2014 Riveredge Nature Center Is Not a Start-Up
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Our 45th Year Annual Report 2014 Riveredge Nature Center is not a start-up. We are Riveredge Nature Center not the newest, shiniest car on the block. Yet, we are not unproven. Over 45 Educate Today; Preserve Tomorrow. years, we have proven how one organization and a legion of volunteers can restore 379 acres of land, most of which was originally corn fields. We’ve Our Mission proven how that land can be used to inspire and educate hundreds Inspire, inform, and enable responsible of thousands of adults and youth. We’ve proven that an organization can environmental decision-making and expand its reach and impact by training others who then contribute their sustainable practices by: inspiration, knowledge, and talent – increasing theripple effect • Providing leadership in education; of their time at Riveredge and of Riveredge itself. We’ve proven how one • Preserving and restoring the Riveredge and organization can transform countless lives through time in our natural other natural sanctuaries; world. • Serving as a resource for scientific research. This past year, we celebrated our 45 years of history by remembering Table of Contents our roots, honoring our achievements, and setting the stage to accomplish audacious goals in the future. None of this – our past, our present, or our Riveredge History ....…….................... 1 future – would be possible without you. In fact, it has not been us who have accomplished this; it has been YOU! Your generosity, your commitment, and Riveredge Kid: Sunny Knutson .......... 2 your involvement in Riveredge has transformed acres, organizations, Inspiration in Nature through and lives. You have provided the resources – that first stone cast into Education ......................................... 3 the pond – which has provided the ripples which are now making a difference in this world. Thank you. Riveredge Kid: Caroline Mosely ........ 4 We expect you will enjoy the stories contained on the following pages. We are proud of the Riveredge Fosters Discovery, results of this past year, and we think you will be too. We’ve included stories of “Riveredge Kids,” Transformation, and Hope ............... 5-7 individuals who have grown through time in nature at Riveredge – either as children or adults. I hope their stories of transformation remind you of everything of which Riveredge is built upon and The 45th Anniversary (1968 - 2013) ................................... 8-9 inspire you toward our future. Finally, you’ll also get a preview of our ‘Big Riveredge Audacious Goal’ set forth by the Board of Directors and staff at Riveredge. In the coming years, we will be Foundations and Volunteers aggressively planning, implementing, and achieving this goal to make our communitieshealthier Make a Difference ........................... 10 and happier through time in nature. More than a Nature Center: The The last 45 years have been amazing; the next 45 will prove to be epic. ‘Big Riveredge Audacious Goal’ ........ 11 Financial Statement ......................... 12 Riveredge Staff & Board of Directors ........................... 13 Jessica Jens Monte Boyer Executive Director Board President Donor List ........................................ 14-17 Riveredge History From the beginning, the Riveredge ‘experiment’ has been about engaging people with the natural world – and doing so in a way that is personally transformational and cultivates a meaningful connection to nature. It is this restored farmland with a diversity of ecosystems representative of those found throughout the state, that grounds the visitor in both time and space and is a reminder that place is important. It is attention to this land that has produced 40+ years of research on native Wisconsin flora and fauna. Our 379 acres include diverse wildlife habitats clothed in mature northern hardwood forest, interspersed with prairie, a production sugar bush, vernal ponds, sedge meadows, and other wetlands. This land is made possible by legions of volunteers who cut buckthorn, pull garlic mustard, and combat other invasive species. Thanks to these Habitat Healers, the spring-time forest is dappled with native May Apple, Trillium, and Wild Geranium. Thanks to them, legions of children from schools throughout Southeastern Wisconsin know the diversity of ecosystems in the state and know what it means to live in a healthy world. Forty-five years after the Whitefish Bay Garden Club purchased the few acres along the Milwaukee River that would become Riveredge, children still need a place to discover the natural world. Since then, more than 250,000 children have experienced what it is to see a frog for the first time, hear an owl in the dark of the forest, stop in wonder at the spring ephemerals, and squeal with joy at all the wonderful water creatures in the Milwaukee River. We call these kids ‘Riveredge Kids’, and the impact of Riveredge, the relevance of Riveredge, can be seen in the choices these kids have made, who they have become, how they have chosen to spend their lives, and the immense benefit they bring to the world. Riveredge opens up that space inside all of us that is full of wonder and peace, and because of it, it is the experience that makes you a ‘Riveredge Kid’. Whether you’ve spent your childhood searching for frogs in Farm Pond or discovered the Queen of the Prairie for the first time as an adult, every visitor to Riveredge can be a ‘Riveredge Kid’. 