We are so excited to announce that two of our staff have moved into new roles at the Urban Ecology Center. Glenna Holstein is now the Membership Manager, a new position focused on engaging our members, recruiting new members, and enhancing the membership experience at UEC. Angélica Sánchez Mora is now our Menomonee Valley Branch manager.

Our Equity, Dignity, and Justice staff group prepared this message on behalf of the Urban Ecology Center:

We are heartbroken over the murder of George Floyd, the killing of Joel Acevedo, and the countless others who have been discriminated against, harassed, assaulted, and killed because of the color of their skin. We strive to create a world where people of color are able to live without fear of harassment and violence.

It all started in the summer of 2018, which was my first true exposure to the world of dragonflies and damselflies. This was followed by my first field season leading odonate surveys with the Urban Ecology Center during the summer of 2019.

I’m not sure I can pinpoint what it is that is so utterly addictive about seeking out these flying assassins.

What was it like to be a Research and Community Science intern at the Urban Ecology Center?

Where do I even start? I met a lot of passionate people and did several interesting animal surveys. If you stopped by any of the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) branches during the summer, you probably found three young adults with clipboards in hand and backpacks strapped tight walking through the parks. Depending on what time of the summer you came, we either looked slightly confused or highly confident (I am happy to say that the latter was at the end of the summer).

I started my position as a Visitor Services Specialist for the Menomonee Valley branch about four months ago. One of the best parts of my job is not only having the opportunity to use my first language, Spanish, but also to help my community connect, or in many cases reconnect, with nature and the environment. It also gave me the ability to start that re-connection that my family has with nature and with Milwaukee ecology specifically.

Because of your support, our next generation of environmental scientists is growing. Up and out the door at 6 a.m., Analiese is ready to dive into the latest Community Science research project at the Urban Ecology Center! It’s not how you’d expect an 11-year-old might start her day. But for Analiese, walking a few doors down to the UEC at daybreak was a weekly routine during the summer of 2018.

I don’t know what it is about candlelight and winter, but we Wisconsinites sure seem to love the combination!

Maybe it’s the beauty of flame light glistening on fresh snow, or maybe it’s the reassurance that light *will* eventually return. Or maybe it’s just the simple nudge we need to remember that we don’t have to stay cooped up in the dark and cold of winter — a reminder that there is fun to be had on wintry evenings!

My most memorable “nature moments” as a kid involved close encounters with animals: meeting live snakes at Riverbend Nature Center in my hometown of Racine, encountering bighorn sheep on a family trip to Badlands National Park, going fishing in lakes in Northern Wisconsin. At the Urban Ecology Center, our mission is to connect people to nature, and providing interactions with animals is one of the most visceral ways we do that.

Over the past six years, 24 acres of land near our Menomonee Valley branch were transformed from brownfield to outdoor recreational greenspace along the southern bank of the Menomonee River. Today, people know this area as Three Bridges Park! Where a series of train tracks and piles of rubble once stood, native plant species now flourish and birds, mammals, frogs, toads, butterflies and dragonflies call this park home again. 

One of my favorite things is to roll into Riverside Park on a fall day and hear the crunch of leaves under my tires. From the paved oak circle to the crushed limestone path along the Milwaukee River, my power wheelchair and I are a team looking for everything that being in nature brings.

As an employee of the UEC, I'm super proud of our commitment to providing experiences that bring everyone as far into urban nature as they are willing to go. Together we've learned that sometimes all it takes to increase access to nature for people with disabilities is ingenuity, curiosity and a sense of adventure.