No meetings. No schedules. No sign-up sheets. Volunteer on your own time, on the block you already walk.
An all-volunteer 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable community service organization dedicated to making Austin cleaner & safer for everyone.
Our mission is to make Austin cleaner & safer, one neighborhood at a time. By deploying litter bins to reduce street litter; removing graffiti; and disposing of property left at the curb or in public parks, we send the message that Park Watch has adopted a neighborhood and our volunteers are keeping it clean.
Throughout the year, thousands of people visit Zilker Park to attend ABC Kite Festival, Zilker Summer Musical, Blues on the Green, Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL), Zilker Holiday Tree and Trail of Lights. In addition to daily cleanups, Park Watch volunteers help cleanup the litter attendees leave along the pedestrian routes through East Zilker leading to these events.
In 2018, a series of burglaries triggered 12 condo residents to form a Neighborhood Watch to protect their building. In 2022, 3 of them formed Park Watch, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to making the entire block cleaner & safer.
Our volunteers come from all over Austin, but they share a love of the City and a commitment to keep it clean & safe for everyone. Because of their hard work and dedication to our mission, their own neighborhoods are better for it.
Park Watch covers the corridor between Barton Springs Road, Toomey Road and South Lamar — the gateway blocks that carry most of the foot traffic into Zilker Park.
Pick any street inside the purple boundary. If you live or work here, you already know your route.
Claim a block inside the service area — the one by your door, your gym, your coffee stop.
Grabber, bags, gloves. Need supplies? Pick up a starter kit from a Park Watch ambassador.
Log what you cleared, flag anything that needs the city, and we handle the follow-up.
Walk your block, clear sidewalks and gutters, keep the gateway presentable.
30–45 min per walk Learn more →
Remove or wash tags around nearby buildings, fences and utility boxes.
If funds are available, graffiti wipes provided Learn more →
Eyes open on your route. Report camping, dumping or suspicious activity — never intervene.
Observe & report only Learn more →On your walk, log anything worth flagging — a leak, a hazard, a door left open. Coordinators see it right away and follow up.
Traveling? Snowbird? Extended vacancy? Add your address and Park Watch volunteers will keep an eye on it from the public sidewalk while you're away. Free. Neighbor-run. No walk-ins.
Two fields and a street. We’ll send your kit details and add you to the neighborhood report list — nothing else.
“I show a lot of properties near Zilker Park. Thanks to Park Watch, the neighborhood is cleaner and safer than ever.”
Joanne GamelRealtor, South Austin
Every donation buys grabbers, bags, gloves and graffiti wipes for a neighbor who has the time but not the gear.
DonateEvery team has its own inbox — email us directly and we'll route it. For emergencies use the violation numbers below.
Volunteers observe and report. These are the city numbers we use.