3rd Annual
Summer Solstice
Soirée and Auction was a Success!
Our Summer Solstice Soirée and Auction was an amazing night as old friends and new gathered to support the Center's mission of providing kids with environmental education and positive experiences outdoors. Over 200 guests were treated to a gourmet buffet and sweet deserts thanks Outpost Natural Foods and Dave Swanson’s Braise on the Go! A wide array of auctions items featured a carbon offset trip to an organic California winery and a kayak with a stay in a northern Wisconsin adventure resort.
Many thanks to all of our sponsors, guests and donors for their generosity and support. Click here for a complete list of sponsors.
Save the date! Next year's Summer Solstice Soirée and Auction will be on Saturday, June 18th!
A Record Breaking
Teen Adventure Challenge!
Thanks to the support of Johnson Controls and our other fantastic sponsors, this year’s Teen Adventure Challenge made Urban Ecology Center history with a total of 16 teams participating in the race! Over 75 enthusiastic teens representing high schools and youth nonprofits rock climbed, biked, hiked and orienteered throughout the Milwaukee River Valley and lakefront.
Many of the participants have never participated in these types of sports before. Others proudly told everyone that while they had started without any adventure sports experience, they had trained for weeks just to run this race. Each team had an adult chaperone who was excited as the teens themselves. At the end of the race, the tired but satisfied teams were cheered to the finish line and given lunch.
Many thanks to the over 38 volunteers who worked hard to help give the teens a positive, memorable experience.
The 100 Gallon Challenge
Or how to help prevent April showers from
bringing more than just May flowers
So here in Milwaukee we are located on the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan.It's the source of most of our drinking water. And also a resource we unfortunately contaminate frequently because, if big enough, April showers also may bring us something very unpleasant — sewerage overflows into the lake. Eeew!
We’d like to empower you to help alleviate this problem with what we are calling “The 100 Gallon Challenge”. Our Executive Director Ken Leinbach issued the Challenge in the March/April issue of our newsletter (click here to read the full article).
Think of it as a 40th anniversary Earth Day pledge. The challenge is for every household in Milwaukee to reduce the amount of water that goes into the sewerage system during a heavy storm session by 100 gallons.
You don't have to live in Milwaukee to participate. Clean water is a valuable and limited resource around the world. We encourage you to make up your own challenge for your community.
No matter where you live, share your challenge experience with us through Facebook or Twitter.
 |
Click on the link above and sign up today! You could even challenge your friends and family to join you.
How can you save 100 Gallons?
Mix and match ideas from the following list or come up with ideas of your own to find a solution that works best for your family: |
|
55 Gallons |
Install a rain barrel and make sure to empty it between rains |
43 Gallons |
Wait for a sunny day to do your laundry (consider line drying!) |
26 Gallons |
Take a 5 minute shower with a low flow showerhead instead of a bath |
12 Gallons |
Wait to use your dishwasher until after the storm event is over |
5 Gallons per flush |
If you can swing it, flush the toilet less often during storms! |
Who we are
We are an environmental education organization with two community centers adjacent to Milwaukee County parks (or, as we like to call them “outdoor classrooms”). On any given day and you’ll find classes of students from local schools engaging in hands-on learning about science, nature and how to live more sustainably, community members using the array of resources we offer, adventure-seekers borrowing our outdoor recreational equipment, climbing the rock-wall in Riverside Park or canoeing in the lagoon in Washington Park , or people just visiting the center, its staff and volunteers. Best of all, the Urban Ecology Center is available to everyone for fun and learning nearly every day of the year!
We encouarge you to get to know us better. Explore our site, or better yet, stop by for a visit.
Visiting Milwaukee?
Looking for a day outdoors?
Visit the Urban Ecology Center in
Riverside or Washington Parks!
Riverside Park
1500 E. Park Place
Milwaukee, WI 53211
Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday - Noon: 5 p.m.
Washington Park
4145 W. Lisbon Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53208
Hours:
Tuesday - Friday: 4 - 7 p.m.
Saturdays:
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday - closed
Check out our Riverside Park facility through our online tour!
Thanks to the hard work and talent of Glenn Sarlitto, we are excited to share a fantastic virtual tour of our Riverside Park facility.
Glenn shot all of the photos you'll see, then did the tremendous work of producing the final tour. We are grateful to Glenn for his time, attention to detail and
creativity in completing this project.
So, check out our building! Just click the box on the right.
CSA and local food options at the Center!
Click here to see our community supported farm list.
Looking for information about the
Interfaith Earth Network?
Astronomy Notes on the Web!
Remember that cool calendar of astronomical events we used to put in the newsletter? It was such a fantastic resource that we wanted to provide it to others as well as to our members. Art Paque, who compiled the print calendar, has graciously agreed to collect the information for our website. Find the new Astronomy Notes at www.urbanecologycenter.org/astronomy.