1 1 Riveredge Kid: Sunny Knutson She is an educator. She is an adventurer. She is a biologist. But first, she was a Riveredge Kid. Throughout her childhood, Riveredge was a big part of Sunny’s life. She has fond memories of summers spent at camp, tapping maple trees during the sugarin’ season, searching for the Yule Log in the crisp winter night; all while forging a deep connection with the land. She began her career at Riveredge as a Summer Intern in 1996, assisting with camps and leading teen adventure trips. In 1997, shortly after joining the Riveredge staff as an Environmental Educator, Sunny took her first trip to Tirimbina, a Rainforest Center established in Costa Rica, through a Riveredge partnership with the Milwaukee Public Museum and has returned nearly every year since. Seventeen years after her first encounter at Riveredge, Sunny directs the Education programs. Sunny has helped Riveredge expand its reach by working directly with area schools to establish environmental education partnerships and cultivating relationships with organizations such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Club. Recently, she helped spearhead the new Scientist in Residence program, which will bring knowledgeable Riveredge educators into local schools to expand classroom curriculum. Sunny’s special areas of expertise include butterflies, birds, amphibians and native plants. Her passion for environmental education and connecting people to nature can be seen in all she does. “Riveredge has been a big influence on my life... it’s very special to me.” 2 3 Inspiration in Nature through Education How do you lure digital natives into the outdoors? How do you inspire already over-committed families to choose time in nature for their next outing? These questions are today’s challenges for nature- based organizations, such as Riveredge. In our 45th year, we began experimenting. We experimented with unique offerings which sparked the curiosity of youth and adults from throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. We found that climbing in trees – upwards of 40 to 60 feet into the air – can trump technology even on rainy days. In the summer of 2014, Riveredge staff began a new Recreational Tree Climbing program. In just the first 5 months, we incorporated tree climbing in several new and existing programs and engaged many youth and adults in the tree tops! 3 Riveredge Kid: Caroline Mosely Caroline grew up at Riveredge, or as she calls it, “the best backyard you can ever imagine.” Our Director of Education, Sunny Knutson remembers Caroline as the 5 year old who was always the last to pull her strainer out of the pond. Since then, Caroline spent her summers at Riveredge camps, interned at Riveredge while completing her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at Creighton University, and presented on Phosphorus Recycling by Quagga Mussels at Riveredge’s 1st Annual Research Symposium while a graduate student at UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences. Today, Caroline is in Washington D.C. completing the prestigious Knauss Sea Grant Marine Policy Fellowship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Riveredge gave Caroline a place to get out and explore nature and stimulated a deep love of the outdoors that helped shape her future. In her own words, it was at Riveredge that Caroline realized “science isn’t just a hobby, it can actually be a career.” 4 Riveredge Fosters Discovery, Transformation, and Hope The 1st Annual Riveredge Student Research Symposium: “Connections in Nature” Riveredge Nature Center’s first Student Research Symposium “Connections in Nature” took place on Saturday, November 9th at Riveredge. Partnerships with institutes of higher learning and nine sponsoring organizations made it possible to provide a day of support and encouragement for the next generation of environmental scientists. *UW-Stevens Point, UW-Madison, UW-Platteville, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay, UW-Whitewater and Carthage College 5 The Place that Allows the Experience to Happen The sanctuary is the cornerstone of all that is accomplished at Riveredge. More than one and a half miles of a high-quality stretch of the Milwaukee River runs through the wild lands of Riveredge Nature Center. Today’s threats of invasive species coupled with decimating insects and diseases mean that we can no longer take nature for granted. Our dedicated cadre of volunteer ‘Habitat Healers’ work to maintain high-quality natural- areas as a legacy for the land’s value and education. The growing number of school children visiting Riveredge leave better able to understand the original richness of Wisconsin and their role in its heathy future.