Bird City, Milwaukee County is a monthly column celebrating the 11 cities, towns, and villages that have achieved Bird City status within Milwaukee County. Citizens of these locations have made bird conservation a priority, protecting land, writing ordinances, and educating the public on issues concerning our avian neighbors. You can learn more about the Bird City Network by visiting its website. This month: the City of Wauwatosa.

It’s August which means summer is in full swing, yet the anticipation for fall is at an all-time high. We traditionally think of fall migration as September and October, but migration has already started. Many shorebirds have left the area, while Killdeer and certain warblers are on the move. I want to encourage people to go out before the songbirds leave, and Wauwatosa has the perfect place to get your bird on before they turn Terminator with a hasta la vista for the year. ‘Tosa is a Bird City “High Flyer” for a variety of reasons we’ll get into. One of those reasons is the Tosa Green Summit, which is in its 14th year. Jeff Roznowski, co-founder of the summit and Bird City advocate speaks with us about this year’s event. So circle September 7 and 14 in your calendar and let’s go birding in the great city of Wauwatosa!

Wauwatosa is commonly associated with concrete structures like Mayfair Mall and Children’s Hospital, but the city has TONS of green space to explore. From Jacobus Park to Hoyt Park to the Menomonee and Honey Creek Parkways, nature lovers have their fill of green space. Today, we will tackle two of Tosa’s most important spaces: the County Grounds/Sanctuary Woods and Forest Exploration Center. Combined, these areas account for 180 acres of protected natural habitat. They also sit close to one another, so it’s easy to make a day trip to search for birds in both places.

County Grounds Park/Sanctuary Woods is a combined habitat home to some of Wisconsin’s endangered species. The County Grounds is the largest open space in the county, sporting an oak savanna and prairie. That’s right—you don’t have to travel to Africa to see a savanna. Wisconsin is home to many lion-free savannas, including the County Grounds. Sanctuary Woods was added to the area in 2019 after the Wauwatosa Common Council voted in favor of rezoning the space into a conservancy. The space, which used to be an asylum, is an old-growth forest that welcomes peaceful walks.

Depending on the time of year it is possible, but not likely, that you’ll come across Butler’s garter snakes, long-eared owls, and northern flying squirrels. If you do, be cognizant and respectful of their presence, as they are all species of immense concern. This area is home to countless birds of prey, including favorites like the peregrine falcon and Cooper’s hawk. Savannah sparrows and other songbirds make the grounds their home for the summer before leaving the Midwest by early November to head down as far as Mexico.

Long-Eared Owl

Savannah Sparrow

Tosa citizens have been relentless advocates for conserving this space, and their dedication is as true today as in past decades. The area is next to the Medical College of Wisconsin campus and a recently built apartment complex known as The Watertown. The apartment complex was redesigned with bird-friendly principles in mind, including dark sky lighting strategies and window glazing to minimize bird collisions. Working closely with environmental groups rubbed off the apartment complex, which paired up with the neighboring Ronald McDonald House and Medical College to host a tree planting for the area in 2022. Collaboration is the key to conservation success, and the County Grounds Collation is one of many Wauwatosa can be proud of.

The Forest Exploration Center is just a minute’s drive up the street from County Grounds Park; rain or shine, it has quickly become one of my favorite places to photograph birds. The forest sits along a bird-rich edge habitat parallel to a prairie wetland and the views are just plain old gorgeous. Everything from mourning doves to red-winged blackbirds and song sparrows make a home here.

Mourning Doves

Female Red-Winged Blackbird

Savannah sparrow

Making your way from the parking lot to the trails is a trip. Wisconsin’s swallow species buzz past in droves as they hunt down insects. There’s a small wetland alcove where the swallows catch their breath alongside American goldfinches, and it’s pretty cool to see these acrobats up close. Their colors tell them apart. Plain brown are usually northern rough-winged swallows. Dark blue are barn swallows and shimmering green/turquoise are tree swallows. Their Top Gun-esque movements are a pleasure to watch and they put on a magnificent airshow at the Forest Exploration Center every summer day.

