What does a healthier community look like? It can mean cleaner air and water, homes protected from flooding, more green space, and neighborhoods with the resources to respond to environmental challenges. But a healthy community also means making sure residents have a voice in shaping the solutions.
This idea is central to Clean Wisconsin’s Resilient Communities Program work, and this October, we were recognized with a 2026 Milwaukee County Health Equity Champion Award.
The recognition is especially meaningful because Clean Wisconsin was nominated by Sherman Park Community Association (SPCA), one of our long-standing partners that we work with to lessen the impacts of flooding and advance environmental health on Milwaukee’s north side.
Our partnership with SPCA reflects an approach we are working to strengthen across Milwaukee: complimenting Clean Wisconsin’s environmental expertise and resources with the knowledge, relationships and priorities already present within neighborhoods.
In Sherman Park, that has taken several forms. Through the Greening Congregations Initiative, Clean Wisconsin and SPCA are helping houses of worship pursue projects that can reduce the impact of flooding, improve sustainability and strengthen neighborhood resilience. SPCA’s Sustainability Specialist and paid student workforce are working alongside Clean Wisconsin to receive training and install rain gardens and rain barrels at houses of worship and non-profit organizations.
We also collaborate with SPCA to better understand flooding through stormwater modeling and supporting the organization’s broader environmental stewardship initiatives, including their ECO neighborhood designation. Similar partnerships are taking shape in other Milwaukee neighborhoods, including Century City Triangle, Harambee, and Metcalfe Park.
Through Clean Wisconsin’s Environmental Health Initiative (EHI), equity is integrated into how we build partnerships, allocate resources, engage residents, communicate information, and determine priorities. EHI focuses on Milwaukee neighborhoods experiencing disproportionate environmental health burdens and recognizes that addressing these disparities requires more than providing communities with data or information. Residents and community organizations must have meaningful opportunities to interpret that information, identify priorities, and influence the strategies developed in response. Because a healthy environment and healthy communities are inseparable.
Receiving this award is an important recognition, but the partnership behind it is what matters most. Through our Resilient Communities Program and EHI, Clean Wisconsin will continue working alongside community partners to address environmental and health challenges, support resident leadership, and advance solutions shaped by the communities they are intended to serve.
