Current Projects
Photo by Kris Meidal
Lake Health Goal and Coordinated Watershed Planning
FOLW is working to develop a community-based vision for what Lake Wingra can be (based on the best available scientific understanding) and what it should be (based on the needs and desires of the public) by the year 2030. We hope to gain wide community endorsement of a set of practical goals for the health of the lake, then use those goals to establish a plan for getting there.
Fall Leaf Cleanup Campaign
Have you noticed the Love Your Lakes, Don't Leaf Them yard signs on the terraces of commuter streets in the Wingra Watershed in the month of October? Or have received a Love Your Lakes, Don't Leaf Them brochure on your doorstep? Friends of Lake Wingra, Friends of Monona Bay, Friends of Starkweather Creek, the Madison Area Municipal Storm Water Partnership, the Madison Advertising Federation and the City of Madison are joining together to ask citizens to keep leaves out of Dane County lakes and streams by keeping them out of the streets, storm drains and ditches.
Windows on Wingra
Windows on Wingra (WOW) is an ongoing series of seasonal events that provides opportunities for members of the watershed community to learn about and contribute to the health of Lake Wingra.
Shoreline Restoration
FOLW and partners have proposed shoreline habitat restoration practices for Lake Wingra including restoration of native species and natural habitats and control of invasive species.
Rain Garden Street Demonstration
FOLW and the city propose to demonstrate an alternative stormwater management strategy that would reduce runoff and pollution flowing into Lake Wingra.
SW Bike Path Stewardship
The SW Bike Path Restoration project is a demonstration of how upland restoration and management can prevent erosion and sedimentation as well as the spread of invasive species in our watershed. The project aims to restore an eroding watercourse that drains into Lake Wingra at Wingra Park.
Intensive Street Sweeping Project
Cleaner streets result in cleaner runoff, so FOLW is working with the city to implement more frequent street sweeping in part of the Wingra Watershed.
EMPACT Beach Water Quality Study
FOLW is collaborating with the city and others to develop better and faster ways of identifying unsafe swimming conditions and to educate the public about how to help protect our beaches.