PARK STEWARDSHIP

Adopt a Park

Beautify and activate your park!

The Adopt-A-Park Stewardship Program is a partnership between the City of Detroit, Detroit Parks Coalition, and community groups who beautify and activate their local parks.

Adopt a Park stewards commit to hosting cleanups and events in their local parks. The Detroit Parks Coalition and City of Detroit connect Stewards with resources such as potential grants, sponsorships, trainings, and supplies for clean-ups and events.

Adopt a park History

Adopt-a-Park fosters partnership between the City and caring citizens in an effort to maintain Detroit’s parkland.

The program began in 1977 under the Coleman A. Young administration. The program was created by then Detroit Parks and Recreation Department Director Leon Atchison and was one of the first of its kind in the nation. It saw several iterations over time, including a period where adopters focused on grass mowing when the city was going through municipal bankruptcy.

More resources became available for Detroit parks over the years, and the Adopt-a-Park Stewardship program now focuses on two areas: park clean-ups and community events. These park activations are meant to instill a sense of belonging and ownership among stewards for the parks they adopt.

ADOPT A PARK BENEFITS

  • Stewards will be connected with potential grant opportunities and be eligible for fiscal sponsorship through DPC.  

  • All Adopt-a-Park events will be posted on a public-facing calendar hosted by DPC where outside volunteers can apply to help.  

  • The City will streamline the event permitting process and give preference to Stewards. 

  • DPC will also be hosting in-person training sessions for Stewards several times a season. These “Lunch and Learn” trainings will focus on topics such as capacity building for organizations, how to throw a successful event, or how to navigate City processes. They will also provide an opportunity for networking among Stewards and a forum to give feedback about the Adopt-a-Park program. 

  • After a successful Adopt-a-Park season, Stewards will be formally recognized and receive a signed certificate for completing the season. If the steward completed their two clean-ups and two community events, the Steward’s Adopt-a-Park application for the following year will be streamlined. 

ADOPT A PARK RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Completing a minimum of 2 clean-ups per year. DPC will help provide cleaning supplies with advance notice (see below for details). 

  • Programming a minimum of 2 events in the park per year (see programming section for more details). The City will streamline the event permitting process.  

  • Assisting Parks & Rec Marketing with park announcements (such as community meetings) as needed. 

  • Encouraging and fostering respect of the park and stewardship within the community. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rob Streit at rob.streit@detroitmi.gov