Written by: Garrett Hopkins, Communications Specialist, Rock River Coalition
The Rock River Basin is filled with rivers, lakes and streams that provide priceless natural diversity to the region; it’s also filled with small community coalitions dedicated to preserving them, and Rock River Coalition loves to support them when we can. Groups like this often begin with one person who has a vision for a healthier world and, more importantly, the drive to put it into action.
For Whitewater Creek Coalition, that person was Jeff Weigel.
When Weigel moved to Whitewater more than a decade ago, he became enamored with the city’s popular creek. “I saw this little creek that ran through town that was an obvious community asset,” he says. “There are some great little running rapids, and it has nice clarity. It also forms two lakes, Trippe and Cravath, which are integral parts of the city’s cultural identity. The creek is really what put Whitewater on the map.”
Despite its inherent beauty, Weigel also noticed many areas of the creek had grown cluttered with garbage and overgrown invasive species over the years
“I’ve lived various places out west and in northern Wisconsin, places of spectacular beauty, where there was a very active community in preserving and restoring natural spaces,” says Weigel. “Shortly after I moved here, I thought about how great it would be to get together with some like-minded folks who wanted to protect this creek.”
In 2023, Weigel contacted RRC about becoming a chapter. He decided to form a group – eventually to be named Whitewater Creek Coalition (WCC) – to rally support. As is true for most grassroots environmental groups, WCC’s effectiveness hinged on its ability to engage collaborators.
Luckily, Weigel didn’t have to look very far for his first partner.
“My daughter, who was nine at the time, was my original team member,” he says. “She made a sign on a poster board with markers, and we set up a little booth at the local Tuesday market. Through that, we were able to connect with a couple of college students.”
WCC’s early events were typically weekly clean-up days focused on fishing garbage from the creek and taming the wild overgrowth. While these outings were a promising beginning, Weigel knew WCC would need to recruit more support to bring the degree of change he had in mind. Thanks to an opportune Facebook post by a new Whitewater resident named Aubrey Thompson, those reinforcements would soon arrive.
Around the time WCC was getting started, Thompson asked the Whitewater Anything Forum Facebook group if anyone would be interested in helping her remove garbage at Whitewater Creek Nature Area. Weigel responded to the inquiry, and they bonded over their shared interest in cleaning up the city. Thompson began attending WCC clean-up events, and her role within the organization quickly grew.
“It was serendipitous, the way I met Jeff,” says Thompson. “He had a great mission and a lot of energy towards trying to do something big. I wanted to be a part of it.”
“Aubrey was really good at the organizational aspects,” adds Weigel. “She’s great about putting meeting minutes and agendas together, things that I really am not good at.”
Thompson’s managerial skills helped WCC become more organized in event coordination, financial planning and community outreach, and before long, she stepped into the role of Chair of Whitewater Creek Coalition.
“Our goal was to bring the universities and the city and as many different interested parties together to work on this very local issue that can impact the lives of people in town,” says Thompson. “People are more receptive when they can see progress in their backyard, rather than a state or county initiative that can sometimes feel too big.”
Thanks to Weigel’s vision and Thompson’s leadership, that goal became a reality. Just one year after their first event, WCC was selected for UW-Whitewater’s annual ‘Make a Difference Day’ volunteer event. In April 2024, approximately 25 students and members of the local Rotary Cub joined WCC to help restore two different sites along Whitewater Creek: Brewery Hill Park and Whitewater Creek Nature Area.
“Both spots were kind of dumping grounds,” says Weigel. “The volunteers helped us remove couches, old tires, TVs, stuff like that. Most of the kids probably didn’t even know there was a creek there. It was a lot of fun; they did great work.”
WCC carried that momentum into 2025, and then 2026, by organizing numerous events throughout the city, securing a Healthy Lakes & Rivers grant from the DNR to plant native species along the creek, and increasing word-of-mouth support. They also participated in UW-Whitewater’s 2025 and 2026 ‘Make a Difference Day’ events, in which – between both outings – approximately 80 enthusiastic people attended.
Once a father-daughter duo with a hand drawn sign, WCC grew into a strong group with seven core members and is one of the city’s most active conservation organizations. But while much has been accomplished, their work is far from over. “We’d like to restore the creek to a state that’s as natural as possible,” says Weigel, “and to continue helping the community understand their role in maintaining a healthy watershed.”
As usual, Thompson is lock-step with Weigel’s vision. “You can have an idea,” she adds, “but most people never take action until they get around like-minded people. To the average person, a small nonprofit like this is a way to turn a wish into action.”
Groups like Whitewater Creek Coalition are often some of the most unsung, yet important, organizations to a region’s ecological well-being. In May of 2026, Rock River Coalition (RRC) welcomed them into our coalition as an official Chapter. Our chapters fall under RRC’s not-for-profit umbrella so can apply for grants as a not for profit and are provided with access to expertise, resources and volunteer engagement, with the goal of expanding their impact.
The story of Whitewater Creek perfectly captures RRC’s mission to bring people of diverse interests and backgrounds together to improve environmental, recreational, cultural and economic resources of the Basin. We’re eager to begin partnering with WCC more consistently, to help fortify the work they’ve already begun, and to see how their continued efforts will shape the future of their beloved community creek.
To learn more about WCC, visit them on Facebook at Whitewater Creek Coalition or contact Jeff Weigel at wwcreekcoalition@gmail.com.