Reflo projects are evidence of a catalytic nonprofit

Click here for a full-screen map of Reflo project locations.

The nonprofit Reflo (RE-flow) supports partners to catalyze water projects with triple-bottom-line benefits. Examples range from rainwater harvesting to schoolyard green infrastructure. As important as these “products” is the “process” Reflo engages in to make them happen. Reflo is unique in not owning or controlling properties or projects but truly enters into a catalytic partner role. This work is not easy, but the results of these trust relationships have begun to speak for themselves.

Five schools per year participate in a multi-phase process to transform impervious schoolyards into greened spaces featuring educational, stormwater, and community benefits. Starms Early Childhood Academy is a great example of these amazing transformations. Starms features a porous play surface in the shape of Lake Michigan.

Reflo also supports partners in creating novel green stormwater infrastructure projects. A track record of collaborative successes includes many Milwaukee firsts including stormwater from the public right-of-way being managed on a privately owned parcel using an old building foundation (see: Fondy Park).

Reflo also supports urban agriculture partners by designing rainwater harvesting and collection systems that divert stormwater from sewers and provide water for gardens. A great example is the underground cistern at Alice’s Garden, which collects stormwater collected from an adjacent schoolyard treated by a bioswale.

We invite you to explore a selection of Reflo projects in the web map below and through the Milwaukee Community Map, where you can explore even more cross-connections.