Environmental Education

Students at the Urban Ecology Center get so involved in what they’re doing — and have so much fun — they don’t even realize how much they’re learning!

From tapping maple trees for syrup, to ice skating on the Washington Park lagoon, to donning hip waders and carrying magnifying glasses to look for damselflies, leeches, clams and crayfish in the Milwaukee River , there is always an opportunity for nature based learning!

On this Page:

A new model for environmental learning

In the city, people often live in apartment buildings and school grounds are often covered in cement. The Urban Ecology Center offers unique urban sanctuaries and “outdoor laboratories” for neighborhood school children.

The UEC’s staff and volunteers serve as adult mentors to guide students, year after year, as they progress through school.

Based on this model, the Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP) partners with schools within a two-mile radius of our branches at Riverside, Washington, and Three Bridges Parks. Rather than arranging for single field trips, each participating school signs up for an entire year. This provides them with multiple visits to each park, spread throughout the school year, and ongoing participation in the program each year.

If your school is outside the two-mile limit, scroll down to "more opportunities" to learn other options!

Private Group Experiences

We provide foundational nature-based outdoor programs that bring neighborhood green spaces to life with hands-on explorations for curious minds!

From rock climbing to twilight hikes, our Adventures are designed to foster team-building while learning a new outdoor skill to take with you.

View Experiences

NEEP

The nationally recognized Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP)’s innovative approach to environmental education offers a unique opportunity for you to supplement your science curricula. With NEEP, schools partner with the Urban Ecology Center for an entire year, transforming the experience from just another field trip to a permanent outdoor classroom where you can reinforce science concepts taught in class with hands-on outdoor activities during multiple visits.

Our science-based programs range from basic wildlife and ecology studies, to the physics of sound and light, to simple machines, to energy, to recycling. At a time when physical education programs are being cut, the UEC also offers valuable kinesthetic learning opportunities, including rock climbing, canoeing, hiking, snow shoeing and ice skating. Our custom designed programs meet the needs and desires of the teachers and school districts.

2023-2024 Neighborhood Environmental Education Project partner schools
‍ALBA • Alexander Mitchell School • Allen-Field Elementary School • Atwater Elementary School • Bethune Academy • Brown St. Academy • Carver Academy • Cass Street School • Catholic East Elementary • Christ-St. Peter Lutheran School • Clara Mohammed School • Doerfler School • Downtown Montessori Academy • Escuela Fratney • Fernwood Montessori School • French Immersion School • Gaenslen Elementary School • Golda Meir School • Greenfield Elementary School • Hawley Environmental School • Highland Community School • La Causa Charter School • Lake Bluff Elementary School • Lincoln Avenue School • Lincoln Center of the Arts • Longfellow Elementary School • Maryland Avenue Montessori • Messmer St. Rose • Milwaukee Academy of Science • Milwaukee College Preparatory-38th Street • Milwaukee Environmental Science Academy • Mount Olive Lutheran Grade School • MPS Vision Classroom • Neeskara Elementary School • Notre Dame School of Milwaukee • OW Holmes School • Pershing Elementary School • Pilgrim Lutheran • Prince of Peace School • Repairing Together-Milwaukee Jewish Day School • Riverwest Elementary School • Rogers St. Academy • Seeds of Health Elementary • Southside Community Prep • St. Catherine School • St. Coletta Day School of Milwaukee • St. Marcus School • St. Martini Lutheran School • St. Philip's Lutheran School • St. Rafael School • St. Robert School • St. Sebastian Grade School • Stellar Collegiate • Story Elementary • Tamarack Waldorf School • U.S. Grant School • Vieau • Woodlands Bluemound Campus • Woodlands State Street Campus

For more information

To find out more about why the Urban Ecology Center is more than just a field trip site, contact Lynn Anders, Director of Environmental Education, (414) 964-8505, x103 or landers@urbanecologycenter.org

National Recognition for NEEP

The National Environmental Education Advancement Project selected the Neighborhood Environmental Education Project as one of the most unique and effective programs in the state, inviting us to share our model with five different urban regions in Wisconsin.

Environmental Education Sponsorship Opportunities

The Urban Ecology Center relies on community sponsors to help provide terrific programming to schools. Each school contributes a portion of the cost for a NEEP contract and generous donors and corporate partners contribute the remainder. Contact our Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager, Meenal Atre, at (414) 964-8505, x136 or matre@urbanecologycenter.org, if you or your organization would like to become a NEEP sponsor.

Ensure environmental education is available for students in Milwaukee!

