green infrastructure Archives | Marek Landscaping

Floating Islands in Milwaukee River Estuary for Improved Long-Term Spawning

Megan Foley — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:47:52 +0000

The project seeks to improve fish habitat and spawning patterns within the Milwaukee River Area of Concern by creating habitat where none exists, along the steel and concrete walls of the estuary. By reducing barriers between upstream spawning/nursery habitat and Lake Michigan, we allow fish to more successfully complete their lifecycle by providing sources of food, shelter, and oxygen along their migration through the estuary. We are using the Floating Islands technology to place four wetland islands [80 feet by 7 feet] in the Milwaukee and Menomonee River portions of the estuary. The islands are an innovative technology with a wide variety of uses for water quality and fishery enhancement by bio-mimicking wetlands. Wetlands are important to the Lake Michigan fisheries, as an estimated over 80% of native Great Lakes fish rely on wetlands for part of their lifecycle. The technology uses a blend of synthetic and natural floating media, from which plants grow and form the basic building block for the bottom of the food chain, the periphytic organisms and biofilms. These organisms quickly colonize and create food sources on which the smallest fish and zooplankton feed. This technology represents some of the most current thinking about how waterways can be stewarded towards health and fishery abundance. Marek Landscaping, LLC brought the technology to Milwaukee, co-authored grant applications, developed a design and anchoring system specific to the estuary, assisted with the fabrication, and installed two floating islands in 2013, and two more in 2014. Funding for the project comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Fund for Lake Michigan.

The project was the first one highlighted in the “Wisconsin Great Lakes Restoration Projects Producing Results for People, Communities” publication produced by the Healing Our Waters-Greats Lakes Coalition and provided at the 2013 Great Lakes Restoration Conference.

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Boardwalk, Covered Terrace Outlook, Boathouse, Fire Pit & Water Feature

Marek_Katie — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 01:49:51 +0000

This project involved the construction of three flagstone patios, 150 feet of black locust boardwalk, a covered terrace overlook with green roof, a water feature, and a dry stack stone boathouse with a copper shingle roof and firepit. Other aspects of this project included steep slope restoration and the planting of over 2,200 native grasses, sedges, and forbs.

The upper 100 square foot flagstone patio follows a black locust plank boardwalk down the bluff to a 260 square foot covered terrace overlook. The overlook patio was constructed with a mixture of flagstone and black locust log “cookies”. The back retaining wall consists of black locust logs and the cedar log roof was covered in engineered soil with coir matting and planted with nearly 200 plugs of native grasses and forbs. Black locust stairs continue down the bluff from the overlook and descend to the covered boathouse. The boathouse was constructed of dry stack stone with a Douglas fir beam roof finished with custom copper shingles. The boathouse faces 500 square feet of flagstone patio and a custom fire pit with five large limestone rocks for seating.

Another fun and challenging aspect of this project was the rerouting of a natural spring on the property to create a recirculating water feature. Additionally, Marek utilized a steep slope restoration technique that uses a compost- based bio-engineered soil matrix with close to 50 species of native plant grasses, sedges, and forbs to increase initial stability, weed resistance, and early native plant germination.

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Tippecanoe Library Renovation

Amber Shesler — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 19:45:39 +0000

In 2015, the Milwaukee Public Library System’s Tippecanoe Branch had its first major renovation since it was first built in 1969. The branch was modernized to offer the latest technology as well as updated departments. In addition to the interior improvements, the property’s exterior was also improved. Marek worked as part of a multidisciplinary design team led by architectural firm Engberg Anderson to provide landscape architecture services for the complete renovation of Tippecanoe Library. Components of the new design include permeable pavers, two bioswales that control stormwater on-site, a story garden, a community vegetable garden, a West Pocket park, a bus stop plaza, and terrace trees. Drought- and urban-tolerant prairie plants and Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) were chosen for changing seasonal interest and the ability to adapt to the often harsh conditions of a built environment.

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Sunken Patio and Black Locust Climbing Wall

Marek_Katie — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 22:51:06 +0000

Our clients reached out to us looking to add more character and function to their small, urban backyard. To achieve this, we designed and constructed a sunken patio decorated with native plantings to complement their existing pear tree. A custom climbing wall, handmade from black locust wood, was installed to create a unique play space for the clients and their children.

Natural stone stairs lead into the patio space lined with cor-ten steel, floating black locust benches, and two custom cor-ten steel planters. Ten-foot black locust posts were installed in the corners to allow for café-style string lights to be hung. Ten square feet of concrete, which made up much of the original patio, was removed to increase the available planting space. A pattern was cut into the portion of concrete that was not removed to add texture and blend in with the transformed landscape.

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Harambee + Riverworks Green Infrastructure Best Management Practices Plan

Marek — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 16:35:13 +0000

Groundwork Milwaukee received a Wisconsin Coastal Management Program Grant from Wisconsin Department of Administration to develop a Green Infrastructure Plan for the northern Harambee neighborhood and Riverworks Business Improvement Districts area. Groundwork Milwaukee hired Marek Landscaping, LLC to develop this plan, which identifies potential sites for green infrastructure, describes the practices that are appropriate for this area, and prioritizes their implementation.

The plan aims to meet the goals set forth by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District’s 2035 Vision document by utilizing distributed, localized stormwater practices to capture the first 0.5 inch rainfall, reduce flooding pressures, and prepare the City of Milwaukee for larger and more frequent storms expected from climate change.

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