditions!

Reflecting on all my experiences, I’ve really come to appreciate the pure joy and curiosity preschool-aged children readily exhibit in response to outdoor experiences. I can always count on pockets full of leaves, rocks, sticks and other treasures that kids bring to show me with exclamations of delight! One of my favorite things to do with preschoolers is to flip over these large, black pads that we have in Riverside Park to reveal the invertebrate life hidden beneath. The kids help me point out scurrying centipedes, hustling isopods and wiggling worms.

With significant increases in energy costs and the depletion of non-renewable resources, families are embracing energy efficiency. Including your children in decisions and actions you take can be rewarding, educational and fun! Here are a few suggestions to begin building your energy efficient home.

Along the East Side of Milwaukee’s Oak Leaf Trail, some 40 feet in the air, stories are being made. Stories of fear overcome, of goals achieved, and of limitations shattered. I’m not talking about some sort of theater of the birds; the protagonists of these stories are the victorious rock climbers on the Urban Ecology Center’s very own rock climbing wall! And now you can add your own story to the rock wall’s vaunted history for a greatly discounted rate. The Urban Ecology Center is now selling rock climbing passes that essentially allow you 5 climbs for the price of 4! The details of the climbing pass are below, but first a word about our wall.

When the Young-Harris family welcomed me into their house on a cold Saturday morning, Donald and Donovin politely greeted me at the door. Golden sunlight streamed into their warm, cozy home, and they offered me a seat on their couch. Within moments, their mother Katrina Young-Harris walked into the living room where I sat with her boys, and she shared a smile so big and warm that I instantly felt “at home” with this family.