Alice’s Garden: Solutions for Clean Water in Milwaukee

Meet Venice Williams, executive director of Alice’s Garden, a community garden in Milwaukee. In our new film, produced in partnership with Milwaukee Water Commons, Venice shares her connections with rivers and water, and shows how the garden is using innovative water solutions that are a model for other communities nationwide.

“I awaken, hopeful. I go to sleep, filled with hope…It’s not an easy journey…but I know that my great-great-great granddaughter will be sitting in a better place and having a different conversation when it comes to water and air and land because we’re doing the work that we need to do today – and we’re not going to stop.”

– Venice Williams

Clean Water in Your Community

You can make a difference for clean water and healthy rivers in your own community. Here are some tools and resources to get started:

1. Build a rain garden

A rain garden can be a beautiful addition to your yard, school, community center, or place of worship. Rain gardens help absorb runoff when it rains, keeping stormwater pollution out of rivers and streams.

Download our Rain Garden guide

2. Organize a river cleanup

Join the tens of thousands of volunteers across the country who participate in National River Cleanup®. You can find an existing cleanup, or plan your own. It’s a great way to give back to your community!

Volunteer with National River Cleanup

3. Learn more: reports and resources

The following links provide information about how you can ensure clean water supplies and deliver a host of other benefits to your community:

• Naturally Stronger: How Natural Water Infrastructure Can Save Money and Improve Lives
• Urban Farms: A Green Infrastructure Tool
• Ten things cities can do to promote the use of urban agriculture
• Stormwater pollution and green infrastructure solutions

Need more help? Email us at outreach@americanrivers.org

4. Stay connected

American Rivers is working at the local, state and national levels to protect and restore rivers, and ensure safe, reliable clean water. Sign up for alerts and updates to stay connected and informed. You can also join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.