Removing the Barriers Between Students and Nature

When a little white bus decorated with colorful plants and animals pulls up outside Milwaukee schools, adventure begins! For students in the Urban Ecology Center’s (UEC) Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP), that bus means forests, rivers, prairies, and parks are suddenly within reach. 

For teachers like Ana Menendez, a bilingual special education teacher at Escuela Vieau, these buses represent something bigger than transportation - they represent opportunity. “It’s a really good feeling to know our students can experience something this educational and this community oriented and this exciting without barriers,” Ana shares. Because the UEC provides transportation at no cost to schools, teachers don’t have to worry about the additional cost of busing.

That barrier is real. School budgets are limited, and bus costs can quickly put field trips out of reach. Gifts from donors mean that never happens. This school year, for the first time, the UEC will have a specially designed wheelchair accessible bus. It will make a world of difference by ensuring that students of all abilities can join the adventure and experience nature alongside their classmates. 

Ana shared that knowing these buses are safer and more accessible than traditional school buses gives her peace of mind throughout the trip. She also appreciates the smaller group sizes on buses that allow UEC educators to connect with students more personally throughout the journey, saying the students feel special in their smaller groups. 

Even the ride becomes part of the magic. Students point out their homes and neighborhoods, seeing familiar streets in a new way, as places full of wildlife and wonder. When students climb aboard they feel the excitement of the open road, and arrive ready to explore. 

As Ana puts it, “I’m very thankful for people who support my students and other schools in the MPS system. These are opportunities that some of our students don’t get enough of and do need.” 

Consider donating to the UEC so that transportation is never what stands between a child and nature. YOU can remove the barriers, fund the journey, and make every adventure possible, one bus ride at a time.

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