Restoration - 2025 Milwaukee Riverkeeper®

Spring Cleanup

Saturday April 26th at 9am

Join the Annual Milwaukee Riverkeeper Spring Cleanup! Help remove trash from around the multiple ponds within County Grounds Park. Perfect activity for individuals or families. Milwaukee Riverkeeper will provide gloves, and trash bags!

All interested participants must register in advance. 
Volunteers can stay as long as desired until noon.

How might you choose to honor Earth Day this year...
please join us!

Registration and more details available at this link

Thanks to Freddy Hoppe for again leading this event!

Restoration - Park Trash Out 

We already had one great trash out earlier in April. Thanks to the 30 volunteers who came out for the park trash-out. Such a diversity of volunteers - adults, families, high school students (including Elmbrook Schools and Wauwatosa School District), college students (including University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and grad students (including Medical College of Wisconsin). Thanks to continuing support from The Park People of Milwaukee County, Inc. who provided signage, buckets, gloves, bags, and pickers. And thanks to Mark M for again leading the event!! What an impressive difference!

Checkout more pictures at this Facebook Post

History Tour

Saturday June 14th at 10am

Jonathan Piel has extensively researched and documented the history of the relics in County Grounds Park. As tour guide, he includes photos, maps, stories that bring over a century of park history alive including visiting many of the remaining remnants. 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 trees, former sunken gardens, and extensive onsite mental health hospital history.

Additionally, Nancy Mitchell will join this tour as co-guide. Nancy will share 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 Tour also includes 1950s video in addition to historic photos.

Registration at this link

These history tours fill quickly, don't delay

Owl Etiquette

** The above Barred Owl is a 2023 photo by Dawl Birds **

Our neighbor, The Forest Exploration Center, recently published the guidance below - which applies to all greenspaces and bird watching:

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There's been a lot of excitement about the Great Horned owl nesting pair in the Forest Exploration Center. We're also delighted that these owls have returned and are raising their young in our urban woodland gem! But even urban owls can be easily stressed by humans. Please practice responsible birdwatching and photography to help this protected species raise a successful brood.

1. Keep your distance. Especially with today's technology on phones and camera lenses, there's no reason to camp under a tree

2. Learn to identify signs of stress in wildlife. Never bait the owls. (Check out the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology's
Code of Ethics)

3. Dogs must be leashed at all times

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We appreciate that everyone can make a difference to ensure our parks are a safe and nurturing environment for people, pets, and wildlife.

Eddee Daniel Hiking Tour

Sunday July 13th at 2pm

Join local naturalist and photographer Eddee Daniel for a hike of County Grounds Park. The park includes the ever-popular Sanctuary Woods, along with over 50 acres of rolling grasslands with a spectacular view of downtown Milwaukee. The Monarch Trail, Forest Exploration Center and 65 acres of flood detention basins are nearby. The County Grounds has a wealth of options! The terrain is hilly but not too strenuous.

Registration at this link

Friends of County Grounds Park Monthly Meeting

Consider joining our friends group Zoom meeting the 2nd Monday of each month. For those interested in joining our monthly meetings and contributing time, talents, or treasure to co-managing the park - please email friendsofcountygroundspark@gmail.com

Consider forwarding this newsletter to someone you think will appreciate it. Your friends can sign up for these newsletters at this link.

To ensure you continue receiving these updates, please add tosahistory13@pb03.wixemails.com to your safe sender list or address book

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!!