Nearby Nature MKE

About

Nearby Nature MKE highlights the intersectional benefits of deepening connections to the ecosystems we inhabit for Black and Brown communities. We are an environmental justice initiative focused on reconnecting Black and Brown communities to nearby nature through community engagement, education, land stewardship, and reclamation.

Categories Program Adults BIPOC Children & Youth Community & Advocacy

Program Details

Nearby Nature MKE is an environmental organization that focuses on connection to nearby Nature through justice, education, community engagement, and land stewardship. We offer representation to the Black community for its excellence in science and art for current and future generations. Nearby Nature MKE began with a vision to reconnect Black and Brown communities to nearby nature, and in pursuit of that vision, we received a grant from The Sierra Club and a fiscal sponsorship from The Milwaukee Environmental Consortium. Since our humble beginnings, we have gained ownership of our vision and are now our own nonprofit.

Nearby Nature MKE supports the development of neighborhood friends groups and volunteer steward teams in the following communities: Harriet Tubman Park, McGovern Park, and Hopkins Hollow Nature Preserve. The Hopkins Hollow Nature Preserve is the unofficial name given to the 18-acre blended ecosystem in the heart of the 30th Street Corridor. We hope to steward a potential inner city micro-oak savannah located on 51st Street and Lincoln Creek Parkway. Nearby Nature MKE stewards these parks and local green spaces through education walks, therapeutic art activities, and health and wellness events. We also host plant identification events and organize winter outdoor activities such as snowshoeing, skiing, and sledding.

Nearby Nature MKE is thankful for continued support from funders and community members. Without interest and participation from the community, we would not exist. We meet the needs of the communities we serve by showing up to where they are and listening to their concerns—we address said concerns when we provide safe, introductory outdoor activities in partnership with local environmental organizations. Furthermore, we developed the African American Environmental Pioneer Awards 5 years ago in an effort to honor overlooked Black environmentalists and deepen connections among organizations within Milwaukee County. So far, we have honored over 50 individuals who are working to improve our understanding of and connection to the spaces we inhabit.

Services Offered

Education — We offer workshops and science lessons for students in grades 1-5, where we work directly with school teachers and administrative staff to implement hands-on learning experiences about nature near them. We offer field trips to green spaces that allow for classroom activities outdoors and a 10-week long Summer Land Stewardship internship for high school and college students. We are currently developing a week-long adult summer camp that will start in Summer 2025.
Community Engagement — We work directly with communities that inhabit the green spaces we steward, which are predominantly red-lined neighborhoods. We support the development of neighborhood friends groups and volunteer steward teams, as we recognize how community voices are central to our mission and provide valuable feedback, guidance, and collaboration.
Land Stewardship — We are privileged to be good stewards of the land we inhabit in partnership with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Northwest Side Community Development Committee, Land Restoration School, the Environmental Youth Collaborative, Urban Ecology Center, ReFlo, and MKE County Parks. We receive permission from our land to carry out research and deepen connections using traditional ecological knowledge. We also utilize ecological restoration methods inspired by the Society of Ecological Restoration in an effort to preserve and honor inner-city endangered ecosystems, such as the Dry Mesic Prairie located in Hopkins Hollow. We hope to pass on this traditional ecological knowledge so these spaces can be enjoyed 150 years from now.

Contact Timothy Scott - Executive Director timscott@nearbynaturemke.org Website

Population Served
Youth and adults in the Black and Brown communities who live in North and Northwest Milwaukee.

Staff Composition
We are a small family team of four people: