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How to Help

cleanupWe would not be able to achieve anything without community support and engagement. That’s why we take your concerns and input to heart. Give back to our lakes by volunteering or supporting our work in any way you can. Some quick ideas include:

Donate to Friends of Lake Wingra.

Implement lake-friendly practices at your home or business property:

  • Rake and pile leaves out of the street.
  • Keep storm sewers clean.
  • Properly dispose chemicals; never dump them in storm drains.
  • Cover bare soil with mulch, or establish healthy lawn turf or other vegetation.
  • Direct your downspouts to lawn or garden, not driveways or sidewalks.
  • Plant a rain garden.
  • Compost yard waste.
  • Use lawn and garden chemicals conservatively, or switch to organic lawn care.
  • Clean up pet waste.
  • Wash your car at a car wash, or on gravel/grass with phosphate-free soap.
  • The UW – Arboretum and Friends of the Arboretum produced a helpful homeowner guide with actions you can take!

Be an example in your neighborhood:

  • “Each one teaches one” — lead by example and share your yard and garden successes with others.
  • Don’t feed ducks and geese.
  • Keep storm sewer drains clean.

Occasionally volunteer:

  • Participate in invasive plant control and lake cleanup days.
  • Subscribe to our newsletter (see bottom of this webpage).
  • Organize a storm drain stenciling team.
  • Be a citizen monitor for our amphibian monitoring.
  • Offer professional expertise or skills.

Frequently volunteer:

  • Form a lake committee in your Neighborhood Association.
  • Be a liaison from your Neighborhood Association to FOLW.
  • Contact FOLW (info@lakewingra.org) for current activities and more suggestions.

Engage your school, family, and friends:

Appreciate Lake Wingra during leisure time:

  • Enjoy your lake often: canoe, hike, bike, skate, swim, fish, star gaze, watch sunsets! The more you take time to appreciate the lake, the more value it has for the whole community.