The Rotary Club of Milwaukee announced Tuesday that it has exceeded its goal of raising $400,000 to create the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum, a 40-acre “living classroom” that will extend along the Milwaukee River from North Avenue to the Locust Street, stretching upward through Riverside Park.
The arboretum, which Rotarians believe will become Milwaukee’s “Central Park,” will be bounded on the west by the Milwaukee River and the east by the Oak Leaf Trail. Wheelchair accessible trails – 3.5 miles in all – will run through the area, connecting the river trails to the community.
James T. Barry III, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Colliers Barry and past president of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, announced that the club has raised more than $430,000 for the project.
“I am very pleased that Rotary will celebrate its centennial anniversary with a contribution that will dramatically enhance the riverfront and the community – a contribution that is in keeping with our strong history of community giving,” Barry said. “In partnership with the Urban Ecology Center, the River Revitalization Foundation and Milwaukee County Parks we seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to convert old industrial land along the revitalized Milwaukee River into a natural jewel for the city – a living forest classroom that our grandchildren will be able to enjoy and share with their grandchildren for many generations to come.”
The Rotary Club of Milwaukee followed a participative process during 2008 to identify projects of expanding worth in Milwaukee that could be suitable for the largest financial commitment members will have been asked to consider. The club’s board selected the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum project presented as a collaborative effort with the Urban Ecology Center, the River Revitalization Foundation and Milwaukee County.
The arboretum will feature multiple entry points with prominent entrance archways recognizing the civic investments by members of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee over the past 100 years. The arboretum will be dedicated to recreation, research and teaching, as it serves as the first and only arboretum in the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
More than 100,000 visitors are expected annually, and most or all of the area’s 12 colleges and universities are assumed to be part of ongoing research efforts. Hundreds of trees will be planted, replacing gravel and brush that now consume the property. Long-term maintenance requirements will be the responsibility of the Urban Ecology Center as part of its 99-year lease with Milwaukee County as the property owner.
