Mayor's Office

As the days get longer and warmer, it’s time for spring cleaning. Streets Division street sweepers have been working 16-hour days since March 7. These trucks have been circling through neighborhoods collecting all the sand, salt, and general grit that has accumulated on the roads all winter long. You too can be a part of spring-cleaning in outdoor Madison, getting outside while beautifying and protecting our local environment.

Every year when the snow melts, it reveals litter that has accumulated over the winter months. It’s a shame to see this, but we can all play a role in preventing and cleaning up litter. Most obviously – please don’t contribute to the problem! We have a beautiful city and it’s up to all of us to keep it that way.

You can get involved in our citywide spring-cleaning a number of ways:

Earth Day Challenge

Accept the Earth Day Challenge with Madison Parks - We need your help! Celebrate Earth Day with your neighbors and friends by volunteering to clean up your local park! Join this community-wide volunteer effort to help make a difference. This year, we are seeking more than 650 volunteers at 43 parks located throughout the city to assist with trash pickup, raking, weeding, and removing sticks. All volunteers must wear a mask and practice social distancing with anyone outside of your household. You may recall the 2020 Earth Day Challenge events were canceled last year due to the pandemic – so the need is even bigger this year.

Saturday, April 24
10am to 12pm
Parks throughout the city

See here for the list of parks and the number of volunteers needed.

For Madison’s dog and dog-lover community, Madison dog parks have great cleanup opportunities that can be found here.

Adopt a Median

Through our Engineering Division you can participate in the Adopt-A-Median program. This is an opportunity for community members to make Madison beautiful and promote the environment by planting and maintaining medians around the City. Rain gardens located on publicly owned land are also available for adoption. Check out this website for more information.

Get Funding to Build a Rain Garden

Have you ever considered a rain garden?  A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a shallow depression, which is sometimes built on a natural slope. They are designed to capture and infiltrate water into the ground. A rain garden is a great option for stormwater management as it temporarily holds and soaks in rainwater runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns. Learn more here.

The “Roger Bannerman Rain Garden Initiative” provides grant funding and technical assistance to private property owners who would like to construct a rain garden in the terrace of their property associated with a street project. The program also supports the Green Infrastructure Pilot, where the City provides funding for rain gardens on private property within the pilot area.

Adopt A Block

Downtown Madison Inc. (DMI) has partnered with the City for several years in an Adopt a Block Program. Individuals and groups are able to adopt a downtown block to help pick up litter, not just in the spring, but also year-round.

Organize Your Own Event

The Streets Division can help support neighborhood associations, faith groups, or other resident organizations that convene their own collection events. However, the Streets Division asks any group call before the event to be sure a truck can be available to collect the trash gathered by the volunteers.

Thanks for your help in cleaning up our city this spring – and all year round!