Welcome to the
Urban Ecology Center!

Imagine entering a naturally cool building, full of life: a naturalist feeding a giant snapping turtle in a huge aquarium, a group of adults comparing notes on the bird watching walk they’ve just taken, kids coming in from outside using their special door and “stream slides” into the building’s first floor. Climbing a long staircase to the top of the lookout tower outside the building, you enjoy a view of Milwaukee’s East Side and downtown. Looking across the building, you see a roof garden, a pond and a huge solar array.
Yes this really the middle of urban Milwaukee.

Looking for one of our recent stories? Need composting directions? Find what you're looking for in our archive!

They Came,
They Canoed, They Climbed!

Click here to see photos from Urban Ecology Center's Teen Adventure Challenge brought to you by Johnson Controls! Thank you to all of the sponsors and volunteers who made it such a memorable day!

Our sunshine is online!

Click here to see our solar energy station in action!

Urban Ecology Center Has Online Giving!

You can use your credit card or PayPal account to donate to the Center. Click here for details.

Looking Forward to Summer

The Urban Ecology Center has something for preschoolers to teens this summer. Get your kids outdoors!
Use the links below to explore our summer offerings.

Preschool - Middle School

Register Now For Summer Camp

Click here for a list of camps, dates
and a printable sign-up form.

Visiting Milwaukee?
Looking for a day outdoors?
Visit the Urban Ecology Center
in Riverside Park!

Did you know that our building is open seven days a week? Here are some ideas of what you can do for free at the Center:

The Center is on the southwest corner of Riverside Park opposite Riverside High School. The front entrance is on east Park Place, two blocks west of Oakland Avenue. The Center has access to the Oak Leaf Bicycle Trail, just south of Locust Street. More detailed directions.

Art at UEC:
Urban Wilderness Project

Riverside Park Community Room
Co-sponsored by
Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers
Show runs through late September

Eddee Daniel’s Urban Wilderness Project uses photography to promote and celebrate the interrelationship of urban and natural environments. Edde has also writen a book featuring his photos and observations, Urban Wilderness: Exploring a Metropolitan Watershed.
This opening includes a special book release. For a preview go to www.eddeedaniel.com.

Fall Festival for Afternoon Nappers

Saturday, September 27
10:30 a.m. - noon
For kids 5 and under accompanied by an adult
Free - donations appreciated
Registration required by September 26th, call 964-8505

A Fall Festival for the young ones! Enjoy a puppet show, craft and outdoor activities.

Fall Festival

Saturday, September 27
Noon - 4 p.m.
For everyone
Free - donations appreciated

Come celebrate the harvest and our local foods. Explore sustainable options for your life as your kids explore our climbing wall, science experiments and apples!

• Apples
• Rock Climbing
  
• Science Experiements
• Hikes
  
• Crafts
• Face Painting
  
• See a Solar Oven and a Solar Food Dryer
  
• Milwaukee County Transit System My Ride for the Generations Bus
  
• Local community booths including: Greening Shorewood &
  Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful with rain barrels and compost bins, and more !
  
  

Sustainable Living Conference
Film Screening: Independent America

Saturday, September 27
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
For adults
Free - donations appreciated
Call to register, 964-8505.

Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop. This documentary follows a filmmaker couple as they travel the U.S. in search of independent businesses, now endangered by the proliferation of “big box” stores and fast food chains. The film uncovers a growing discontent across the country, and a trend toward stregthening local communities in the face of globalization, corporate scandal and divisive politics. Discussion to follow.

Sustainable Living Conference

Sunday, September 28
Noon - 5 p.m.
For adults
Free - donations appreciated (Nonmembers - $5)
Call to register, 964-8505.

After watching Independent America on Saturday (see above), come back Sunday for the Sustainable Living Conference featuring workshops and demonstrations on a wide variety of down to earth sustainability options. Topics include home gardening, permaculture, food preservation, household energy conservation, investing locally, sharing resources with neighbors, eating locally and alternate transportation strategies.

Art at the Center:
Three White Cranes, Two Flyways, One World: Children’s International Art Exhibit

Sunday, October 5
2 - 4 p.m.
For everyone
Free - donations appreciated
Call to register, 964-8505
Show runs through late December

The International Crane Foundation’s education program links teachers and students in the central city of Milwaukee along the flyway for the two North American crane species with teachers and students along the crane flyway in east Asia. As part of the program, students across cultures are connected through art. Students in Milwaukee, China and Russia created the artwork for this exhibition related to cranes and their ecosystems.

Climate Change Solutions with Arctic Explorer Will Stegner

Wednesday, October 15
7 - 9 p.m.
For adults
Free - donations appreciated
Call to register, 964-8505.

Internationally renowned polar explorer Will Stegner will present “Eyewitness to Global Warming” as part of his “The Longest Summer Tour.” The presentation will discuss the implications of climate change from a regional, national and international perspective and will showcase a variety of citizen solutions. The talk will be accompanied by breathtaking photos from the Arctic. This will be a night not to miss!

Droplets

Looking for information about the Interfaith Earth Network?

Click here to learn more about this partnership between faith communities and the Urban Ecology Center.

Astronomy Notes
Has a New Home!

We're happy to announce that our Astronomy Notes calendar has a new home here on the Center's website. Click here to check out its new format and extra content.

What's Happening
on Park Place?

Parking has always been an issue on Milwaukee’s East Side. Riverside Park is no exception. The Urban Ecology Center has negotiated an agreement with the MMSD to do build a “green” 55 car parking lot. This requires extending Park Place with a vehicular bridge. It might seem logical to use Belleview to access this land, but there is not enough room between an existing building and the edge of the bike path to build a legal street from Belleview to the proposed lot.

Click here for information
about this exciting project.

New Board Members

As spring is the season of new growth, so, too, has the Urban Ecology Center Board of Directors grown this spring. We are excited to announce the addition of five new members to the Center’s Board of Directors. The new Directors reflect the partnerships the Center has developed as we continue to branch out, neighborhood by neighborhood. We welcome Eric Crawford, Blake Moret, Ed Krishok, Carl Trimble and Will Nasgovitz.

Click here for a complete list
of our Board of Directors.