The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is handing out a record amount of funding for local parks.<\/p>\n
DNREC announced on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, a total of $2.2 million through 18 matching grants as part of the Outdoor Recreation Parks and Trails program, formerly known as the Delaware Land and Water Conservation Trust.<\/p>\n
The funds are to assist local governments in acquiring parkland, and designing and constructing parks, trails and outdoor recreation facilities.<\/p>\n
“The grants paid for by this trust enable towns, cities and counties to preserve land and create recreational opportunities in our communities,” said DNREC Secretary Greg Patterson in a prepared release. “It is a great investment in the future of Delaware, and we value the work local governments do to make enjoyable green spaces for their constituents and ours.”<\/p>\n
Below is a list of the awardees:<\/p>\n
New Castle County<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Village of Ardentown<\/strong>, $8,000 for a double bay swing set in the playground<\/p>\n \u2022 City of Delaware City<\/strong>, $25,000 for ADA-compliant playground equipment at the Community Center and 7th Street Park (including teen-focused amenities)<\/p>\n \u2022 City of New Castle<\/strong>, $190,000 to design a bike path along the Delaware River from Lukens Drive Industrial Park to Twin Spans Industrial Park and the Bull Hill Historic area<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Townsend<\/strong>, $25,000 for new age-appropriate play structures and fencing, and to plan for a splash pad and\/or community dog park at the South and Commerce Street playground<\/p>\n \u2022 City of Wilmington<\/strong>, $190,000 for new ADA-complaint, accessible play features, a basketball court and picnic tables at Eastlake Park<\/p>\n \u2022 New Castle County<\/strong>, $190,000 for a new inclusive playground, including surfacing and shade structures, at Glasgow Park<\/p>\n Kent County<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 City of Harrington<\/strong>, $125,000 for an outdoor pavilion with picnic tables, trash receptacles and restrooms that meet the standards of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA); lighting and electric for paths and green spaces; and the extension of the trail at the Parks and Recreation Park<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Little Creek<\/strong>, $90,000 for construction and installation of a bathroom at the Town Park<\/p>\n Sussex County<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Bethany Beach<\/strong>, $150,000 for an ADA-compliant playground with rubber surfacing, curbs and a sidewalk at the Municipal Children\u2019s Playground<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Georgetown<\/strong>, $190,000 for a trailhead\/parking area with bicycle racks, trash receptacle, benches, a bike repair station, outdoor hydration solution, an informational kiosk and lighting at Parsons Lane<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Laurel<\/strong>, $28,125 for a parking area and trailhead at Tidewater Park<\/p>\n \u2022 City of Lewes<\/strong>, $150,000 for ADA-complaint pathways to connect playgrounds, restrooms, courts and the marina at Canalfront Park<\/p>\n \u2022 City of Milford<\/strong>, $190,000 for an entrance road, parking lot, trail construction, fencing and a gate at Deep Branch Park<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Millville<\/strong>, $150,000 for planning, design and engineering of a parking lot at Evans Park<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Milton<\/strong>, $83,250 to redesign the rail-to-trail roadway crossing with perpendicular alignments, wider ramps and warning signs at Federal Street<\/p>\n \u2022 City of Seaford<\/strong>, $190,000 to resurface six tennis courts and replace fencing at Seaford High School<\/p>\n \u2022 Town of Selbyville<\/strong>, $101,250 to install fitness equipment on the walking trail; add fencing to the ball field and park perimeter; and complete site work for a new ballfield at the Town Park<\/p>\n \u2022 Sussex County<\/strong>, $100,000 to construct a park entrance along Gravel Hill Road, stabilize the access road, install stormwater control, create interpretive and wayfinding signs, and develop an ADA-compliant parking area at the Forest of the Broadkill Preserve<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is handing out a record amount of funding…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":514898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[157191,905,74443,74445,224507,229878,746,229877,41373,74446,22134,184409,229873,4583,1756,74437,28483,74438,15422,74441,229875,162300,1752,3041,229876,229872,1759,229879,12632,5312,15088,8190,19054,19053,10872,229871,1085,159,74439,74444,74440,162342,74442,229874,162287,11085,14967,46677,67,27539,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-514897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-contiguous-united-states","9":"tag-delaware","10":"tag-delaware-department-of-natural-resources-and-environmental-control","11":"tag-delaware-law","12":"tag-dnrec","13":"tag-earth-sciences-organizations","14":"tag-environment","15":"tag-environment-of-north-america","16":"tag-environment-of-the-united-states","17":"tag-environmental-agencies","18":"tag-environmental-issues","19":"tag-environmental-law","20":"tag-environmental-organizations","21":"tag-environmental-policy","22":"tag-environmental-protection","23":"tag-environmental-protection-agencies","24":"tag-geopolitics","25":"tag-government-of-delaware","26":"tag-grants","27":"tag-law-enforcement-agencies-of-delaware","28":"tag-law-enforcement-agencies-of-the-united-states","29":"tag-mid-atlantic-states","30":"tag-natural-environment","31":"tag-natural-resources","32":"tag-natural-resources-agencies","33":"tag-natural-resources-organizations","34":"tag-nature","35":"tag-new-castle","36":"tag-organization","37":"tag-parks","38":"tag-playground","39":"tag-playgrounds","40":"tag-politics-of-the-united-states","41":"tag-public-policy","42":"tag-public-services","43":"tag-recreational-faclities","44":"tag-resources","45":"tag-science","46":"tag-state-agencies-of-delaware","47":"tag-state-agencies-of-the-united-states","48":"tag-state-environmental-protection-agencies-of-the-united-states","49":"tag-state-governments-of-the-united-states","50":"tag-state-law-enforcement-agencies-of-delaware","51":"tag-state-law-enforcement-agencies-of-the-united-states","52":"tag-states-of-the-east-coast-of-the-united-states","53":"tag-trail","54":"tag-trails","55":"tag-transport-infrastructure","56":"tag-united-states","57":"tag-united-states-law","58":"tag-unitedstates","59":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}