Much has changed over the past 20 years. One thing that hasn’t is the dedication of two key people – Executive Director, Ken Leinbach and Board Director, Dennis Grzezinski. They, and many others, worked together to help establish the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) as the award winning educational and environmental model it is today. On the eve of their 20th anniversary with UEC, I thought I’d ask what brought them here and what changes they have seen as a result of their work. Here’s what they said.

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.

Below is a short synopsis of the book. Click here if you'd like to learn the story behind it.

We are excited to share that the Urban Ecology Center's new book is now available! It's called Urban Ecology: a Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities, and the World and the author is our Executive Director, Ken Leinbach. 

The book shares the story of the beginning of the Urban Ecology Center and our growth into three vibrant Milwaukee branches. It includes our lessons learned along the way such as how to find abundance in our community, the power of prototypes, and how to raise money.