The Park & Connect initiative is designed to strengthen the relationship between the Village of DeForest, its residents, and neighborhoods by providing a platform for open dialogue about park and recreation-related concerns, ideas and community needs. This program encourages residents to engage with Village staff directly in the parks where they spend time, fostering a sense of ownership and community involvement in the future development and maintenance of there vital spaces.

Goals

  • Engagement: Facilitate direct communication between residents and staff to discuss concerns, suggestions, and ideas for park and recreation improvements.
  • Gather Diverse Perspectives: Collect input from a wide range of community members to ensure diverse viewpoints are represented.
  • Awareness: Increase community awareness of current park projects, recreational opportunities, and the role of parks enhancing quality of life in DeForest.
  • Enhance Transparency: Improve transparency in local government operations by openly sharing information about projects, policies and the decision-making process.
  • Collaboration: build stronger community ties by bringing together neighbors and staff in a relaxed, outdoor setting, encouraging collaborative efforts to enhance the parks.
  • Foster a Culture of Participation: Promote ongoing community involvement by creating a welcoming environment for residents to share their ideas and concerns.
  • Feedback Collection: Gather valuable input from residents to inform future park planning, development and programming.
  • Create Actionable Solutions: Using the collected feedback create a structured process for identifying, prioritizing, and implementing solutions.

Previous Park & Connect Events

To keep information easy to navigate and highlight current opportunities for participation, the Village will move past engagement materials into their own yearly sections. This allows the current year’s Park & Connect meetings and activities to take center stage, while still keeping previous years’ feedback and results available for residents to review. Each year, the Village will continue to build on this archive to show how community input and engagement helps shape the future of DeForest.
  • 2025 Park and Connect

    This serves as an archive of last year’s engagement activities and results. During the 2025 Park & Connect meetings, residents had the opportunity to share ideas, feedback, and priorities related to DeForest parks and recreation spaces.

    This section includes the surveys and results gathered throughout the 2025 Park & Connect process.