Sometimes making the impossible possible just takes a little confidence and ingenuity. Just ask the class of students with visual impairments who spent time exploring Riverside Park and the lakefront with Urban Ecology Center Educators Matt Flower and Regina Miller.

While learning about nature and the environment, all of the students who participate in the Urban Ecology Center's school programs are expected to participate in every way regardless of ability. It's the Center's mission to connect people to nature in part because of the fresh perspective getting outside can provide. In the case of these students, they knew deep down that "Mr. Flower and Ms. Regina" believed that they could do anything and should try everything.

Throughout history Milwaukee’s rivers have tremendously affected the people of this area. People have relied on these now-urban waterways for food, travel, trade, industry and recreation. But just as Milwaukee’s Magnificent Waters have affected us, our actions and behavior affect the rivers we love and rely on. In 1987, the Milwaukee Estuary was designated an Area of Concern (AOC) by the federal government. The waters of the Estuary are considered impaired as the result of historical modifications like dredging and straightening, and heavy pollutant loads. It is one of forty-three AOC-designated Great Lake watersheds in the U.S. and Canada.