Youth Programs Suspended; Fundraising Continues

Despite social distancing, racial equity work is still essential and must continue.  Very sadly, Milwaukee's communities of color are being hit the hardest by the virus outbreak.  The encouraging part is that the community has come together to support food pantries and emergency funding for critical needs.  Our Youth Outdoor programs partners are closed, but Nearby Nature is still committed to  two part-time staff people and their well-being.  Felicia Ferguson is our community engagement specialist.  She has deep roots in the Garden Homes neighborhood and has helped us build strong partnerships there, as well as reaching out to groups and potential partners throughout our target communities.  Now Felicia continues our outreach work online, checking in with our partners via email, trying to find out what challenges groups have and if we can offer any help.

Martina Patterson, an accomplished fabric artist, expressed interest in Nearby Nature after participating in our On The Table discussions in 2019. She was then working as a youth arts educator with Express Yourself MKE.  When that program ended, she agreed to start training with us, to prepare for launching new youth outdoor education programs with an arts angle.  Those efforts are on hold, but in the meantime she hopes to create videos that can inspire kids to learn about the natural world during social-distancing. 

Our foundation funders are giving us tremendous flexibility to get through the crisis, but we still rely heavily on private donations.

For 2020, funding from the James E. Dutton Foundation will match all personal contributions up to $10,000.  Nearby Nature has set up a crowdfunding page with IOBY, an acronym for "In Our Back Yards." They support grass-roots nonprofit fundraising with low costs.  Click this link to support Nearby Nature's justice and equity work.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, our annual Lincoln Creek cleanup was postponed indefinitely when the Riverkeeper Spring cleanup was cancelled, But we are in discussion with partners to plan a "safely distant" cleanup soon.  Watch the calendar for news of this event.