With 58 miles of lakeshore in our watershed, shoreline maintenance is a big job. We’re lucky to have dedicated staff and community groups working to keep our parks and beaches healthy – but sometimes, there just aren’t enough hands to get the job done. That’s where our summer volunteer groups come in!
A summer to remember
So far this season, there have been 15 Renew the Blue volunteer days, for a total of 457 volunteers and 1,481 hours maintaining our lakeshores over the season. These events serve double duty: our lakeshore parks get some much-needed TLC, and volunteers learn more about keeping our watershed healthy.
Our 2017 season has been full of memorable moments:
- Spectrum Brands helped paint the boathouse at Marshall Park, which had been vacant for 25 years. We loved sprucing up the NEWEST spot to get out on the lakes – Marshall Boats!
- Lands’ End once again took the award for largest volunteer group and held tight to its longest-running streak for their fifth year in a row at Lake Farm County Park.
- Volunteer teams learned how to identify and remove problem plants like garlic mustard, dame’s rocket, honeysuckle, buckthorn, white mulberry, burdock, Virginia creeper vine, hedge parsley, and Queen Anne’s Lace.
- The Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy were able to expand their target restoration areas for the summer thanks also to the work of Spectrum Brands.
- Fall volunteer groups have collected bags of native prairie seeds destined for Dane County’s new seed processing facility.
