Milwaukee City Wire

U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Dr. Homer Wilkes visited Samuel Clemens School and its neighborhood on Thursday, July 25, to observe the impact of a federal forestry grant awarded to Milwaukee.

The $12 million grant, part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, is being used to expand the city’s tree canopies, particularly in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The grant supports skilled, family-supporting jobs while planting more trees to benefit residents’ health and the environment.

Three Milwaukee Public Schools students will join the City of Milwaukee Forestry Services as arborist apprentices. These apprentices will learn how to care for the city’s 194,000 trees, including pruning, felling dying trees, and planting new ones as they prepare to become skilled tradespeople.

“I’m convinced that the investment was worth it,” Under Secretary Dr. Homer Wilkes said after observing forestry demonstrations by city arborists and learning about Forestry Services’ educational outreach and collaborative efforts.

Wilkes also learned about the green schoolyards program during his visit. Since 2019, 31 MPS schools have received green spaces for learning and play, along with recreation areas and features for stormwater management. Five green schoolyards — at Forest Home Avenue, Greenfield Bilingual, Lincoln Avenue, Morse Middle/Milwaukee Sign Language, and Story Hill Schools — will debut when schools reopen in September.

Samuel Clemens School at 3600 W. Hope Ave., is among five schools scheduled to receive a green schoolyard in 2025. The green schoolyards result from a partnership with the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, and nonprofit organization Reflo.

During Wilkes' visit, students attending summer camp at Clemens participated in a Reflo activity demonstrating urban heat islands' effects — areas heated by pavement and buildings. Campers measured surface temperatures on the paved playground near the school building and at a grassy area to observe differences.

A roundtable concluded Wilkes' visit. He met with MPS Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galván, Milwaukee Forestry Services Manager Randy Krouse, and others in the Clemens library.