It didn’t take much persuasion. When Vicki Elkin suggested
that we go to Three Bridges Park for our photo session I jumped at it eagerly.
The park is one of several projects in the Menomonee Valley that have been made
possible in part by grants from the Fund for Lake Michigan, which Elkin
administers. As regular followers of this blog know, it is also one my favorite
places in the Valley.
We stroll between the contoured slopes of park hills that
rise from a formerly flat rail yard. Fresh green grasses and newly planted
seedlings emerge from burlap staked down to prevent erosion during this fragile
stage in the process of vegetating the park. A row of boxcars sits idle on one
of the remaining tracks adjacent to the park. The human hand in creating what
eventually will become natural-seeming habitat is everywhere apparent. It’s an
example of what I like to think of as “intelligent design” and an appropriate setting
to talk about Elkin’s role as Executive Director of the Fund for Lake Michigan
as well as the variety of environmental, scientific and technological projects
it has enabled. (A photo essay of 3 Bridges Park development follows.)
The Fund’s mission is to provide financial support for
efforts to improve the health of our Great Lake, which includes both the
shoreline and tributary watersheds. The Fund focuses primarily on projects in
Southeastern Wisconsin and the Menomonee Valley has particular appeal. “So much
is happening in the Valley that generates interest in projects here,” Elkin
tells me. “There’s a lot of buzz and we have great partners like the Urban
Ecology Center, the Water Council, MMSD and the Menomonee Valley Partners.”
Moreover, she says, “the Valley projects are a microcosm of
the types of projects we like to fund where you’re making improvements to water
quality and supporting demonstration projects, but also having an economic
impact. The fact that we’ve been able to support both habitat restoration and
innovative stormwater projects is perfect for us.”
In addition to Three Bridges Park the Fund has contributed
to several other Valley projects and plans for more in the future. Elkin
describes some of them for me.
The green roof at the Global Water Center “isn’t just any
ordinary green roof,” she assures me, “it’s a research lab monitored by the UWM
School of Freshwater Sciences to test what works best under what conditions.”
Two industrial-sized rain barrels have been installed under
the 35th Street viaduct that will capture and
filter 68,000 gallons of rainwater a year, reducing the amount of polluted
runoff flowing into the Menomonee River.
At the Reed Street Yards a number of innovative stormwater
initiatives are “pushing the envelope of systems for capturing rain and
filtering stormwater.” One of the goals of the Reed Street Yards development,
as in other parts of the Valley, is to capture all stormwater on site. (A photo essay of the Reed Street Yards development follows.)
Upstream on the Menomonee River Milwaukee Riverkeeper and
MMSD are working to remove impediments to fish, such as concrete weirs and low
dams. This will not only improve the river for fish habitat but also for the
human visitors that already have made the Valley a popular destination for
fishing.
Finally, the project that has me as excited as it does Elkin
is the proposed Burnham Canal restoration. This disused canal is one of few
remaining that once provided barges and other watercraft access to businesses
throughout the Valley. Currently “it’s an eyesore and a liability,” as Elkin
puts it. The project is intended to restore the concrete-lined, polluted canal
to sustainable wetland wildlife habitat. “I think it has the potential to be
transformative,” says Elkin, “and could be an example for other parts of the
Great Lakes of how to do restoration in a highly urbanized, industrial area.”
The Burnham Canal project also exemplifies visionary
leadership as well as the momentum of revitalization in the Menomonee Valley.
“It’s a Superfund site now,” Elkin tells me. “The canal could just be capped
and otherwise left as is, but there’s so much happening throughout the Valley
that it seems right for this to be the next area for revitalization. I really commend MMSD for putting forward a
bold vision for restoration of the site.” Building upon the success of Three
Bridges Park, “we can bring nature to the east end of the Valley, turn
liability into an asset.”
I ask about the Global Water Center, which is where the
Fund’s office is located at the downtown edge of the Menomonee Valley. “I love
it!” is her enthusiastic reply. “Watching the Water Council and water cluster
develop first hand is inspiring. There’s a lot of interaction and positive
energy, creativity and people excited to work together. It’s refreshing for me
to work in such a strong community.” She finds it exciting to work with the
people who “are at the cutting edge of the types of projects and innovative
water quality technologies we’re funding.”
As we wrap up our session at Three Bridges Park Elkin points
across the Menomonee River. There, in contrast with the newly refurbished riverfront
of the park, the north bank stands in wild abandon. Thickets of buckthorn and
other invasive species create a dense snarl. Clearing the bank of invasives and
extending the park trail along the north bank is a planned future project, she
says, and the Fund for Lake Michigan is ready to make a contribution.
Elkin grew up in Chicago and identifies with Milwaukee and particularly the Menomonee Valley. Her father, an urban planner, worked on redevelopment of Chicago’s inner city neighborhoods. “I like Milwaukee’s mix of cultures, having industrial and residential neighborhoods near each other and seeing that what’s happening here really makes a difference in people’s lives. We’ve got it all here in the Valley.”
Two short photo essays of Fund for Lake Michigan projects:
Three Bridges Park
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| 2008 |
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| 2009 |
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| 2012 |
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| 2014 |
Reed Street Yards
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| View from Sixth Street 2006 |
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| March 2014 |
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| March |
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| May |
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| May |
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| June |
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| June |
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| July |
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| August |
For more information go to the Fund for Lake Michigan website.
This post is one in a series that
relates to my Menomonee Valley Artist in Residency. For more information about
the residency and links to previous posts and photographs, go to MV AiR.
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