Update: How to grow an arboretum.

It's been a while since I've visited the Rotary Centennial Arboretum. Since Autumn to be precise. Well, spring is here--at last! And among other things that means people are out again at the Arboretum, adding new plants, mulching and doing all the other things needed to make the still largely empty land come alive.

How do you grow an arboretum? Well, if your arboretum is on land reclaimed from a brownfield of broken bricks, you look among the piles for newly staked seedlings. Here is what I found when I visited yesterday.

Joel, an Urban Ecology Center staffer.

Similar activity was taking place farther downstream along the Milwaukee River where the River Revitalization Foundation is beautifying its recently acquired property near North Avenue. I arrived shortly after burlap was laid down over the cleared and reseeded slope.

Tanya, an RRF staffer.

To view previous installments showing progress on the Arboretum:

How to grow an arboretum

Planting Rotary Centennial Arboretum

Autumn in the Arboretum

River Revitalization Foundation takes a hike on National Trails Day

Last Saturday was National Trails Day, so designated by the American Hiking Society. The River Revitalization Foundation (RRF) invited the public to celebrate the day with a hike along the Milwaukee River. Although I had to wonder why a specially designated day was needed, being highly self-motivated when it comes to hiking, the Milwaukee River Greenway is one of my favorite places for it and I relished the idea of a hike guided by the knowledgeable staff of the RRF. 

false Solomon's seal

The worth of the designated event became apparent immediately as about 25 people assembled in Gordon Park. A few were seasoned hikers but most were not. Some confided that they’d never hiked along the Milwaukee River before.

We began with sight, across Locust St., of a modest house that belonged to Charles Whitnall, the mastermind of Milwaukee County’s magnificent park system. Vince Bushell, RRF’s Land Steward, provided some historical background about Gordon Park and the river below the bluff, which was invisible due to a screen of mature trees. When first developed, he said, the view was unobstructed. However, cuts to the parks budget have resulted in the elimination of tree trimming operations.

Anise blossoms

 We strolled down the recently developed, paved Beer Line Trail, so called because it follows the route of the former railroad line that once served Milwaukee’s breweries. Vince identified native flowers that were blooming in places that had been cleared of garlic mustard and other invasive species by RRF volunteers. 

Next to one of the two massive UWM dorms that bracket the river at North Ave. we found a troop of boy scouts working on another RRF project: re-routing a mountain bike trail to reduce erosion. Bikers love the riparian trails – and multi-use is the name of the game in this high-profile urban wilderness.

I was delighted to see the creative re-use of buckthorn as a fencing material in the new Wheelhouse Gateway Park at the south end of the Greenway.

By the time we crossed the bridge at Caesar’s Pool and turned back north up the East Bank Trail attrition had reduced our party to seven diehards. Which was too bad, I thought, because the east side trail is unpaved, which I prefer, and because we discovered a number of fascinating projects in the works.

 There were square depressions at regular intervals in the tall grass made by slabs of plywood laid down to provide shelter for endangered Butler’s garter snakes. A soccer-field size area had been battened down with black plastic, in an experimental effort by the Urban Ecology Center to control invasive reed canary grass, which blankets much of the riverside.

The most exciting project has to be imagined from the devastation wrought upon one section of the bluff, which looks like a war zone. A new 40-acre arboretum is being created that will extend up and over the top of the bluff.  With an irony that is emblematic of the urban wilderness I love to write about, the first step in the development of the arboretum, apparently, is to clear-cut all the trees. The new, yet-to-be-planted trees will outlive me – and it fills my heart with joy to know that. 

arboretum under construction

We finished our loop in Riverside Park, which was originally designed in the 1890’s by Frederick Law Olmsted and rescued a hundred years later from blight and neglect by the Urban Ecology Center. Much as I admire Olmsted’s classic landscape designs and anticipate the beauty of the new arboretum, I must admit I was heartened to see this magnificent old black willow (below) lying where it had recently toppled. It is a fitting symbol of a new sensitivity to ecological processes and biodiversity. One of the signature differences between a wilderness and most urban parks is what happens to fallen trees. Park managers traditionally have made lumber and carted it away. But where trees are left to decompose they provide habitat for wildlife and their nutrients eventually return to the earth, repeating the cycle of regeneration. 

I enjoyed National Trails Day but I won’t be waiting for another official excuse to take my next hike in the urban wilderness. (You knew that!) I hope I see you out there on one of my hikes.

Click here to see more images from the National Trails Day hike and Milwaukee River Greenway.

RRF buys vital new parkland on the Milwaukee River

Score one for the urban wilderness today! With bright spring sun for a spotlight and the newly green foliage surrounding Caesar’s Pool for a backdrop, a large gathering of prestigious folks assembled in the parking lot of Melanec’s Wheelhouse. The remains of that former restaurant have been boarded and await demolition. With a simple handshake, John Chowanec, the former owner, ceremoniously handed ownership of the 2.8 acre property over to the Executive Director of the River Revitalization Foundation (RRF), Kimberly Gleffe, while the Secretary of the Wisconsin DNR, Matt Frank, looked on.

Although small, this strip of land at the curve of the Milwaukee River has been, until now, a vital missing link. Over the past ten years the RRF has quietly acquired land and developed the Beer Line and East Bank trails that create a now continuous loop along both sides of the Milwaukee River. This new property anchors the south end of this loop on the west side of the river right at the point where it changes abruptly from urban wilderness to the canyon of condominiums downstream of Humboldt Blvd.

There is still work to be done. Today’s ceremony kicks off a capital campaign to raise the relatively small amount still needed to complete the demolition and development of a new park. (To contribute, click here. I have and will again.) Landscaping will tie it to the river corridor as surely as the pedestrian bridge already connects it to Caesar’s Pool Park across the river. It is worth the time, expense, and effort. The Milwaukee River corridor is already an unparalleled urban wilderness experience. (I’ve written about it before.) This is the final piece of a beautiful puzzle.

The wilderness that runs in my veins warmed to the words spoken by several of the distinguished guests. Secretary Franks established the theme by saying “we know we can have sustainable cities.” Yes!  He went on to articulate how important it is to protect open spaces and connect people to the land, “not only in rural spaces, but also in urban areas.” Yes!  He concluded by asserting that inner city children should be able to go outdoors, to hike in nature, and to see wildlife. Yes!

My hearty thanks from here at the urban wilderness blog to RRF, DNR, MMSD and everyone else who made this possible!

A thorough account of the purchase and links to media coverage can be found on the RRF website.

East Bank trail and the North Avenue Bridge

Spring at Caesar's Pool on the Milwaukee River

The payoff for a weekend of rain: luscious foliage and brilliant skies. And maybe, just maybe, spring is also celebrating this spot, newly acquired by the River Revitalization Foundation for parkland to anchor the Milwaukee River Greenway, a.k.a. Milwaukee's Central Park.