Porter Family Park in southwest Champaign has trees dotting the rolling hills that surround a man-made pond. Trails line the 38-acre landscape, giving residents the chance to walk and jog through the park. A patio with benches and shade provides a convenient eating spot.

This idyllic scene will be enhanced, though, thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to improve the park. Another grant for $119,000 will be put toward Point Pleasant Wetland in eastern Champaign County, which will provide a biological improvement for the area near Middle Fork River.

These grants are part of the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant program, which helps communities build and improve parks and outdoor recreation sites in order to improve their economies.

“These resources will help create jobs as well as improving our local parks and wetland to provide a safe, healthy environment for families,” State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson said in a press release. “These improved areas will give district residents a chance to get out and explore the beautiful parks and wetlands that surround our community.”

Terri Gibble, park planner, said the funds will be used to improve Porter Park’s current features and add more of them.

The Champaign Park District will build more than a mile of walking trails, a pedestrian bridge over the pond, a fishing pier, more benches and a nature-themed playground, called a “naturescape.”

The main problem with the current park design, Gibble said, is accessibility. The entrance to the park is off Rising Road, which does not provide a convenient entryway for many people who live in the nearby subdivision. Further development will create more access points, which should increase park traffic.

More trees will also be planted to increase the amount of shade and, as planners hope, make the park more appealing to Champaign community members.

For Kristine Anderson, a Champaign resident, the park has been a blessing.

“We’ve walked that park since we came here,” Anderson said. “That’s why we bought this house.”

Anderson, whose home is adjacent to Porter Park, said she and her family use the park frequently, only complaining about the lack of a playground, which will be built with the grant money. She also said the park was good for dogs, as long as they were leashed, because of the many trails.

Gibble said bids for construction companies will start Wednesday, so the project may be started as early as July.