Friends of County Grounds Park May 2023 Updates |
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Lots of Tours and Park Improvement Opportunities!! |
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Saturday May 20th @ 8:30am County Grounds Park Cemeteries Tour The cemetery tour tour is back after a 18 month gap! Mike McBride has been studying, authoring, and advocating about the County Grounds paupers’ cemeteries for 3 decades. As tour guide, he will share the engaging history of lost and found graves including the origins of “potter’s cemeteries” featured around the world for 2000 years, who was interred here in Milwaukee, and how our ancestors lived and died in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This tour will facilitate a discussion on the thousands of remains exhumed throughout the county grounds since the early 90s and the current disposition of remains for academic study. Eventbrite Sign-Up There may be 50% overlap content in the History Tour and Cemeteries Tour. Got questions? More tour details are included at the end of the newsletter |
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Saturday, May 20th @ 11am County Grounds Park / Sanctuary Woods History Tour The history tour is back after a 18 month gap! Jonathan Piel has extensively researched and documented the history of the relics in County Grounds Park. As tour guide, he includes photos, maps, stories, and 1950s video that bring over a century of park history alive including visiting many of the remaining remnants. Additionally, Nancy Mitchell will join this tour as co-guide. Nancy will her personal stories of growing up with these grounds as her "backyard" in the 1940s and 1950s because her parents worked in the Tuberculosis Hospital on Watertown Plank Road. The ~1-mile guided hike includes several pre-designated stops: 120-year old field-stone stairs, split-boulder pavilion, 110-year-old 6' stone dolphin vase, former waterfalls, 300-year old oak forest, former sunken gardens, and extensive onsite mental health hospital history. Eventbrite Sign-Up There may be 50% overlap content in the History Tour and Cemeteries Tour. Got questions? More tour details are included at the end of the newsletter |
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Vote for Our Park in Milwaukee Magazine Reader's Choice Awards County Grounds Park has been for the Reader’s Choice awards in the category of "hiking". Consider sharing your excitement for our park by voting here. Really excited park fans can vote as frequently 1x per day through 6/11! |
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Restoration - Milwaukee Riverkeeper® Spring Cleanup Recap April 2023 was our 3rd year participating in the Milwaukee Riverkeeper Spring Clean-Up. 30 volunteers removed 25 bags of trash and other debris from the park's waterways and surrounding areas. We had sun, rain, and sleet - but kept great attitudes. Thanks to Freddy Hoppe for again being the site captain and organizer. Participants included volunteers from Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa BSA Troop 111, Wauwatosa East HS, Wauwatosa West HS, Youth Friends of County Grounds Park, Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Shawn Rolland, Hoppe Tree Service, and many more. Checkout more photos, including our "most interesting find". Thanks to all our volunteers! |
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Restoration - 2023 Invasives Removal We have 2 Saturday opportunities for removing invasive weeds in the park (removing invasives like garlic mustard, dames rocket, and buckthorn sprouts). Registration requested for planning purposes, links below: • June 3 @ 9am-noon • June 17 @ 9am-noon To see some fun photos from one of our 2022 weed out events, checkout this link Thanks to Caitlin Reinhartz for leading these events! |
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Saturday, June 3rd @ 2pm County Grounds Park / Sanctuary Woods Tracks and Trails Tour Join Barb for a hike around Sanctuary Woods and County Grounds Park looking for the tracks and trails of the area's wildlife. Barb Schoenherr is a founding member of Friends of County Grounds Park and has been a decades-long enthusiast of the wildlife in and around the park. This tour is appropriate for people of all ages, and especially geared to youth. Pets are discouraged since this is a wildlife tour. Consider footwear suitable for off-trail hiking, which may be soft or muddy. Eventbrite Sign-Up Got questions? More tour details are included at the end of the newsletter |
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Two Shinrin Yoku / Forest Bathing Events Shinrin Yoku, translated as "absorbing the atmosphere of the forest," is the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing, where one is present to the full experience of nature by engaging all of the senses. Let the sights, sounds, aromas, and sensations of the old-growth Sanctuary Woods wash over you. Receive the many benefits of Forest Bathing including a decrease in stress and the stress hormone cortisol, improved immunity, relaxation, greater vigor, feelings of awe, and connection with nature. Sheila Nolte, a Global Institute of Forest and Nature Guide will provide a 2-hour experience where participants "unplug" from technology and daily life, and immerse themselves in the beauty of Sanctuary Woods. We will accommodate 6 reservations for this tour. Registrations are requested for planning purposes. Two sessions scheduled Got questions? More tour details are included at the end of the newsletter |
