The Whitefish Bay (WFB) Garden Club was founded in 1958 by Winnie Davis. She was inspired by her dear friend Jesslyn Boughton Small. When Jesslyn was prohibited from joining a garden club because she did not have a sponsor, Winnie suggested that they form their own club, right here in WFB. When Jesslyn responded that she did not know how to do that, Winnie proclaimed: “I don’t know either, but we will figure it out together!” Indeed, we are a group devoted to collaboration and openness, to stimulating ideas and visions and figuring out how to actualize them. The Club was established to stimulate interest in and knowledge of horticulture and gardening, protect natural spaces, and beautify civic grounds. Our motto is “Growing a Greener Village, One Garden at a Time”. 

Since our founding, the Club has lived our mission with many projects, both within the Village of Whitefish Bay, as well as southeast Wisconsin. In 1965, with 25 active members and Isabel Lillie serving as president, we had the foresight, courage, and vision to imagine, research, advocate for, and organize a nature sanctuary for the greater area of Milwaukee. Our goal was to create a place where nature could be enjoyed by all, but especially children, and that would also provide environmental education. We raised $15,000 to purchase 72 acres of Kettle Moraine land along the Milwaukee River. In 1968, Riveredge Nature Center was founded on this parcel. This facility was one of the first of its kind in Southeastern Wisconsin. In subsequent years, the Club continued to raise money to hire staff and expand programs at Riveredge, including interviewing and hiring its first naturalist, who would go on to serve as the executive director for 30+ years. Today, Riveredge comprises 485-acres, and its mission remains consistent with the vision of our early members: “To support conservation through education that awakens curiosity, engages the body, and explores connections to nature for all people.”  Isabel Lillie was the founder and first president of Riveredge and, in honor of our long term relationship with the nature center, the Club makes ongoing philanthropic donations to Riveredge. 

As of 2026, the Club has 60 active members and 32 Green Thumb members. Some examples of projects the Club has led and is continuing to lead in more recent years include: 

  • Restoring, rescuing, creating and maintaining several community gardens, havens for pollinators and humans, including Silver Spring Park, the Cahill Butterfly Garden, the Cahill Prairie, and the Klode Pollinator Garden. 
  • Approaching the village and, with its support, co-sponsoring the processes to become designated as a Tree City, Bird City, and Monarch City. The Club works with the village to maintain these designations. 
  • Providing programming, co-sponsored with the WFB Library, that is open to the public to educate ourselves and the community about gardening and the environment.  
  • Organizing and hosting the first ever WFB Garden Walk in 2017, and again in 2024. We are committed to this being an ongoing event.
  • Creating annual (award-winning) entries at Art in Bloom, hosted by the Milwaukee Art Museum.
  • Participating in the Civic Foundation’s annual Green Day in the Bay.
  • Sending “Forget Me Not” bouquets to community members going through difficult times.
  • Organizing and hosting a quarterly environmental awareness book club, co-sponsored by the WFB library. 
  • Including philanthropy in our budget and choosing organizations and projects that are consistent with our values and mission to donate to each year.
  • Offering member-only field trips, special projects, and annual celebratory dinners. 

There is a section dedicated to each of the above items on our website if you would like to learn more.

We welcome new members! 

[link to join]

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All funds and labor for our projects, from speakers to garden creation and maintenance, are provided by the WFB Garden Club and through grants procured by club members. If you would like to help our efforts by providing financial support, we would be most grateful.   

[link to donate]