“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” - John Muir
From birds to snakes to butterflies, there are so many things being examined, counted and categorized in Riverside Park! Our Citizen Science program literally connects you to the natural world through local research. Get connected to the natural world through the Urban Ecology Center!
Highlighted Events
From Waste to Community Resource
Speaker: Jesse Blom, Education Coordinator, Sweet Water Foundation. Sweet Water Organics and Sweet Water Foundation have launched a hybrid business enterprise fusing a commercial farming operation with a non-profit educational program inside of an old factory building in Bay View. Jesse will explore the many ways that Sweet Water is aiming to convert wasted space, materials and talent into resources for the greater community.
Tuesday,
February 14
7 - 8:30 p.m.
For adults
Free - donations appreciated (Nonmembers - $5)
Call to register, 964-8505
Winter Birds in Minnesota
Sax-Zim bog is southern vacation spot for many arctic breeders, a premier winter birding spot. Black-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers, Red and White-winged Crossbills, Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jays, Black-billed Magpies, Evening Grosbeaks, and Common and Hoary Redpolls are all possibilities in this. Transportation, lodging and guiding by ecologists Bill Mueller and Owen Boyle are included.
Friday, February 24, 9 a.m. - Sunday, February 26, 5 p.m.
For adults
$275
(Nonmembers - $300)
Please contact Tim Vargo to register, 964-8505 x116
Prescribed Burn Request for Proposal
The Urban Ecology Center is requesting proposals for qualified professional burn contractors to conduct prescribed burns for areas of riparian flats along the east bank of the Milwaukee River, as well as, areas of prairie and savannah uplands within Riverside Park for a total of approximately 4 acres. The purpose of these controlled burns is to provide ecological management, reduce fuel load, and assist in control of invasives, including Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea).
Request for Proposal Dates:
Request opens January 15, 2012
Request closes February 15, 2012
Proposal should be submitted not later than 5pm on February 15, 2012 to Kim Forbeck via email at kforbeck@urbanecologycenter.org.
Click here for the full RFP document.
Work for us! Research position available
Research Interns
The Urban Ecology Center, a community-based not-for-profit nature center, is seeking interns to conduct research in the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum (including Riverside Park), Washington Park and the Menomonee Valley for the year 2011.
Areas of research include but are not limited to:
- Bat Monitoring
- Restoration Ecology
- Exotic Species Control
- Snake, Turtle and Other Herptile Population Dynamics
- Urban Bird Migration
- Vegetation Surveys
- Small Mammal Survey and Population Work
- Soil Properties and Pollutant Remediation
- Human Impacts on Park Ecology
- River Issues - Ecology
- Green Building
- Terrestrial Invertebrate Surveys
- Spatial Analysis of Biological, Ecological and Physical Data
Positions are set up year-round.
For more information on this opportunity download this announcement. If you'd like to set up an internship, please contact Tim Vargo, Manager of Research and Citizen Science at tvargo@urbanecologycenter.org or 414-964-8505, x116.
The Citizens Behind the Science
The concept of Citizen Science is as old as science itself.
What is Citizen Science? It is the involvement of citizens from the non-scientific community in academic research. Therefore, the very first scientists were, by definition, Citizen Scientists. In the Urban Ecology Center Citizen Science Program this includes a strong group of volunteers who help with bird, mammal, snake and plant research.
Over time, science developed into academia with research institutions to separate “professional” scientists from “amateur” scientists and the term “ivory tower” came to represent the isolation of academics from the daily life of citizenry. With this separation came a misconception that amateur citizens could not be involved in “real” research because they are not trained scientists. Nothing could be further from the truth.
With careful training, anyone can collect reliable data. A prime example of how citizen scientists contribute to publishable academic research is the Milwaukee County Avian Migration and Monitoring Partnership. This partnership, which includes the Urban Ecology Center, is a groundbreaking study that uses bird physiology as an indicator of habitat quality. It requires technical skills to safely capture birds, draw blood and process the metabolites in the blood. Obviously we can’t just send anyone to do this, but there are currently a dozen or so citizen scientists who have volunteered a great deal of time and have gained the expertise through patience, commitment and training.
Does this mean that we can used only trained volunteers for this project? Of course not. This fall two ten-year old citizen scientists visited the project for the first time, full of spunk and energy. They provided a valuable service, running from mist-net to mist-net to let us know if any birds were caught. New volunteers start by observing; then they learn how to put up and take down equipment, record data and eventually learn how to safely handle birds.
It is a requirement that all research in Riverside Park use citizen scientists, from snake surveys to habitat restoration to mammal population studies. The connection between the academic world and the rest of us yields huge benefits. Researchers gain access to reliable field assistants, can increase their sampling areas and data collection power and gain local support from the community who can claim ownership. Volunteers gain an education, learn valuable research skills and experience the natural world at a new level.
According to E.O. Wilson, “Scientific natural history is one of the few endeavors in which any interested person can make original contributions to science… There are just too many kinds of organisms [to study] and too few professional scientists.” The Urban Ecology Center attracts quality research due to a dynamic group of Citizen Scientists.
