$30K grant to support accessibility and inclusivity in Dane Co. parks

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Parks are for everyone to enjoy and one organization is ensuring parks in Dane County are accessible and inclusive.

The Foundation for Dane County Parks said their goal is to promote connection to nature, especially for populations underrepresented in parks. The organization received $30,000 from the Madison Community Foundation, and Executive Director Aaron Mullins said the funds will go directly toward infrastructure.

“The funding from Madison Community Foundation will support our work for about two years,” Mullins said. “It’s gonna help us to continue investing in our infrastructure through things like additional staff, through establishing a long term strategy to continue supporting the parks in an even greater way in the future.”

Mullins said they have seen a major uptick in park usership over the past few years.

“We are now experiencing over 4.2 million users of our Dane County Parks system every year, so, we know that it really is one of our community’s best assets and to have the Madison Community Foundation investing in not just this, but investing in organizations throughout the community makes a huge difference and it really does impact all of us.”

According to the foundation, they are especially focused on reducing barriers, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how important natural spaces are to our wellbeing.

“The Foundation for Dane County Parks supports the park system to keep it accessible for everything by funding things like accessible peers, accessible kayak launches, by making available all terrain wheelchairs available to park users so they can enjoy the parks even if they have limited mobility issues.”

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