The Greenspace Committee works to coordinate, beautify, and maintain many of the greenspaces in our neighborhoods. This includes plantings around our neighborhood signs, the butterfly sculptures, medians that have been adopted by the neighborhood, and other city-owned greenspaces. They also host an annual Earth Day neighborhood clean-up event in April.

The 2025 Earth Day Clean-up is on Saturday, April 26th. View the flyer (PDF) for all information.

View Greenspace Map

Volunteer Opportunities

Site Stewards: These are people who are taking the lead at a greenspace. They handle on-going maintenance, planning, resource requests, and schedule workdays.

General Volunteers: Volunteers come to workdays and assist with planting, watering, and weeding. No experience necessary!

Special Events: Volunteers staff tables at events like Earth Day and the Eken Park Festival in order to recruit new volunteers or assist current volunteers.

Current and New Site Stewards

Are you currently maintaining a greenspace in the neighborhood but not connected with the Greenspace Committee? Reach out so you can be included in opportunities for resources and recognized for your contribution to our neighborhood.

Is there a greenspace near you that you’d like to revive or improve and act as the site steward? Reach out so we can help you get started and let you know about available resources.

Contact the Greenspace Committee

If you are interested in volunteering or have a greenspace idea contact the chairs for the Greenspace Committee at: northstreetgreenspace@gmail.com

Greenspace Committee Priorities and Guidelines

The Greenspace Committee recognizes the importance of native plants and will prioritize use of native plants as much as possible. Native plants require less maintenance and support the pollinators and songbirds in our community. 

In addition, the committee chairs will use the following guidelines for sites maintained by the Greenspace Committee:

  • Plants will be pruned and thinned in order to maintain the balance and visibility of the planned plant variety.
  • Plants that obstruct the view of the neighborhood sign or sculptures will be pruned and/or removed.
  • Plants directly adjacent to the sidewalk will be under 18 inches in height, compact, and will be pruned or thinned to prevent obstruction of the sidewalk.
  • Volunteers for city medians should sign the City of Madison waiver and follow the guidelines for the Adopt-A-Median program.
  • Plants listed on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources terrestrial invasives list (regulated or non-regulated) may not be added to a site.
  • Measures will be taken to mitigate the risk of jumping worms when transplanting from other sites.

Contact the chairs of the Greenspace Committee: northstreetgreenspace@gmail.com

Receive announcements from the Greenspace Committee by joining the Greenspace Google Group or send a blank email to northstreetgreenspace+subscribe@googlegroups.com.