Call me crazy, but I kind of like the prairie feel around the South Milwaukee high school and middle school campuses. I think it gives the properties a unique and more natural look.
Well, sometimes prairies demand controlled burns to rejuvenate and sustain healthy regrowth.
Such a burn is planned for April 7-15 — Spring Break week in South Milwaukee.
Learn more in this notice from the firm doing the burn … and be prepared for some smoke around the 4th District during that week.
Also note that our fire, police and health departments have been closely involved in the planning and execution of this. So I am confident it will be executed safely … with the end result being a better-looking school campus for the long term.
South Milwaukee Blog 
Eric – You are not crazy at all. There are many more benefits of even small prairie restoration projects, like around the High School/Middle School, that should require us to maintain and encourage healthy prairie restoration. Like the fact that prairie can absorb and hold significantly more water than woodland. This should be very important to residents in and around Oak Creek considering the flooding events that South Milwaukee has experienced in the recent past. Also, healthy prairie restoration is better at preventing erosion and can hold soil in place better than woodlands. There would be far less silt in the Mill Pond if Oak Creek were lined with prairie grass instead of trees. A controlled burn every 5 – 7 years will only make the prairie hardier and more effective in doing its job.
Erik,
Your crazy. You asked for it.
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