Austin Parks Foundation

On August 12, Austin City Council approved the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27, roughly one month after the initial draft was released. While headlines focused on the citywide total, us park-goers and trail users want to know: What’s in the Budget for our Parks, Pools and Trails? The adopted budget allocates nearly $142 million to Austin Parks and Recreation Department. While the increase helps address inflation and the costs associated with an expanding park system, the overall budget reflects a compromise between sustaining existing operations and funding expanded infrastructure. To learn more about the city budget: https://bit.ly/4gf8YFH

In September 2024, residents of University Hills applied for an ACL Music Festival Neighborhood Grant from Austin Parks Foundation. At the time, a community member had been offering free youth tennis lessons at Dottie Jordan Neighborhood Park. Providing these lessons required paying to reserve the court, a cost which multiple families took upon themselves to cover - that is, until the lessons became more and more popular – a good problem to have! But this meant the court needed to be reserved weekly, and the cost became too burdensome for the families to continue taking on the expense. The community didn’t want to stop the lessons, so they applied for an ACL Music Festival Neighborhood Grant from APF in order to get the court reservation cost covered. APF provided a grant to the Dottie Jordan Neighborhood Park community, which served as a pilot and helped to inform the design of the Activation Grants, which became available in February 2026. Activation Grants are awarded to Park Adopter groups and other stakeholders who want to provide free, public events in parks that are not often active and are in need of support to kickstart engagement and increase participation in the park. The goal of APF’s Activation Grants is to encourage positive park usage and promote community building. “A well-used park is a well-loved park!” Learn more about our ACL Music Festival Activation Grants: https://bit.ly/45rqrWx

We’re back with another episode of People of the Parks! We’re talking all things advocacy and why PARKS CAN’T WAIT ‘TIL 2028! Suzy and Taylor are joined by first-time guest, Advocacy Manager, Alyssa Vargas. Together, they dig into why advocacy is important, where the bond stands and what’s next. Once you’re done listening, head to austinparks.org/blog (or look at our last two videos) to learn more about how the bond process works and what you can do to help our parks right now. To listen: bit.ly/4vVbcQj

Party for the Parks tickets go on sale to our Early Bird list THIS FRIDAY!👀 Sign up for our Early Bird list by July 30th at 11:59 p.m. to purchase discounted tickets and be the FIRST to know who’s playing at Party for the Parks🎶 Join the Early Bird list: https://bit.ly/4wrYZUv

From peaceful park outings to competitive pickleball games with friends, our People of the Parks, Megan and Jonathan Holden, enjoy all that Austin’s parks have to offer. The Holdens spend time at Onion Creek Greenbelt with their dog, Roscoe, meet up with friends at Dick Nichols District Park for pickleball and Megan enjoys a “Friday Flop Around” with her friends at Barton Springs. Though Megan and Jonathan don’t have a favorite park, Roscoe is partial to Onion Creek Greenbelt and the off-leash dog park. Learn more about what parks mean to Megan and Jonathan: https://bit.ly/4x4l7nS

Playgrounds, pavilions and popsicles🎉 The renovations at Rosewood Neighborhood Park are complete and we celebrated with kids from the Delores Duffie Recreation Center Youth Summer Camp and GoodPop popsicles! Renovations at Rosewood Neighborhood Park include construction of a new shade pavilion, improved seating areas, upgraded sidewalks and shade trees. Austin Parks Foundation managed the playground renovation in partnership with Austin Parks and Recreation Department💚

Austin City Council needs to hear from people like YOU! 🚨 July 23 update: The vote on the bond has been postponed. Stay tuned to our social media channels for an updated timeline and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with all things advocacy. July 20: During the July 23rd City Council meeting, leaders will vote on the 2026 Bond Package, deciding whether Austin’s parks will receive their first major bond investment in eight years. Throughout the summer, City staff and Council have been considering Resolution No. 26-1921, which includes a proposed $250 million investment to address critical needs across Austin’s parks, pools, trails, recreation centers and green spaces. Help secure the future of Austin’s parks. Contact your City Council Member or testify on July 23 to urge City Council to approve a $250 million Parks Bond.

Are you hearing a lot about the 2026 Parks Bond and the City’s annual budget right now? (We hope so!) Conversations for both are happening at the same time, but did you know that they’re two completely different funding tools for parks? Let’s dive into what each funding source means⬆️ Want to stay up to date on Parks Advocacy? Sign up for our advocacy alerts: bit.ly/4fegiyK (Be sure to select “interested in park advocacy” when signing up!)

Hi park lovers! We are taking applications for a Landscape Architect/Designer to join our team of park champions. If you enjoy green spaces and serving our communities as much as we do, please apply! Learn more and apply: https://bit.ly/49RmCN2

The City Parks Alliance Greater & Greener conference has come and gone, and with it came exciting new improvements to Chestnut Pocket Park, a walk through historic East Austin green spaces, educational hikes along Barton Creek Greenbelt and SO. MUCH. MORE! One of the highlights was our volunteer service project at Chestnut Pocket Park, where conference attendees from all over the world (as far as Seoul, South Korea‼️) helped put the finishing touches on the playground, spread mulch to support newly planted trees, completed the nature play area, and refreshed the park's historical markers. This transformation was a true collaboration between Austin Parks Foundation, Austin Parks & Recreation Department, and Landscape Structures (Whirlix Design Inc.). Beyond hosting the volunteer day, APF proudly contributed more than $200,000 toward the playground equipment, construction, design, and permitting for this project. We also had the privilege of leading the community engagement process, ensuring the voices of neighborhood families helped shape this wonderful new space. The resulting playground offers integrated shade and play opportunities for children of a wide range of ages and abilities. Just a few blocks over, another group spent the morning with APF on a two-mile walking tour along Boggy Creek Trail and the EastLink corridor to explore East Austin’s past, present, and future through the lens of green spaces! The group started at St. David's Community Garden and walked to Parque Zaragoza with stops at Downs Mabson Field, the East Link Pillars, Henry G. Madison Cabin at Rosewood Neighborhood Park and the Doris Miller Auditorium. Across town, APF hosted a hike through Barton Creek Greenbelt with attendees learning how partnerships between the City of Austin, APF, Siglo Group, Texas Conservation Corp, and others are addressing the pressures from urban development and heavy recreational use through trail repair and realignment, erosion control, invasive species management, and community restoration. In addition to these events, the APF team had the privilege of sharing about green spaces in Austin, how volunteers and park adopters make a MASSIVE difference, and how grateful we are to play a critical role in making Austin's parks, trails and green spaces better for ALL!💚