Conserving Friends of Parks (What's In A Name?)

by Charlie McCabe

Wissahickon Valley Park, Philadelphia

What's in a name? Does it make a difference that some friends groups are actually park conservancies, or an organization that calls itself a foundation is really a friends group? Here are a few examples so you can decide for yourself.

Friends of the Public Gardens is a park conservancy, tackling capital improvements, programming and ongoing operation and maintenance. They work with the City of Boston’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Embrace, Boston Common

Bull Creek Foundation is really a friends group, made up of a small corps of volunteer leaders working with several public agencies and a citywide nonprofit in Austin. Their efforts extend beyond volunteering in their local parks, ranging from advocacy for public space, educating neighbors about sensitive lands in their watershed, and coming up with innovative ways to manage invasive plants and trees on public land.

Friends of the Middlesex Fells is a growing park conservancy working in partnership with a state parks agency for the 2300-acre state reservation of the same name (referring to a primarily natural park.) They advocate for increased funding for that state agency, run programming (ranging from educational hikes to a summer camp) and host dozens of volunteer events annually, ranging from invasive species management to trail repair.

Trail Volunteers in the Fells

Friends of the Wissahickon is 100-year-old parks nonprofit that is a park conservancy, funding capital improvements, programming, and a wide range of volunteer workdays and projects in partnership with the City of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department for a unique portion of natural parkland in north Philadelphia.

Trails converge under and over a bridge

Appearances (like names) can be deceiving.

Historically, friends of parks groups are a small collection of selfless volunteers doing what they do for the good of the community. Their leaders are often very busy people who work hard to be self-reliant, knowing that the local parks staff rarely has time to help.  Bull Creek Foundation, now 32 years old, is driven by a committee of four volunteers, and they are looking for a few more to spread out the work a bit more. Bull Creek Foundation works with the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, the Wildlands Conservation Division of Austin Water, and the Austin Parks Foundation, among others.

But the Friends of the Public Garden was created over 50 years ago and is a park conservancy with a staff of nine and a formalized agreement with the City of Boston covering everything from programming to capital projects. They care for a large number of historic trees, many monuments and statues, and spaces heavily utilized by residents and visitors alike. Nearly everything they deal with in the Boston Common, the Public Garden and the Commonwealth Mall is historic. They are welcoming just their second executive director later this spring.

The Boston Common

The Friends of Middlesex Fells (FOF) is a nonprofit with a small staff and an active board of directors. They have been in operation for 31 years, advocating for the 2,300-acre, wooded Middlesex Fells Reservation, in which covers portions of six cities/towns just a few miles north of downtown Boston. The Fells, as they are known, are a type of wooded, largely natural park owned and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Over 70 miles of natural surface trails cover the hilly, rocky space, studded with vernal pools, streams, and several large reservoirs and storage tanks supplying water to the surrounding six communities.

Volunteer Workday at Middlesex Fells

Like the Friends of the Public Gardens, FOF is really a park conservancy, focused on a specific park, covering a range of programming, operations and maintenance, and funding improvements, all while working side-by-side with a public parks agency. Having its own staff and funding thanks to donations, grants, and earned income, FOF supplements the work of five local staff members at Middlesex Fells who are responsible for its 2,300 acres, 25 miles of public roads, and an additional nearby state park.

The Annual Duckling Day on Boston Common

Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) just celebrated their 100th year, tackling capital projects, programming, and supplemental operations and maintenance for the 2,000 acre heavily wooded and hilly park in the heart of North Philadelphia. Like Friends of the Fells, the park has over 50 miles of trails that weave in and out of the forested areas and across rivers and streams, the Wissahickon flows into the Schuylkill River and the adjoining Fairmount Park further south.

The Volunteer Structures Crew, Friends of the Wissahickon

While FOW has a growing staff of 13 and a strong partnership with the city of Philadelphia, its continuous volunteer programs are of special note. Working with a corps of trail ambassadors, crew leaders, and members of the structures crew, they host volunteer events four days a week in the warmer months. This allows FOW to tackle projects large and small.

So, what’s in a name?  Does it matter in the end that you may not be able to tell from the scope of these parks organizations’ work from their inconsistent names?

Of course not. The point is that these nonprofits are working with public park agencies, volunteers, donors, and others to supplement or enhance the work of those public agencies. Public park funding is never great; most city and state agencies rarely exceed one percent of their given city’s or state’s budget. 

Now that spring is officially here, there’s no better time than now to get involved with a local park nonprofit, whether they label themselves a friends group, a conservancy, or even something like alliance, partnership, or foundation. They can all use your help as a volunteer, as a donor, or as a leader.  Just ask! Or even better, grab a friend or neighbor and just start helping out.

Copyright 2025, Charlie McCabe Consulting LLC. Thanks to Friends of the Public Gardens and Friends of the Wissahickon for selected photos.