Northern Rough-Winged Swallow

Barn Swallows

The actual forest of the Exploration Center is impressive too. The trail is an ADA-accessible one-mile loop with tons of double-sided educational signage. The walk itself is peaceful and a great place to scope out blue jays and woodpecker species. The forest is a special place due to its remarkable tree diversity. Basswood, oak, maple, and ash trees mix to create one of the last remaining fragments of Wisconsin’s southern hardwood forests. Tree diversity is key to wildlife diversity, and eBirders have clocked more than 125 bird species in this small but impactful habitat. The Forest Exploration Center is a non-profit worth applauding for its efforts to keep this crucial habitat alive and flourishing.

Blue Jay

If the narrative above has you itching to contribute to conservation causes, there are two more Tosa things to consider. One is, strangely enough, Whole Foods. Last month’s Q&A championed bird-friendly coffee. Whole Foods is one of the only physical locations in Milwaukee County where you can buy some, with one location in Wauwatosa. However, we might need to do some prodding to put it back on store shelves. When I went I was told they used to stock this Allegro brand bird-friendly coffee but have recently taken it off local shelves. I’m hoping it makes a return, and if you’re in the area it might be worth an inquiry.

The other conservation effort worth considering is the upcoming Tosa Green Summit. This year’s two-day event is split across the first two Saturdays of September. It includes hazardous waste collection and a sustainability fair. Both are free for the public to attend. For more details on the Tosa Green Summit and the city’s Bird City efforts, here’s co-founder Jeff Roznowski.

Q&A With Jeff Roznowski, Co-Founder And Chair Of The Tosa Green Summit

Milwaukee Record: It’s amazing to think the Tosa Green Summit has been going on for 14 years. What made you decide to start this summit?

Jeff Roznowski: It has been a labor of love for 14 years, with the opportunity to work with amazing people in a community that values being green and sustainable. It all began back in 2008 when I was a working with a small group of Wauwatosa community leaders on a mayoral campaign. While the election did not go the way we would have liked, we all enjoyed working together and it was suggested that we adopt a new project. Brainstorming guided us to look for something we were passionate about, something that would have a continuing and lasting impact on the community. We were all aware of organizations and initiatives that focused on the environment and were always looking for ways to communicate their mission to a larger audience. And the Tosa Green Summit was born! Our first event was held on April 29, 2009 with the theme “Every Day is Earth Day.” Twenty-eight exhibitors spread their message of being green and sustainable.

In subsequent years, we decided to create “actionable” components for our guests, so that they would not only learn but they could also do something that would hopefully create a recycling behavior and mindset throughout the year. We discovered there were several independent recycling events around Tosa on different dates, so through many partnerships, we added opportunities for participants to recycle items such as hazardous waste, electronics, paper, medicine, textiles, bikes, and scrap metal. Among our amazing partners: Wauwatosa Police and their Crimestoppers Initiative, Wauwatosa Health Department, Milwaukee Textiles, DreamBikes, Alter Scrap Metal, MMSD, and Tosa Cares.

MR: For those unaware of the event, what is the Tosa Green Summit and how can people get involved?

JR: The Tosa Green Summit is an annual sustainable fair in Wauwatosa that provides people with ways to be green and sustainable, both individually and in their community. We promote a dual theme of “Build Awareness and Take Action.” We Build Awareness by providing the opportunity for our guests to learn from over 20 exhibitors and a concurrent speaker track that focuses on areas such as climate, energy, air, water, land, and transportation. Our guests can also Take Action through several recycling collections, keeping tens of thousands of pounds of material out of our landfills.

