Mission

The mission of Groundwork Milwaukee is to bring about sustained regeneration, improvement and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses and organizations to promote environmental, economic and social well-being.

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Board of Directors

• Steve Adams :: Community Development Management Partnerships :: Chair
• Beth Dufek :: Local Initiatives Support Corporation :: Vice-Chair
• Guy Smith :: Milwaukee County Dept of Parks, Recreation and Culture :: Secretary
• Lauri Gorton :: CH2M Hill :: Treasurer
• Chelsea Albucher :: Community Representative
• Christopher Litzau :: Milwaukee Community Service Corps
• Josh Peoples :: Potawatomi Bingo Casino
• John Schreiber :: O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong, S.C.
• Mary Beth Driscoll :: Groundwork Milwaukee :: Executive Director

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Goals And Objectives:

• Grassroots Initiatives and Improvements: To cultivate and implement grassroots brownfield and other open lands initiatives and improvements in the city currently unaddressed by other greening organizations. This is the primary goal for Groundwork Milwaukee.
• Education, Information Sharing and Capacity Building: To serve as an educator, information disseminator and capacity-builder of the network of environmental, economic development and municipal agencies and organizations committed to brownfield remediation and other open lands initiatives by increasing access to environmental consulting services and linking resources with organizational needs.

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Core Programs

The goals and objectives of Groundwork Milwaukee will be accomplished through the implementation of four core programs dedicated to the restoration of open space to a viable, community-identified use. The core programs are provided as recommendations for the future Executive Director and Board of Directors. The steering committee recommends that the programs should be prioritized at the organization's inception and that programs be undertaken strategically. To ensure the programs are implemented, Groundwork Milwaukee will hire staff, develop a board of directors, develop a diverse fundraising plan and involve the community. Core programs shall include:

• Collaborative Projects: This program would work with residents, in concert with the city, to return otherwise useless lands to viable, community-identified use. Groundwork Milwaukee's role would be to coordinate with existing planning processes, provide additional planning and facilitation as needed, offer community design assistance, assist with funding and implementation strategies, and coordinate project implementation.
• Openspace Ombudsman/Information and Assistance Clearinghouse: This program would assist property owners to restore economic value to their property. Technical services would include assisting property owners through the legal requirements for brownfield remediation, development of restoration plans, and implementation of the plan.
• Brownfield Mitigation: In partnership with the city and the neighborhoods, Groundwork Milwaukee would identify, prioritize and implement action to mitigate brownfields and other orphaned lands. Groundwork Milwaukee would utilize relatively low-cost technologies aimed at brownfield remediation such as phytotechnology.
• Building Green Capacity: Groundwork Milwaukee would provide professional assistance by linking green organizations with state and federal funding opportunities they otherwise might not have the capacity to secure and administer.

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Peformance Measures

2006 Accomplishments

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History

An outgrowth of a program developed by the National Park Service called Groundwork USA, the Groundwork programs in the U.S. evolved from a model developed in the U.K. The first Groundwork Trust was founded in 1982 in England to meet the needs to revitalize abandoned industrial sites in northern England. Since then, the Groundwork UK organization has grown into a network of fifty-two locally based groups. This committed network became a highly successful private-public-community partnership that combined all resources necessary to take abandoned, run-down areas and reclaim them as open spaces with an emphasis on recreation, beautification and economic development. Currently there are 50 "Groundwork Trusts" in the U.K.

In 1996 the National Park Service imported this successful program into three pilot communities, Bridgeport, Conn., Lawrence, MA., and Providence, RI. Since that point in time the program has expanded into more in-need cities.

In November of 2002, Milwaukee Community Service Corps, the Wisconsin Field Office of the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program and a number of other local organizations, agencies and individuals formed a small committee to discuss to possibility of establishing a Groundwork Trust in Milwaukee. In September 2003, Milwaukee, WI was designated a Groundwork USA Pilot Community. With this designation the Groundwork Milwaukee Steering Committee received funds and technical assistance from the NPS and EPA to prepare a Feasibility Study and Strategic Plan assessing whether or not Groundwork is appropriate for our community. The strategic plan was approved in late 2005 and an Executive Director was hired in January of 2006.

As of December 2006, there were 17 established trusts.

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