This year the Urban Ecology Center is celebrating 10 years of programming in Washington Park. What an amazing 10 years it has been!

We opened our Washington Park branch in 2007. This was our first attempt to expand our mission outside of Riverside Park. We rented one third of our current home in the Milwaukee County Park’s Washington Park Pavilion with the help of many neighbors, donors and friends.

I am excited to announce that print copies of our new book — Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities and the World — will be available for sale this fall at the Urban Ecology Center! Soon you will be able to get your very own signed copy to both support the Center and spread the word.

The e-book launched in April on Amazon and quickly rose to best seller status in the Children’s Study and the Urban Planning & Development categories … wild eh? But as great as that was, I have to admit that having a hard copy in hand will be very satisfying.

For many young people in Milwaukee living in poverty, the summer months can mean a lack of access to resources that support academic and developmental progress.

But YOU are making a difference! Your support is helping give Milwaukee’s children a chance to have a better summer experience by getting them outside and engaging in nature-based learning. Thank you!

Collaborating with Menomonee Valley Partners, our branch is the hub of natural restoration and community. Some highlights include partnering with 19 schools, over 50 afterschool programs and 18 Summer Camps.

Below is the story of how Ken wrote Urban Ecology: a Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities, and the World. Click here for a short synopsis of the book.

The way I wrote a book was not traditional, but I doubt that is much of a surprise to most.

Wait, did you catch that? I just wrote a book!

It's called Urban Ecology: a Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities, and the World.

This adventure started two years ago when Peter and Jean Storer offered us support for the purpose of writing a book. Without any request  from us, they felt that the Urban Ecology Center story needed to be told. What followed was a little bit of luck and some awesome opportunities.

A chance conversation with an old college friend introduced me to Difference Press out of Washington DC.

As we usher in 2017, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of change. It seems like it’s something all of us want, in some way or another. We may have different ideas about what kind of change, but I get the sense that most folks would agree with the statement that “The way the world is right now is not ok. We need a change.”

This desire for change has created a lot of conversations about what within the status quo we need to fight against. For me, it’s a long list: climate change, injustice, disparity, oppression, just to name a few. I am exhausted by just talking about what it takes to fight all these huge societal ills. And while these conversations are critically important, I’ve realized that we tend to spend much less time talking about what it is we are working for.

Malachi Crenshaw, a 10th grader at Rufus King High School, finished teaching his first solo Water Safety Course when I met him at the Washington Park branch. I asked him if he had been nervous about being the only instructor and he said “I was more curious. I’m pretty comfortable with public speaking and I know the content, so I mostly was interested to see how those would come together.” This is exactly the kind of experience we hope to provide to our High School Outdoor Leaders – hands-on work.

The High School Outdoor Leader program is one step in our “green career pipeline.”

Lately I’ve been thinking about how the Urban Ecology Center is like Star Wars. Wait, I know this sounds like a stretch, but stay with me. One of the underlying themes of Star Wars is that when diverse people come together for the greater good they can create world altering change. Tapping into the diversity of natural and community life here in Milwaukee, the Urban Ecology Center is creating “world altering” change, neighborhood by neighborhood. And we get the excitement of working locally now, not “a long time ago” and “far, far away.”

Every summer we hire a new batch of interns and every summer we impressed with their ability to teach us new things about the Center. This year we had two Visitor Services Interns whose stories really reminded us of how the simple act of welcoming someone can make a big difference in their life.

How can you express all that the Urban Ecology Center is to so many people and animals alike? These photos are just a small sample of what you can find at our branches. But there's a thread that goes through all of what we do - life! There's so much life!
Look for the phrase “So Much Life” in our communications and use it with your friends. When they ask why you’re a part of the Urban Ecology Center, just say “Because there’s So Much Life!”