In 2024, the Summit will occur over two Saturdays in September. On September 7, participants from Milwaukee County can bring their household hazardous waste to the Wauwatosa Public Works Yard (enter on 113th Street and Watertown Plank Road) from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. On September 14, we invite the public to Wauwatosa City Hall (North Avenue and Wauwatosa Avenue). From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot, we will offer recycling for paper shredding, medicine, textiles, bikes, toothbrushes and empty toothpaste tubes, and scrap metal. In addition, donations will be collected for Tosa Cares, a local food pantry. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., we will feature over 20 exhibitors in the Lower Civic Center and three speakers (National Wildlife Federation certification, Arch Solar, and Compost Crusaders) in the Firefly Room.

MR: What’s new for 2024’s summit?

JR: Our recycling collections have been enormously successful, with the unintended consequence of long lines and wait times. We are constantly trying to alleviate that. In 2024, we are moving the MMSD led household hazardous waste collection from City Hall to the Public Works Yard on the west side of Tosa on September 7, where there is much more room and capacity to handle the 600 cars that typically drop off hazardous waste. To further illustrate the volume we recycle, here is what we recycled in 2023: 41,497 lbs. household hazardous waste, 21,784 lbs. electronics, 4300 lbs. scrap metal, 10,720 lbs. shredded paper, 4891 lbs. textiles, 185 lbs. medicine, and 35 bikes.

We will not have an electronics, or e-waste collection this year but encourage people to bring their e-waste to RD Refrigerant Depot, Monday through Friday.

All other recycling, exhibitors, and speakers will be on September 14 at Wauwatosa City Hall.

New exhibitors and speakers we are highlighting this year include: local community advocate Cornelia Beilke who is spearheading an effort to make the City of Wauwatosa a certified National Wildlife Federation habitat community; Rights of Nature Wisconsin; The Tosa East High Environmental Club; Arch Solar; and Compost Crusaders.

MR: You also took a lead role in establishing Wauwatosa as a Bird City. Why was being a part of Bird City important to you?

JR: There is a natural connection between my passion for being green and sustainability and the wildlife that lives and co-habitates all around us, especially birds. When I was an alderman for Wauwatosa, I learned about the Bird City Wisconsin program and met the renowned and then Executive Director of Bird City, Carl Schwartz. Carl would often mention that Tosa should apply, that we were a “donut hole” in the middle of several communities who were already Bird Cities. As I reviewed the criteria to become a Bird City, I quickly recognized that Wauwatosa was already doing many of these things. Becoming a Bird City would be a natural extension of the growing green initiatives in Tosa and would help draw people to our community. When the pandemic hit, I offered to then-Mayor Ehley that I would be willing to coordinate the application. I was able to highlight activities such as our bird monitoring, weed-outs, creation of a conservancy at Sanctuary Woods, the Forest Exploration Center, the Tosa Green Summit, bike paths, and Bublr Bike Sharing and various energy saving projects. We were awarded Bird City status in 2020 and became a High Flyer in 2022, one of only seven municipalities in Metro Milwaukee to achieve this enhanced status. We conduct annual bird tours at the Forest Exploration Center and County Grounds Park, which have been well attended and well received.

MR: What advice do you have for communities looking to start their own summit or become a Bird City itself?

JR: The first thing to do is to find and recruit like-minded people who share the passion for the planet, for being green and sustainable, who love the outdoors. This will generate the creativity, the energy, the hands and the feet to make this happen. As the saying goes, “many hands make light work.” To achieve a critical mass of support, it is often helpful to frame any green efforts around the three Ps: 1. People, for the quality of life benefits. 2. Planet, for the environmental benefits. And 3. Profit, for the economic benefits (e.g. money saved by diverting items from landfills).

Second, do the research, find out what your community is already doing in areas such as recycling and conservation. Does a baseline and foundation already exist? Are there like-minded groups already doing related activities?

Third, talk to other communities and find out how they are being green or became a Bird City. There are a lot of great efforts already out there, so no need to “reinvent the wheel.” And I offer myself and Wauwatosa as places to start and help out.

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