Land Stewardship

The Urban Ecology Center’s Land Stewardship team improves habitat on over 72 acres of urban land, vastly expanding opportunities for outdoor science and recreation.

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This volunteer-powered, community-engaging restoration work has helped reclaim hundreds of acres of land along the Milwaukee River Corridor, the Menomonee River, and in Washington Park.

By removing invasive species, planting a greater diversity of appropriate native species, and mitigating erosion, the UEC is restoring ecosystems which support more wildlife and create healthy outdoor classrooms.

ROOT (Restoring Our Outdoors Together)

Step outside and get your hands dirty on projects like: replacing invasive species with native plants, trail maintenance, erosion control, and more.

Volunteers learn how to heal the land, rehabilitate degraded ecosystems, and the importance of native plants and plant communities as habitat for birds, mammals, and important pollinators.

Restoring Our Outdoors Together

A group of ROOT volunteers removing invasive species at Washington Park.
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Root takes place in all four seasons, rain or shine! 

This drop-in volunteer opportunity is available at all three of our branches.

Join ROOT

Why It Makes a Difference

Our Land Stewardship team engages thousands of volunteers in its efforts, and in the process, participants are able to take ownership of our shared public places while providing ecological health and dynamic recreational opportunities for our local community.

This community stewardship is paying off - we're witnessing the return of a wide variety of species to our land! These improved natural areas in turn have greater historical, educational, and inspirational value.

Learn more about how we've been restoring each area

Latest from our Blog

A Reintroduction of Fire on the Land

By
Emily
Helm
on
March 15, 2024
We usually conduct prescribed burns at our Menomonee Valley, Riverside Park, and Washington Park locations each spring. Spring and Fall seasons are typically when the weather is most ideal for successfully and safely laying fire on the ground. This is also when most native vegetation is ‘dormant’, or not actively growing.

Short-lived Spring Wildflowers

By
Urban Ecology Center
Staff
on
February 21, 2024
Early spring brings us more than just sorely missed warmer temperatures with more daylight. It’s a “goldilocks zone” where the snow has melted but the trees' leaves don’t yet shade the ground. For a short period of time, when conditions are just right, spring ephemerals begin to bloom.

Native Tree Spotlight - In Defense of Box Elder

By
Caitlin
Reinartz
on
January 24, 2024
I talk to a lot of people about trees. Those conversations are about identification, physiology, or growth habit, but my favorite conversations about trees are ones about how awesome or beautiful a certain tree or species of tree is. During these talks I have noticed that most folks are not as willing to sing the praises of box elder (Acer negundo).The following is an admittedly overly-impassioned plea for the love of this month’s native tree, the lowly box elder.

Native Plant - Prairiealum Root

By
Joel
Springsteen
on
December 12, 2023
Our highlighted native plant is Prairie Alumroot, Heuchera richardsonii. Prairie Alumroot is a low growing plant which forms a one foot tall mound-like rosette of evergreen leaves.

Invasive Plant To Watch: Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)

By
Caitlin
Reinartz
on
November 15, 2023
The story of lesser celandine (also known as fig buttercup or pilewort) is the classic story of an invasive species.
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