On Saturday, March 8 the Milwaukee Water Commons held its first-ever Leadership Training.
Over twenty water leaders from across our city will help shape Milwaukee’s water future and awaken our connections to water in six neighborhoods.
These participants are joining together to protect our water, build community, and improve our health. These leaders are completing four training sessions and leading project development in their own neighborhoods over the next six months.
Milwaukee’s past, present, and future are intertwined with our waters.
Native Americans and then settlers came to this place of the “great blue horizon” because of the convergence of waters. Our relationship to water is vital to who we are as Milwaukeeans. As John Gurda tells us, “Milwaukee was built on water”. Our home is on the water - it defines us, it orients us. Water is the lifeblood running through our city – boating, fishing, beauty, food, family, place, spiritual connection, science and health. There would be no Milwaukee without our waters.
With water under increasing pressure in US and globally, and even in our own region, choices we make about our water and our water future are becoming increasingly important - for ourselves, our families, our city and the planet.
Our actions will shape a legacy for all those who come after us.
At the Milwaukee Water Commons we believe that leadership from all parts and across our community is needed to shape a hopeful water future. We all have a vital part to play.
At this training, our water leaders:
● Deepen their personal link to water and develop a shared story about water.
● Build relationships across neighborhoods for long-term impact and leadership development.
● Learn about water (inside us, outside us, in our sewer system, in our lakes and rivers).
● Develop a project to foster water stewardship in each neighborhood.
As our friend Ben Yahola a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma says “We take care of the water, it will take care of us;” Being an H2O leader is about living up to our side of that bargain.