Community-Driven Projects Bring Our Mission Home

We believe every child deserves a safe, exciting place to ride. With only 12% of kids getting enough daily physical activity and rising rates of depression and screen time, bike parks offer a powerful solution — transforming empty hours into bike time instead of screen time.

In partnership with the Madison Parks Foundation, Madison Parks, and the Saris Foundation, the first Saris Foundation Bike Park opened on Madison’s south side near Leopold School. These parks provide free, self-contained spaces where kids can build skills, confidence, and community through cycling. Together, we’re helping youth discover the joy of movement — one ride, one child at a time.

In partnership with the Madison Parks Foundation, Forward Madison FC is helping expand access to soccer by building new multi-use futsal pitches across Madison. These courts provide safe, inclusive spaces for play — supporting both physical and mental well-being while strengthening community connections.

The goal: to build one new futsal pitch in a Madison park each year for the next four years, ensuring kids and families across the city have free, accessible places to play and grow through the game.

Founded in 2010 through a partnership between the Bay Creek Neighborhood Association and the South Madison Police District, Friends of Olin-Turville (FOOT) works to preserve and enhance the beauty of Olin and Turville Parks. From restoring landscapes to hosting community events, FOOT helps neighbors reconnect with these historic lakefront spaces and all they have to offer.

Founded in 2019, Friends of Owen Conservation Park is a volunteer group dedicated to restoring and caring for the 97-acre westside park’s diverse natural habitats. Volunteers lead regular workdays, monitor native wildlife, and contribute to community science programs such as the Wisconsin Bumblebee Brigade, Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, and Bat Roost Monitoring Program. The group also hosts guided educational walks and maintains native seed gardens that invite visitors to learn, explore, and connect with nature. Together, they’re helping Owen Conservation Park reach its full potential as a thriving urban natural area.

Since 2016, Friends of Pickleball has partnered with the Madison Parks Division to expand and enhance local pickleball facilities. The group began by helping fund the conversion of tennis courts at Garner Park into dedicated pickleball courts and continues to support ongoing maintenance and improvements. As the sport’s popularity soars, Friends of Pickleball works to ensure high-quality courts and to bring new playing spaces to meet the growing community’s needs.

Help support and sustain the successful Madison FUN Friends of Urban Nature 10 year program of Parks, Environmental, and Friends of Parks co-sponsored weekly year round free family friendly outings and events and continue to sustain and expand nature outings and events in our parks for the next 10 years!

Madison FUN Friends of Urban Nature Parks and Partner Groups co-sponsored outings include free welcoming diverse healthy educational family and kid friendly volunteer naturalist guided Bird and Nature Adventures with two outings in local parks every week year round and other co-sponsored outdoor programs and events that Connect Communities and Kids with Nearby Parks and Natural Areas.

These Nature Recreation programs in our parks have successfully and regularly included participation by people of all ages, education levels, ethnicities, orientations and economic circumstances over the past 10 years and inclusiveness and accessability remain top priorities. These nature outings in our parks also build public support for our parks and local Friends of Parks groups and promote saving healthy, environmentally sustainable, water purifying, and climate friendly urban nature in every park and neighborhood.

The Madison Boats Outdoor Education Fund expands access to nature-based learning for children across Madison. By providing scholarships for students in grades K–9 to attend Camp Wingra and supporting other outdoor education programs, this fund helps young people explore, learn, and build meaningful connections to our lakes, parks, and each other. In partnership with Madison Boats, the program fosters a love of the outdoors and ensures every child has the opportunity to experience it firsthand.

The Westmorland Neighborhood Association Park Fund supports ongoing improvements to Westmorland Park, enhancing amenities and accessibility for visitors of all ages. From upgrading the park shelter to hosting community events, the fund helps create a welcoming space where neighbors can gather, play, and celebrate together.