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For the 2022-2023 year, the Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP) was supported by*:

  • Bader Philanthropies, Inc.
  • BMO Harris Bank
  • Brady Corporation
  • Clare M Peters Charitable Trust
  • Dorothy Inbusch Foundation, Inc.
  • Eaton Corporation
  • Go Outside Fund
  • Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors Youth Foundation
  • Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Inc.
  • Green Bay Packers Foundation
  • Herzfeld Foundation
  • Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation, Inc.
  • Komatsu Mining Corp Foundation
  • Maihaugen Foundation
  • Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
  • Neroli Salon
  • Puelicher Foundation, Inc.
  • Ralph Evinrude Foundation
  • Rexnord Foundation
  • Rockwell Automation
  • Steigleder Charitable Trust
  • Target
  • U.S Forest Service
  • We Energies Foundation
  • Weyco Group, Inc.

*Last updated 6/19/23

PEEP

Preschool Environmental Education Project (PEEP)

Through the Preschool Environmental Education Project (PEEP), participants form relationships with the nature in their neighborhoods through a wide range of educational options. PEEP offerings include traditional school year, seasonal and summer experiences for young children and year-round opportunities for grown ups who teach and inspire children. This ensures our youngest children have multiple opportunities to connect with the outdoors.

Learn More

Contact Us!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Nature-based Early Childhood Team if you would like more information or have any questions!

Matt Flower
Manager of Early Childhood Environmental Education
Email: education@urbanecologycenter.org
Phone: 414-626-8564

Summer Camps

Summer camps at the UEC are oh so special. Kids form a connection to nature through hands-on adventures and healthy outdoor fun!

The camp website will be available to browse on January 17th, and camps will officially open February 6th.

Camps are available for kiddos in pre-k all the way through 8th grade and there is no shortage of activities to choose from! Biking, Fishing, Forest Camp, Outdoor Detectives are just a few from the selection of camps you can expect!

Check out our 2024 Summer Camps

More Opportunities

Whether you are teaching the basics of birds or looking to liven up your after-school program, the Center has many opportunities that will excite your students. The following programs are available for all Milwaukee area schools.

Private Group Experiences

We provide foundational nature-based outdoor programs that bring neighborhood green spaces to life with hands-on explorations for curious minds! From rock climbing to twilight hikes, our Adventures are designed to foster team-building while learning a new outdoor skill to take with you.

Winter Adventures Menu

Spring Adventures Menu

Summer Adventures Menu

Community Science

Bridging the gap between research and the community is the goal of the Community Science program. If you are interested in involving students in hands-on research, such as bird monitoring or monarch tagging, contact Tim Vargo, Manager of Research and Community Science, (414) 964-8050 ext. 116, tvargo@urbanecologycenter.org.

Service Learning

What can be better than learning by doing? Help the Urban Ecology Center improve the natural areas of our parks and learn about these important habitats through a service learning project. Contact Davita Flowers-Shanklin , Volunteer Program Manager, (414) 964-8505 ext. 110, dflowersshanklin@urbanecologycenter.org.

Family Programs

We offer lots of public programs for families! Check out our Events Calendar to see what we have to offer, including weekend programs.

Latest from our Blog

Chokecherry – Native Tree of the Week

By
Emma
Knickelbine
on
July 25, 2024
Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) is a shrub or small tree native to much of the northern US and Canada. In Wisconsin’s forests, the chokecherry is a keystone species, supporting a whopping 340 caterpillar species. It's a choice host plant for butterflies like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, as well as for large, showy moth species, like the Cecropia and Polyphemus moths. The shrubby, shorter structure of the chokecherry creates ideal hiding places for birds and other animals. This tree’s berries are also consumed by birds, insects, and mammals, including humans.

Native Tree of the Month: Eastern Cottonwood

By
Emma
Knickelbine
on
July 16, 2024
The Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) is a native Wisconsin tree that generates a lot of conversation. It’s a fast-growing deciduous tree, and at maturity, it is large, spreading, and impressive, sometimes reaching 150 ft tall. However, many people, especially in urban settings, shy away from planting cottonwoods because of their proliferate seeding in the early summer. They produce catkins that release thousands of puffy white seeds into the air.

Summer Staff and Interns!

By
Amanda
Panciera
on
July 8, 2024
We are thrilled to introduce you to Urban Ecology Center’s enthusiastic 2024 Summer Interns and Seasonal Staff members! Be sure to visit our branches to meet and get to know these new folks who are ready to help you have your best UEC experience.

A Surprising Opportunity for Growth and Learning

By
Michelle
Milford
on
June 13, 2024
The renovation and expansion of our Washington Park location provided a unique (and surprising) opportunity to expand career exploration for young people! In partnership with VJS Construction, Steiner Electric and Quorum Architects, we offered specialized internships and trades exploration to four Milwaukee students

Reeling in Memories

By
Michelle
Milford
on
May 16, 2024
What’s your favorite fish? This is likely a question you don't get asked often. Well…unless you are a summer camper at the Urban Ecology Center. With flowing rivers and a big blue lake in our backyard, having a “favorite fish” is common here! During our Adventures & Fishing summer camp in the Menomonee Valley, Korbin not only discovered his favorite fish, he caught it – a smallmouth bass! Other water wonders in his catch were bluegills and even a snapping turtle.
Read More