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In an age of dwindling resources, waning urban green space, and environmental and public safety concerns, it shouldn’t be surprising that urban environmental stewardship and related civil engagement initiatives have increased nationwide as cities and organizations work to foster a sense of environmental wonder, pride and collective responsibility in their communities.
Since 1990, Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center has worked to do just that, receiving national and international recognition for its efforts in science education programming, preservation and restoration projects, and community building. From July 23 through 27 the Urban Ecology Center will welcome groups of civic and community leaders from Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Missouri, as well as Israel, Mexico and Columbia to learn about its model, mission and impact.
“Our objective is to teach people why we do what we do, how we do what we do and how they might do this in their communities,” explains Urban Ecology Center Executive Director Ken Leinbach. “We think the work we do is important and replicable. We are not interested in a centralized approach, because we have seen flaws in that. We want to help others do this work and host conferences, but we don’t want to be a central franchising agency. Essentially, we want to create a learning community and network of the people who are doing this kind of work from around the world.”
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Leinbach’s book, Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities and the World, which received a general distribution release from publisher Morgan James Publishing in March, serves as a text book of sorts for the Center’s mission. The book provides both a personal look and broad overview of the Urban Ecology Center’s humble beginnings as one employee operating in a trailer in a then neglected Riverside Park, to an indispensable Milwaukee organization featuring a broad spectrum of urban environmental education programming, research and stewardship initiatives through collaborations with schools, community organizations and the City of Milwaukee with 225,000 individuals visiting the branches annually.
Leinbach has traveled around the country to speak about the Urban Ecology Center and Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities and the World. In February, for instance, he spoke at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta with the help of Trees Atlanta, an Atlanta-based nonprofit citizen’s group dedicated to protecting and improving Atlanta’s urban forests. Two Trees Atlanta employees will attend the intensive according to Director and Chief Operating Officer Connie Veates, who visited the Urban Ecology Center with Co -Executive Director and Chief Program Officer Greg Levine in 2016 after initially learning about the organization years before from a Trees Atlanta board member. The visit made an impact. Trees Atlanta is currently looking to open a new facility like the Urban Ecology Center on Atlanta’s West Side with an emphasis to further reach out to the community and engage youth.
“What we’ve noticed is that you can only effect behavior so much in adults,” says Veates, referring the misconceptions and habits that can sometimes be difficult to challenge in adults. “But if we can teach children and get to them young and teach them about urban ecology and get them interested, it doesn’t matter if they go into a green field ultimately. We don’t care if they’re accountants or forklift operators, just as long as they have an appreciation for the environment and the impact human beings make on it. I feel like that can really change the future.”
A similar sentiment is repeated throughout Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities and the World. That while we plan and prepare for the future, we must also create and secure a sense of place here and now. And while the Urban Ecology Center will continue to help build a network of similarly focused organizations, cities and initiatives, Leinbach maintains that the Urban Ecology Center’s focus remains resolutely on its home: Milwaukee. “We have a vision that we are calling the Milwaukee vision. It’s our goal to have every kid in the City of Milwaukee be exposed to or have access to hands-on, nature-based, environmental education,” Leinbach says.
“Right now, we are in three areas of the city and we’re serving those areas really well, but there is more work to be done and more areas to serve,” Leinbach continues. “We have a 10 or 15-year plan to get this kind of access for every child in Milwaukee, because every kid deserves that.”
