WALNUT WAY CONSERVATION CORP. (PRC Oral Storytelling Project)

In this episode, listeners will hear from the Executive Director of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., Antonio Butts.

Walnut Way Conservation Corp. (Walnut Way), located in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI, is a resident-led organization committed to sustaining an economically diverse community through civic engagement, environmental stewardship, and creating venues for prosperity. Most African American residents have experienced years of disinvestment in the area. Like many other cities in the United States, Milwaukee has a history of systemic racism in neighborhood planning and design. The impact of redlining (or established policies to keep neighborhoods segregated), urban renewal projects, and the lack of recent infrastructure investment have increased the community’s vulnerability to high amounts of precipitation, resulting in run-off and flooding. Walnut Way has started engaging Lindsay Heights residents in planning and designing community-embedded street and stormwater run-off diversion projects to mitigate urban flooding in Milwaukee’s combined sewer system. The project aims to divert water from the combined sewer system and help infrastructure handle high precipitation levels. Walnut Way’s green job training program, Blue Skies Landscaping, creates jobs and improves water quality in Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River. In addition, Walnut Way has developed the Innovations and Wellness Commons, a community resilience hub complete with a roof-top garden and permeable patio, as well as a Bioswale adjacent to the Commons’ parking lot.