Melanie Ariens is an environmental advocate and volunteer community coordinator with diverse interests, skills and a willingness to learn just about anything to achieve a set goal. She received her degree in painting, drawing and printmaking from UWM in 1992 and worked there as the print shop assistant. She was formerly represented by La Galleria Del Conte (now closed) and participated in many group and juried shows.
Recap of We Are Water
Months in the making, We Are Water: Beachfront Celebration of Milwaukee’s Water had its debut last night on Bradford Beach. The celebration took many forms, including recitations of poetry and spoken word, a dance performance, and a solemn spiritual ceremony led by members of a local Indian community.
Detroit Water Shutoffs Must End
Detroit’s emergency manager filed for bankruptcy in July 2013 to force creditors to negotiate a bankruptcy plan that would slash the city’s unwieldy debt. Last month, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit approved a plan that would over time give Detroit a chance to survive. Missing from the plan, however, is any mention of the disturbance and threat to the rights to water and health of Detroit’s poor caused by the abrupt shut off of their water service.
Water is Life
Rallying For Freshwater And Thinking BIG
From October 3-5 I participated in the Living Waters Rally near Ottawa, Ontario -- unceded territory of the Algonquin people. Over 130 people worked on strengthening their knowledge and capacity for protecting freshwater in Canada.
Cook County, Illinois Joins Call to Stop Proposed Nuclear Waste Dump
Slash phosphorus flowing into Lake Erie, Great Lakes Commission says & Toxic algae near Toledo: a wake-up call
"We Are Water" celebrates Milwaukee's big drink
Most Milwaukeeans value living in close proximity to a large body of water, but what are we willing to do to celebrate it? Improve it? Protect it? The year-old Milwaukee Water Commons is a project committed to fostering connection, collaboration and leadership on behalf of the bodies of water in our community.
Beyond Our Expectations: Crowdfunding for the Commons Map
Recap of We Are Water
Months in the making, We Are Water: Beachfront Celebration of Milwaukee's Water had its debut last night on Bradford Beach. The celebration took many forms, including recitations of poetry and spoken word, a dance performance, and a solemn spiritual ceremony led by members of a local Indian community.
Grassroot Effort Grows to Create Milwaukee Water Commons
The idea is to get the entire community involved in Milwaukee's freshwater future. Alexa Bradley started the conversation almost three years ago. Bradley is a long time activist - and Milwaukee native, - who helped “incubate” the “Commons” idea in Minneapolis. Bradley went on to help create the Great Lakes Commons, that is taking shape in places like Toronto and Cleveland and especially in Milwaukee.
Detroit Stops Water Shutoffs -- Temporarily
Great Lakes Research Conference Includes the Commons
In late May, a team of Great Lakes commoners presented at the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) conference in Hamilton, Ontario. Our session was entitled: Exploring the Idea of the Great Lakes as 'Commons', an unusual topic at a conference largely focused on scientific inquiry. And although our session started at 8:10am, we filled the room to standing room only capacity with about 60 curious and concerned environmental scientists.
Why We Use a Great Lakes Commons Meetup Group?
Water is a Human Right: Detroit Residents Seek U.N. Intervention as City Shuts Off Taps to Thousands
Activists in Detroit have appealed to the United Nations over the city’s move to shut off the water of thousands of residents. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says half of its 323,000 accounts are delinquent and has begun turning off the taps of those who do not pay bills that total above $150 or that are 60 days late.
Great Lakes Commons Charter sets new high bar for water governance
'Imagine the Great Lakes as shared waters cared for and protected by the entire region’s community. That’s the vision of a group called the Great Lakes Commons. Members are people from Indigenous Nations, Canada and the U.S. The organization is officially introducing its charter at a virtual meeting of nearly 100 people on Thursday.
June 19th! Webinar: Great Lakes Commons Charter
Bad River Band Video
53 Million Gallons Of Nuclear Waste May Soon Be Stored Right Next To The Great Lakes
It is astonishing that such a proposal - nuclear waste storage on Lake Huron - even stands a chance. In whose reality does nuclear waste belong near drinking water for millions of people? The kind of thinking that generated such an idea reflects not only a profound disconnection from our waters but also from all those who depend on them for life today and in generations to come. A commons approach would mean that we take responsibility for the impact of our actions into the future and prioritize sustaining life. So glad to see that people are standing up to stave off this insanity.
Can public trust doctrine address toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie?
On May 13, 2014, join Dr. Don Scavia (University of Michigan), Dave Dempsey (International Joint Commission), Codi Yeager-Kozacek (Circle of Blue Correspondent), and Jim Olson (Founder, FLOW) for an interactive webinar discussion on nutrient pollution and resulting harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes, and how the public and the states together can utilize the public trust doctrine framework as an added decision-making tool to address HABs in Lake Erie and beyond.