The Milwaukee Rotary Club will announce over lunch today that it will donate $400,000 and leverage more than $3 million in private gifts and public funds to create the Rotary Centennial Arboretum, the gateway to Milwaukee Central Park.
The funds will be donated to the Milwaukee Urban Ecology Center and the River Revitalization Foundation
An arboretum is a dedicated area planted with many types of trees for study, display and preservation.
Milwaukee Rotary Club president James T. Barry III planned to announce today that the club will make the donations to commemorate its 100th anniversary in 2013.
"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.
The Rotary Centennial Arboretum will be located near the Milwaukee River west of the Urban Ecology Center, south of Riverside Park and north of North Avenue.
The arboretum - the first official arboretum in the Milwaukee metropolitan area - will be developed on 4.5 acres of land showcasing native trees of Wisconsin. A Rotary Gate will mark passage into the arboretum, providing a symbol of the club's commitment to the city, the preservation of natural environments and to the education of children and the community about the critical need to care for natural resources, Barry said.
Ken Leinbach, executive director of the Urban Ecology Center, said, "We are thrilled to partner with the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and the River Revitalization Foundation and Milwaukee County Parks on 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 many generations to come."
The Rotary Club of Milwaukee also announced today a $100,000 donation to the Greater Johnsons Park Initiative, located in the vicinity of Fond du Lac Avenue and Brown Street. A 2002 Public Policy Study rated Johnsons Park as the least desirable of all the parks in Milwaukee County - in an area "very underserved" with green space, according to the club.
Milwaukee Rotary Club donation will create arboretum
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