Enjoy Your Local Parks
AUSTIN'S PARKS & GREEN SPACES ARE FOR EVERYONE
Austin’s parks and green spaces are for everyone to enjoy and value. Local communities play a vital role in determining what they want their local parks to be and how they use them. Austin Parks Foundation (APF) and Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) work together to empower communities who want to improve their local parks. Our nearly 400 parks and wildlife areas are places to play and exercise, take a walk, host a family cookout, ride a bike, appreciate natural green spaces, meet up with friends or neighbors, and much more. Enjoy Austin’s parks today!
Austin’s parks and green spaces are for everyone to enjoy and value. Local communities play a vital role in determining what they want their local parks to be and how they use them. Austin Parks Foundation (APF) and Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) work together to empower communities who want to improve their local parks. Our nearly 400 parks and wildlife areas are places to play and exercise, take a walk, host a family cookout, ride a bike, appreciate natural green spaces, meet up with friends or neighbors, and much more. Enjoy Austin’s parks today!
Upcoming Events
Volunteer: Cleanup at Colorado River Park Wildlife Sanctuary
Volunteer: Ecological Restoration at Walnut Creek Metro Park
Get Involved with Adopt-A-Park
Brought to you by Austin Parks Foundation and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department
About the Adopt-A-Park Program
The Adopt-A-Park program is a partnership between Austin Parks Foundation and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department that helps residents become advocates and stewards of their local parks. The co-managed Adopt-A-Park program’s goal is to build community usage, pride, and care for every Austin park. Austin Parks Foundation and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department work together with local Park Adopters to provide the resources and parkland management required to create a vibrant local park space for the entire community.
Have a question about the Adopt-A-Park program? Email us at adopt@austinparks.org.
Adopt-A-Park's History
The Adopt-A-Park program’s origins begin with a 2014 Austin Parks Foundation, Austin Parks and Recreation Department, and GO! Austin/VAMOS! Austin (GAVA) partnership to improve the health of people living in the 78744 and 78745 zip code areas. Austin Parks Foundation worked with residents to form park adoption teams and action plans to improve neighborhood parks.
In 2016, Austin Parks Foundation became the non-profit partner for the Adopt-A-Park program helping the co-managed program to get more support and funding. In 2017, Adopt-A-Park outreach goals were created to focus on areas that suffered from a lack of investment and attention, with a focus on City Council Districts 1-4.
Park Adopter Profiles
Vanessa Gamez & Ana Islas of Barrington School Park
Since joining the Adopt-A-Park program in February 2023, Park Adopters Vanessa Games and Ana Islas have been dynamic leaders organizing It's My Park Day projects, community shows, and well-attended community open work days. Their advocacy bolsters Barrington School Park as a valuable outdoor space for Barrington students and the entire community. In 2023, Vanessa and Ana received APF's Golden Shovel Award for their work at Barrington Park.
Click below to learn more about the 2023 Golden Shovel winners and the Barrington School Park project.
Adopt-A-Park By The Numbers
Austin Parks Foundation and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department's collaborative Adopt-A-Park program delivers benefits for all of Austin. Today in Austin, Texas, there are:
- 73 Adopted Parks
- 33 Stewarded Parks
- 7 Adopted School Parks
And there's still more Adopt-A-Park work to do! Interested in adopting a park? Click below!
