Riveredge Nature Center Facts

Riveredge Nature Center was one of the first and today is one of the largest nature centers in southeastern Wisconsin. It consists of 389 acres of natural sanctuary – prairies, forests, ponds and marshes along the Milwaukee River. Riveredge was incorporated in January 1968 as a non-profit organization under section 50l(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Riveredge Nature Center’s major educational programs include:

Twenty-four school programs, designed to meet Wisconsin State standards, which are attended by 8,000 elementary and middle school students annually.
A nationally recognized water quality testing program, Testing the Waters, involving students and teachers from high schools annually in the greater Milwaukee area.
University accredited teacher training programs.
Outreach programs designed to reach urban and rural schools.
Various Citizen Scientist training programs.
Learning About Learning and Becoming and Interpretative Naturalist Education Volunteer Training programs.
Prairie Invertebrate Conference.

Riveredge is currently involved in two major research projects:

A study of the insect and plant relationships in prairie plants at Riveredge, focusing on the inventory, population dynamics, and ecology of existing biota as well as investigations of habitat management and restoration strategies.
Participation in a ten year effort to gather information on bird populations. This project is a part of a national effort to Monitor Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS). The program establishes detailed protocols for banding such that data from a variety of stations across the continent will be comparable.

Riveredge collaborates on a number of projects including:

Riveredge Nature Center is the site for the Milwaukee River Lake Sturgeon Streamside Rearing Facility and working with a number of conservation agencies in an effort to restore a breeding population of lake sturgeon to the Milwaukee River. The project is a 25-year experiment and hopes to produce 37,500-50,000 fish by the year 2031.
A joint effort with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, other nature centers and prairie preservation organizations to sponsor a Prairie Invertebrate Conference.
The River Connection Program. This is a collaborative undertaking of Riveredge Nature Center, Urban Ecology Center and Pier Wisconsin. The River Connection program serves the Milwaukee Riverwest community with the overall goal of helping students understand the role of water in our lives by building a deep knowledge of and connection to place through authentic exploration of and reflection on the fresh water system of the Milwaukee River.
Riverdge provides habitat for the Swamp Metalmark Butterfly, a rare and endangered species throughout its limited range. Since 1991, Riveredge has worked with the Milwaukee Public Museum to better understand and reestablish this rare breed of butterlfy. Riveredge's population is used by the museum's staff to try to reestablish the butterfly at other sites through out the state.

The Riveredge Community is made up of:

18-member Board of Directors.
A staff of 7 full-time and 14 part-time employees
Approximately 1,250 members
300 Active Volunteers

Click Here to print a copy of our Riveredge Executive Summary and Fact Sheet