When We Work Together You Help
Protect Natural Environments Through Our Conservation Corps Program.

We Employ The Next Generation Of Environmental Leaders.

We Educate Youth On The Environment and Climate Change.

We Enhance Public Spaces.

We Strengthen Climate Resilience.

We Advance Corporate Social Responsibility goals.

We Build Better Natural Environments That Work.

We give 1% of annual sales directly to other environmental organizations.

We are a Force for Good.

"Cream City Conservation believes in a closed-loop theory of change. This means that we help organizations develop the cultural practices necessary to attract and retain top talent from diverse and dynamic backgrounds, while simultaneously fostering the next generation of environmental leaders."

- August M Ball, C.E.O. Cream City Conservation

C4 Summer Conservation Corps

Each summer, C4 hires 10-30 Milwaukee teens and up to 6 adult crew leaders to complete public land stewardship projects around Milwaukee County. In partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and various Friends of the Parks groups, the teens learn on-the-job skills required for trail construction and maintenance, invasive species identification and removal, tree planting, urban agriculture, climate science, and climate resiliency. These crews provide pro bono service to public lands and expenses are covered from the profits of the Cream City Conservation & Consulting firm.

Join our crew

USFS Hybrid Crew

Since 2016, C4 has been recognized as a 21st Century Corps program. Every summer, C4 sends a crew of up to 10 Milwaukee teens to Chequamegon Nicollete to job shadow USFS forestry professionals. The crew resides on the land for two weeks, spending half of their day on a worksite and the other half completing environmental education workshops and professional development training.

Fresh Coast Ambassador Program

In 2018, C4 and MMSD partnered to create the

Fresh Coast Ambassador program.
This crew of 12 works on water course projects, wetland restoration, water quality management, and green infrastructure primarily around the KK River Parkway and 30th Street Corridor. To support costs, the crew also completes annual fee-for-service projects with the UWM Office of Sustainability, maintaining their onsite green infrastructure.
Learn more about the partnership program here.

In partnership with TransCenter for Youth, Cream City Conservation Corps partners with local high schools to provide paid learning experiences where students get to put their classroom science and ecology learning into practice. From April through June and August through October, C4 crew leaders combine classroom education with much-needed ecological restoration on public lands for 4 hours per week. Students receive bi-weekly pay and school credit for completing the spring and fall school year programs.

Our Conservation Corps at Work

Join our Conservation Corps program and help us Build Better environments that work, for everyone.

From August M. Ball, Founder & CEO

As of 2025, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause our Cream City Conservation Corps (C4) program.

This isn’t because the need for this work has lessened, if anything, it’s grown. But the trickle effect of deep government funding cuts, particularly among our public sector clients—has made it financially unsustainable to run the program at its full scale this year.

For nearly a decade, C4 has C4 has used the profits from inclusive workplace culture consulting to fund employ and empower hundreds of young people from underrepresented communities to restore natural habitats, build trail systems, and be stewards of public lands. We’re proud of the impact we’ve made and are deeply committed to resuming the program when conditions allow.

What hasn’t changed is our availability to support your team.

Cream City Consulting is still fully active and available for:

✔️ Customized DEI training

✔️ Strategy development

✔️ Culture and equity audits

✔️ Keynote presentations

Our latest initiative, Democratizing DEI, is expanding and built specifically to make equity education accessible for all, regardless of funding capacity.

We believe the best way to get C4 to operate at full impact is to continue delivering transformative education and consulting for the organizations we serve, and we welcome your partnership in that.

To learn more about the recent government funding changes that have impacted programs like ours, visit:

PBS - Here’s what to know about Trump’s executive actions on climate and environment

Thank you for believing in this work. We're still here. And we’re not done.

In solidarity,

August M. Ball

Founder & CEO, Cream City Conservation