Park Stewards Program Director Ailisha Macharia (left) and Executive Director Joanna Wolaver (right) join steward Monica Adesanmi at her assigned park, Southeast Metropolitan Park. (Jessica Mclaren/Community Impact)
Travis County residents who love their local parks can now train to help care for them. The Travis County Parks Foundation's Park Stewards Program, a volunteer development program in its first year, turns residents into ambassadors for their neighborhood park, and no outdoors or ecology experience is required.
What it is
The free program trains volunteers to become stewards of their local Travis County park, Program Director Ailisha Macharia said. The foundation describes stewards as ambassadors for stewardship, conservation and nature learning, whether they are leading a nature walk or restoring native habitat.
Over several months, participants move through learning modules on conservation and nature before completing 20 hours of service in their park and earning a patch naming them a steward of that park. This exploratory structure is designed to let people "find what their passions are,” Macharia said.
This is the program's first year, Macharia said. A spring pilot ran at two parks, Southeast Metropolitan Park in eastern Travis County and Milton Reimers Ranch Park in the west, graduating a total of 21 stewards, Macharia said, with a fall cohort set to follow. Stewards commit to one park, so the program is designed to expand to new parks over time, she said.
Why it exists
Despite having 27 parks across nearly 11,000 acres, Travis County has no programming or volunteer wing, which meant there was no formal way for residents to volunteer before the foundation created this program, Macharia and Executive Director Joanna Wolaver said.
The county ties a strong parks system to quality of life and mental, physical, economic and environmental benefits, and the foundation says it is particularly focused on connecting traditionally underserved residents to those benefits.
The foundation, a nonprofit that supports the county park system, was founded in 2021 by volunteer board members, and Wolaver was hired as its first staff person about three and a half years ago, she said. Its mission, per the foundation, is to create a community resource that increases awareness, engagement and community support for Travis County parks.
The stewards program is one of the foundation's three signature initiatives, alongside a Night Sky program of star parties and observatory events and a Greenways trail initiative.
The impact
That gap is what the foundation's partnership with the county parks department now fills, Wolaver said: When residents reach out wanting to help, staff can direct them to the foundation.
That partnership matters on the ground. Southeast Metro is "humongous," said Felipe de Jesus Nunez, a Travis County Parks Department staff member at Southeast Metro and “true park steward,” according to Wolaver. He said volunteers help with work his crew cannot always reach, especially as the park's hiking trail has grown from about 2 miles to roughly 7 or 8.
The park itself reflects that openness: Southeast Metro features an all-abilities playground designed for children of all physical abilities. The park is dinosaur-themed, reflecting the mosasaur remains found in Onion Creek in the 1950s, Wolaver said.
The all-abilities playground at Southeast Metropolitan Park, inspired by mosasaur remains found in Onion Creek in the 1950s. (Jessica Mclaren/Community Impact)
Who it's for
No experience is required, Macharia said. The program is built for anyone who wants to connect with their local park, and stewards come to it from ordinary curiosity rather than expertise.
Monica Adesanmi, a Southeast Metro steward who joined this year, signed up after a neighbor who works for the county told her it was up her alley.
"You love hiking, you like plants," Adesanmi recalled the neighbor saying.
What surprised her, she said, was not the time outdoors—though early-morning hikes before the summer heat are her favorite part—but how much she valued speaking up for parks in front of decision-makers.
Her favorite moment as a steward, she said, was testifying before Travis County Commissioners Court on July 14 in support of the foundation, where she spoke about “letting the people that are making decisions in our city really see that there are people that value this."
Other stewards told the foundation the program shifted how they see their parks.
"The way I experience the park has already shifted," Reimers Ranch steward Steph Granillo said in a testimonial provided by the foundation. "I have been noticing and finding curiosity about things that I would have walked right past before."
For others, the appeal is a sense of agency.
"In a day when we feel politically powerless to save the things we love, this is something we CAN do," Reimers Ranch steward Paula Priour said in a testimonial provided by the foundation.
Travis County's park steward program launched at Southeast Metropolitan Park (pictured) in the east and Milton Reimers Ranch Park in the west. The county parks system spans 27 parks across nearly 11,000 acres. (Courtesy Daniela Allard/Travis County Parks)
The bigger picture
The stewards program feeds into the foundation's broader work in eastern Travis County.
Its Greenways Initiative works toward a 70-mile network of connected greenway trails in eastern Travis County, including the Gilleland Creek, Wilbarger Creek and Onion Creek greenways, envisioned, the foundation says, as part of a regional system that could one day let people walk or bike from Pflugerville to San Antonio.
The program also arrives as the county advances its 2026-2036 Parks Comprehensive Plan, which was shaped by input from more than 1,600 community members and prioritizes expanded greenway connections, land conservation and greater access to the outdoors, according to the foundation.
How to get involved
The foundation is recruiting Park Stewards for its fall cohort. Residents can apply at www.traviscountyparksfoundation.org starting early August. Sessions last two hours and meet monthly, at Reimers Ranch on the second Sunday and Southeast Metro on the third Saturday, with cohorts of about 15 to 20 people, Wolaver said.
For those who cannot commit to the full program, the foundation also holds one-time community stewardship days at parks across the county, including cleanups and service events, plus seasonal workshops such as pollinator gardening and trail maintenance, Macharia said.
