Camper Noah Hammouri caught his first fish ever at Fishing Camp. Trivial... or not!

When Noah reeled in his first fish on the first day of camp, he shouted my name and ran for joy toward me for a double high five as if he had just won the NBA finals. I had hardly known him for a few hours, and until that moment, he had been on the quiet side. I celebrated his success with equal or even higher enthusiasm as if he was my younger sibling.

Even though we experienced a drastic cold beginning of winter, the temperatures have been mild so far this 2023 with rainy winter weather and no snow on the ground. As winter’s mild weather could be the new normal, at the Urban Ecology Center we plan ahead with a variety of programs that can be enjoyed with or without snow all winter long. 

Can you imagine Milwaukee without the Urban Ecology Center? Have you lived in or visited a city where people did not have a place that helped them connect to nature and each other?
Many of us living in Milwaukee have come to rely on the Urban Ecology Center as a place that provides us with a community space, in three distinct locations across the city.

Young children don’t grow up knowing inequities, they just know the world they see around them. One child may wake up to littered streets, a concrete playground, perhaps a few trees in the median. Another child may wake up on what appears nearly to be a different planet. A lawn and garden outside their door, a playground full of trees and squirrels, and access to safe green spaces just around the corner. Each child is unknowingly receiving messages from the environment about the value of beauty, the value of nature, and even self-worth. These two contrasting worlds exist in some cases less than half a mile apart! 

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.

Environmental: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.

Community: an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area

Center: a building used as a meeting place for a particular group or having facilities for certain activities

When I first started working at the Urban Ecology Center, I had only been in the United States for a year or so. I was still struggling with a lot of stuff: language, friends, work, and what the heck I was going make of myself in this new place. The UEC was my beginning. It was where I began to find myself, my passions, and my place. 

Canoes and kayaks are, without a doubt, the most popular items in our equipment lending program. Every weekend throughout the summer months, our boat racks are completely empty, as our members enjoy paddling up and down the Milwaukee River and all throughout our community.

The weather is cooling down, the days are short, and perhaps your little ones are starting to go a bit stir crazy… or maybe the old office job has you down and feeling like you LITERALLY NEVER see the sun anymore?! Should you find yourself (or your family) coming down with some serious cabin fever as fall freezes over into the first frosts of winter, don’t hesitate to drop on by your neighborhood Urban Ecology Center for indoor and outdoor winter fun!

First, bundle up and get all your wiggles out climbing, hiking, playing, and exploring outside in one of our three parks. You might find frenzied squirrels busy burying their hoard of nuts. Or maybe some sparkly icy dewdrops glittering the landscape. If there’s snow, all the merrier! Make your best snowman, snow angel, or test your aim in a snowball fight.

 “Think globally, act locally.” Although she didn’t come up with this slogan herself, Carol Brill tries to live her life by this guiding motto. By getting involved with local organizations in her community, Carol recognizes that her work and actions will make a far-reaching impact.

This principle is what steered her to becoming a volunteer at the Urban Ecology Center where she can now be found operating the Riverside Park reception desk every Friday afternoon.