This is our second episode in a mini-series focusing on how local governments can provide public green spaces. In the City of Milwaukee, there is a clear history for this work. Around the time the Urban Ecology Center was moving into a new building in Riverside Park in 2004, leaders in the area helped Mayor Tom Barrett establish a “Green Team” for the city. Today, the Environmental Collaboration Office carries on the work of the original Green Team in distinctive ways. Many cities have opened offices that focus on sustainability, as well as the familiar parks and recreation programming. In Milwaukee, as we learn in this conversation with Director Erick Shambarger, the focus is consistently on collaboration, and the results over the past decade or so point to even more potential for the future. As in our last episode with Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, Erick shares a passion for urban ecology. His work – starting in the city budget office, joining the Green Team, and now leading the Environmental Collaboration Office – sets a high bar for other cities looking to expand access to urban green spaces.

This episode is hosted by Chris Young with contributions from Gillian Spence, and Ken Leinbach. Edited by Danny Pirtle. Special thanks to our guest, Erick Shambarger.

For more from the Urban Ecology Center, visit our website (www.urbanecologycenter.org) or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, @UrbanEcologyCenter.

In this episode, we meet Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors (https://www.facebook.com/SupervisorNicholson and http://milwaukee.gov/Nicholson) to learn about her passion for urban ecology. This is the first in a two-part series on municipal government partnerships. Nicholson explores the importance of public policymaking for protecting green spaces. She shares her passion for nature as she talks about its benefits to individual and community health. Connected to this, she returns to major themes of her work so far as a public servant, advocating for racial equity as it is impacted by disparities in funding for programs across the county. She is inspired by community organizations like the Urban Ecology Center that partner with one another, with neighbors, and with government agencies to make change happen. She is, in turn, inspiring others at the local, state, and national levels to recognize the need for continuing transformation of green spaces in our cities.

This episode is hosted by Chris Young with contributions from Gillian Spence, and Ken Leinbach. Edited by Danny Pirtle. Special thanks to our guest, Marcelia Nicholson.

For more from the Urban Ecology Center, visit our website (www.urbanecologycenter.org) or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, @UrbanEcologyCenter.

This episode completes our initial 4-part series on environmental education. Throughout this series, we have seen how programming at the Urban Ecology Center makes connections to environmental learning for children in school groups and for community members of all ages. We have seen the dynamic ways that the community informs that programming. In this episode, it is even more notable that we are only just beginning to share the diversity of the people the Center serves and how our efforts to learn from and meet the needs of our neighbors are ongoing. José interviews Martina Patterson, an educator in a partner organization called Nearby Nature. Together, they reflect on what it means to share their love of nature to inspire the passion of children for the environment through science and art. The partnership between the UEC and Nearby Nature has been in the works for several years, through the commitment of a local Sierra Club advocate, David Thomas, and this collaboration is set to grow as we move forward.

This episode is hosted by Chris Young and José Basaldua with contributions from Ken Leinbach and features special guest Martina Patterson. Edited by Danny Pirtle.

For more from the Urban Ecology Center, visit our website (www.urbanecologycenter.org) or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, @UrbanEcologyCenter.