It’s Time for a Miracle!
The Miracle on Canal Street, that is! The Urban Ecology Center is grateful to have been selected by WISN Channel 12 as a media partner and participant in Potawatomi Bingo Casino’s Miracle on Canal Street.
Since 1994 the Miracle on Canal Street has provided over $9.5 million to 300 local nonprofit organizations that focus on improving quality of life for children in Milwaukee. Each year 30 nonprofit organizations are chosen to be participate in this philanthropic program of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino. Twenty organizations who serve the needs of Milwaukee’s children are chosen at random and ten are selected by 
media partners. We are grateful to WISN Channel 12 for selecting us! The much needed funds from this program will support the Urban Ecology Center’s education program in the 2010-2011 school year. Click here for more information about our education programs.Click here to learn more about the Miracle on Canal Street program.
You may be familiar with the good that the Potawatomi Bingo Casino’s Miracle on Canal Street program makes possible for children but you might not be aware of the good work that the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe does to protect the environment. In 2003, “the Tribe's effort culminated in the historic purchase of the over 5000-acre proposed mine site with the Sokaogon Chippewa (Mole Lake) Community. The Potawatomi and the Sokaogon Chippewa Community continue to work together to protect this pristine area of the Wisconsin Northwoods.” This purchase ensured the preservation of the Wolf River, which is just down stream from the mine.Click here to learn more about the environmental work of the tribe.
We are honored to partner with the Potawatomi Bingo Casino and WISN Channel 12 through the Miracle on Canal Street to help the Urban Ecology Center meet the needs of Milwaukee’s children and grateful to the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe for their commitment and efforts to protect our environment.
Back to School!
Yay! It's September! Kids from our 40 Neighborhood Environmental Education Project partner schools begin their field trips!
Rather than arranging for single field trips, each participating school signs up for an entire year. This provides them with multiple visits to the park, spread throughout the school year, and ongoing participation in the program each year. And at a time when physical education programs are being cut, the Center offers valuable sporting opportunities, including rock climbing, canoeing, hiking and snowshoeing.
Check back here for stories and updates of our exciting school program.
New Faces
We are excited to welcome two new environmental educators to our team! Regina Miller brings with her over 10 years of experience in the environmental education field and has a passion for teaching and connecting children to the outdoors. Haven Davis will spend a year with us through the Lutheran Volunteer Corp. She recently graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a degree in environmental studies and English and has experience teaching environmental education in Minnesota.
Sad Goodbyes
We are sad to say good-bye to three excellent educators. Glenna Holstein has been connected to the Center as a volunteer, intern and staff member for the past six years. We will miss her insightful and thoughtful approach to teaching and life. She is moving to Albuquerque, NM for new adventures in teaching and the outdoors. Jon Rogers started last summer as a summer intern and then became an educator through the Lutheran Volunteer Corp. Jon’s positive “can-do” attitude and ability to inspire kids to learn and have a whole lotta fun outside will be missed! His year of service ended in August and we look forward to seeing where he uses his talents next! Jeanne Salmon has worked with us as a High School Outdoor Leader intern, an Adult Summer Intern and Urban Adventures Assistant. This fall Jeanne will be taking on a new adventure with Public Allies. We’ll miss her and hope to see her again, so instead of “goodbye” we’ll just say “See you later, Jeanne!”
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.
