At The Juncture of Urban and Eco

Final Cut

2009-04-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Urban x Eco: Portrait of a Milwaukee Waterway

Here it is, complete and final. Enjoy!

For more info on the Hank Aaron State Trail, the Menomonee River, Milwaukee's other urban waterways, and how you can help protect your local watershed please visit these links:

Milwaukee Riverkeeper

Menomonee River Watershed

Urban Ecology Center

Hank Aaron State Trail (Wisconsin DNR site)

Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail

Center for Watershed Protection

Map of the Area

2009-04-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

This map details the area near Hank Aaron State Trail in the Menomonee River Valley that I explored while collecting sound and image for this drift experience. This page contains detailed maps of all of my drift-related exercises.

View Second Drift Experience: MASTER MAP in a larger map

Roughcut Sketch: With Sound

2009-04-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is a second rough draft using different images, as well as sounds. This draft utilizes sound and image collected near the railroad bridge which crosses the Menomonee River. These were some of the most abrasive sounds which I encountered on my exploration and offer a stark contrast to the sounds of rippling water.

Roughtcut Sketch: Silent

2009-04-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is the silent rough draft of the video. Much of the interesting footage hat I found involved water and reflections. These images highlight some of the most beautiful ways in which the river and the urban landscape interact.

New Strategy for a New Drift

2009-03-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

During my first drift experience I explored a rural area that was undergoing urbanization. I found it to be almost completely devoid of the natural beauty which it had recently had, as though the hand of man had simply come in and brushed away all but a bit of grass and a few shrubs.

For my second drift experience I will be exploring an area that is experiencing the opposite phenomena: an urban area which, after much time, is finally going through a "re-naturalization." Milwaukee's new Hank Aaron State Trail cuts through the heart of the Menomonee River Valley, just a few minutes south-west of Downtown. It is, at this point, still incomplete. A 5.5 mile extension of the trail is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will link the Hank Aaron with most of Milwaukee's other major bike trails. This project is part of Wisconsin's efforts to ameliorate urban impact on our natural environments:

"The development of the trail contributes to the restoration, protection and enhancement of the natural, scenic, historical and cultural resources of the Menomonee River corridor while providing recreational opportunities and access to the river. The preservation of this important environmental corridor aids in the restoration of fish and wildlife habitat and the rehabilitation of urban waterways.

Linked trails also offer an alternative to motorized transportation, therefore helping to improve air and water quality."

-Wisconsin Department of Natural Resourses

The Hank Aaron State Trail will be area of exploration for my second Drift project. I plan to wander freely through the area this time, using my gut instinct to draw me towards interesting sights and sounds. I will begin my walk at the corner of 44th St. and Selig Dr., cross the parking lot south of that intersection, and enter the trail via the pedestrian bridge which is just east of Miller Stadium. During this drift experience I would like to find and highlight the ways in which the hand of man gives back to nature after the fact. This location seems promising because it is a oasis of naturalization which is completely surrounded by the city and nearly invisible to the public (if you take I-94 past the stadium you probably pass it all the time without realizing). I've never been to the trail before so it will be a new experience for me!

I plan to limit my image-capturing activities by using the following criteria:

1. I will only generate still and moving images from either a "bird's eye view" or an "ant's eye view," so as to highlight the way the non-human creatures which live there experience the space.

2. I will only generate still and moving images which highlight both man-made and natural elements simultaneously.