Walnut Way Conservation Corp: Blue Skies Landscaping

In Lindsay Heights, an African American neighborhood in Milwaukee, WI. Walnut Way Conservation Corp. is building community resilience through their program, Blue Skies Landscaping. Specializing in green infrastructure projects, Blue Skies focuses on beautifying vacant lots, residential, and commercial properties while reducing storm water pollution. Walnut Way employs community members, leading to economic opportunity in Lindsay Heights. Notable projects include work at Alice’s Garden, an urban farm, where they installed a cistern and solar panels, as well as bioswale and solar panel projects at Fondy Market. Walnut Way was awarded a Milwaukee Award for Neighborhood Development Innovation for Blues Skies’ work in 2019. Walnut Way is a Partnership for Resilient Communities partner, a program of the Institute for Sustainable Communities. “Walnut Way is an example of how climate resilience and the [sustainability] movement are creating a critical path that leads to improved social cohesion and green jobs in communities that historically have been excluded socially and economically. We are committed to sustaining the transformation of resilient communities and building the capacity of residents to respond to the market demands for a highly skilled green workforce and sustainable environmental practices.” Antonio Butts, Executive Director Photo: Blue Skies Landscaping team at the Sherman Phoenix. Photo courtesy of Walnut Way.