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Saturday, June 17th @ 2pm County Grounds Park / Sanctuary Woods Forest Tour Get to know the magnificent big old native trees. This tour will help participants identify and appreciate the most significant and handsome species in this remnant of “old growth” forest that survived the rampant deforestation of the 1800s. You will see fine large specimens of sugar maple, white oak, burr oak and basswood, many of them hundreds of years old. Also to be noticed are smaller trees, shrubs and ground cover. Charlie Mitchell is a guy who loves the forest and has a lifetime of knowledge of trees and experience in woodlands to share. Living in Eagle River 1991 - 2013 he owned and managed an 11-acre woodlot. Charlie serves on the board of directors of Partners in Forestry, a forest management oriented non-profit organization with headquarters in Conover. He will reflect on the stewardship that will be needed to insure the health of the woods. Charlie has co-led the Sanctuary Woods tree survey including thousands of trees - he will be able to show you the most majestic examples of trees in this forest. Eventbrite Sign-Up Got questions? More tour details are included at the end of the newsletter |
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Saturday, July 23rd @ 2pm County Grounds Park / Sanctuary Woods Photography Tour Bring any camera (or no camera) and come join Eddee Daniel for an "outdoor classroom" of photography in the park! Eddee brings over 30 years experience as a photography teacher, a published nature photographer, an author, and a parks advocate. One of his many photography books includes "The Milwaukee County Grounds: Island of Hope," with unique images in this very park! This tour is appropriate for photographers of any skill level, and any photographic equipment, including a mobile phone camera. Discover County Grounds Park through this two-hour experience. Appropriate for people of all ages. No pets, please, as the tour may also attempt to photograph available wildlife. Eventbrite Sign-Up Got questions? More tour details are included at the end of the newsletter |
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Friends of County Grounds Park (FOCGP) Monthly Meetings We meet monthly Topics include park improvement, communications, wildlife, outdoor classroom, youth friends, health/wellness, park signage, and tree planting For more information on times/locations to join the monthly meeting, email friendsofcountygroundspark@gmail.com
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More Information Regarding Guided Tours Tours are free, donations are appreciated. The tour guides are volunteering in support of the non-profit Friends of County Grounds Park (initiatives include tree planting, conservation, invasives removal, signage, trail building, and communications). Donations to the Friends group of any amount are appreciated and $5/person per tour is a wonderful value. If so inspired, donations can be made:
Again, these tours are free, any donations are based on your inspiration County Grounds Park has no formal address, but can be found and navigated to via Apple/Google/Waze Maps searching “Sanctuary Woods Parking”. That parking circle is 0.5 mile north and west of 87th & Watertown Plank Road. Eventbrite requires an address, but this address only gets you close. The tour begins and ends at the parking lot in the center of the park, see park map at: www.countygroundsfriends.org
Dress for the weather. There are no onsite restrooms. Consider bringing bug spray. Tours are suitable for people of all ages. Most tours are ~1 mile, with regular stops. The paths are not suitable for mobility impaired. Special access tours can be facilitated by contacting the email below. Friendly pets on leash are welcome on the following tours: History and Forest Pets are not allowed on the following tours: Cemeteries, Forest Bathing, Birding, Photography, Tracks & Trails
Got questions? Send email to friendsofcountygroundspark@gmail.com
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Reporting Suspicious Activity - The Milwaukee County Grounds is patrolled and enforced by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department
- Please be part of the solution and directly report any suspicious activity:
- Sheriff: 414-278-4788
- Fire or medical emergency: 911
- Thanks for helping take clear ownership for our shared space
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Sincere appreciation for a community that has been such good stewards for this precious space. We have a lot to be proud of, the ability to make a difference, and hope for the future. Thank you!! |
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