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Texas

BRINGING THE OUTDOORS CLOSER TO HOME IN 2026 AND BEYOND

Access to nature isn’t a luxury; it’s essential. You make it possible for Trust for Public Land to protect and create community-centered outdoor spaces that improve health, strengthen climate resilience, and bring people together. Your support advances on-the-ground project delivery in Texas that helps communities plan, fund, and create parks and public land more effectively. In Dallas, that work is taking shape through Greener Dallas Greater Dallas, our $100 million campaign organized around three connected efforts: the Dallas Greening Initiative, the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt, and Big Cedar Wilderness.

At Big Cedar Wilderness, we launched the master planning process and made substantial progress toward a shared vision for conservation and public access across nearly 300 acres. Each effort reflects our shared commitment to people and the places that matter most to them.

Over the last year, Bushmills Neighborhood Green became the first Dallas Greening Initiative site to move into construction. The 5.4-acre park will bring nature within a 10-minute walk of more than 2,100 North Lake Highlands residents and marks the first step toward creating 15 community-designed neighborhood green spaces on underused public land across Dallas.

While these efforts work at different scales, they answer the same need: every Dallas family deserves safe, welcoming nature within reach. We have made meaningful progress, but the access gap remains. More than 300,000 Dallas residents still lack a park or green space within a 10-minute-walk of home. Extreme heat, unequal access to shade, and the need for welcoming public spaces make this work increasingly urgent.

Along the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt, we continued advancing a long-term vision for three signature parks and 17 miles of trails across southern Dallas. We completed the community-led Woody Branch Park master plan, shaped with residents of Glen Oaks and Los Cabos and grounded in the protection of 82 acres of forest and creek habitat. South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park and Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park are already open, showing what happens when long-planned investments become public places families can enjoy.

Your support helps move community vision into design, construction, and public use. Thank you for helping build a Dallas where every child can play in the shade, every family can reach nature close to home, and every neighborhood can see itself reflected in the public spaces it helps shape. Thank you for joining us as we connect everyone to the outdoors. With gratitude, Molly Morgan, Texas State Director

A Natural Hidden Treasure in the Heart of Dallas At Woody Branch Park, years of listening, planning, and partnership are shaping an extraordinary landscape into a place where nature, recreation, health, and community connection can thrive.

Planning for Long-Term Impact Some of the most important progress happens long before a trail is built or a park opens to the public. Over the past year, we reached a major milestone at Woody Branch Park with the completion of a communityinformed master plan for what will become the largest park project Trust for Public Land has undertaken in Texas. Developed through extensive engagement with residents, neighborhood leaders, elected officials, schools, and local partners, the plan reflects a long-term vision for a park that preserves the site’s remarkable natural character while expanding opportunities for recreation, learning, and outdoor access in southern Dallas. The goal is not simply to create a beautiful park. It is to create a place that reflects the aspirations of the surrounding community and serves its residents for generations to come.

Throughout the planning process, TPL focused on listening first. Residents and community partners helped shape a shared vision for how the park can support families, improve access to nature, strengthen neighborhood connections, and create new opportunities for recreation and outdoor experiences close to home. The resulting plan reflects both the character of the landscape and the priorities of the people who know it best.

A Place Unlike Anywhere Else in Dallas Spanning more than 80 acres along the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt, the Woody Branch property feels more like a sprawling state park than a confined, urban green space. Mature trees form a dense canopy overhead. Limestone outcroppings frame a winding creek corridor. Small waterfalls and natural features create a landscape that feels worlds away from the surrounding city, yet remains just minutes from the neighborhoods it will serve. The newly completed master plan builds on those existing strengths rather than replacing them. Plans call for walking and biking trails, spaces for outdoor learning and gathering, opportunities for nature exploration and adventure play, and restoration of creek habitat and natural systems. At the same time, much of the site’s tree canopy and ecological character will remain protected, preserving the qualities that make Woody Branch such a rare resource within Dallas. When complete, the park will provide thousands of nearby residents with a place to walk, bike, play, learn, gather, and explore. Children will have opportunities to interact directly with nature. Families will gain access to new spaces for recreation and community activities. Habitat restoration and environmental stewardship will help protect an important natural resource while making it more welcoming and accessible to the public.

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TRUST FOR PUBLIC L AND IN TE X AS

More Than a Park: The Importance of Woody Branch

The Heart of a Greener, Greater Dallas

In southern Dallas, where access to high-quality parks and outdoor spaces remains uneven and inequitable, Woody Branch Park can help address a critical community need.

Woody Branch Park also represents one of the clearest expressions of the vision behind Greener Dallas Greater Dallas.

More than 300,000 Dallas residents—including approximately 70,000 children—do not have access to a park within a 10-minute walk of home. For many neighborhoods surrounding Woody Branch, nearby opportunities to experience nature, exercise outdoors, and gather in welcoming public spaces are currently limited. Our work with projects like Woody Branch Park helps address those challenges by treating parks as essential community infrastructure. Access to nature supports physical and mental well-being, creates opportunities for recreation and outdoor learning, and helps strengthen social connections. Tree canopy and natural landscapes improve environmental quality, provide shade during extreme heat, and contribute to long-term climate resilience. Trails help connect people to neighborhoods, destinations, and opportunities beyond their immediate surroundings. Places like Woody Branch Park help build the everyday conditions that support healthier, more connected lives—creating lasting benefits that will help neighborhoods thrive.

As one of three signature parks along the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt, Woody Branch will help anchor a growing network of parks, trails, and green spaces designed to connect communities across southern Dallas. Together with efforts such as our Dallas Greening Initiative, the Greenbelt demonstrates how investments in urban green space can improve health, strengthen neighborhoods, and expand access to the outdoors across the city. The completion of the master plan marks an important step toward that future. It reflects years of partnership, careful planning, and a commitment to creating a park rooted in—and shaped by—community priorities. With the framework now in place, the work ahead is about bringing that vision to life. For thousands of Dallas residents, Woody Branch Park will offer something increasingly rare: an extraordinary experience of nature close to home. And in doing so, it will help create a healthier, greener, and more connected future for southern Dallas.

ALL PHOTOS: Woody Branch Park PHOTOS BY MAT T HENRY / SALTBOX FILM CO

T R U ST F O R P U B L I C L A N D I N T E X A S

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TEXAS ADVISORY BOARD Charles Elk, Chair Drexell Owusu, Vice-Chair Bobby Abtahi Jake Anderson Tre Black Bill Chaney

HOW YOU CAN HELP YOU have the power to make TPL’s Greener Dallas Greater Dallas vision a reality. Every gift brings us closer to a Dallas where nature is within reach for all—improving health, safety, and opportunity for generations to come. Join us today: The future we are building is one where every family can reach quality parks and trails close to home, and every community can share in the benefits of nature. Together, we can realize a greener, greater Dallas—one park, one trail, one neighborhood at a time.

Chantel Cheatham Mackenzie Martin Cook A.C. Gonzalez Vonciel Jones Hill Andres Ruzo Jim Shipley Enisha Shropshire

THANK YOU for helping create parks, protect special places, and connect more people to the outdoors throughout Texas and beyond.

Roslyn Dawson Thompson Joan Walne Asheya Warren GREENER DALLAS GREATER DALLAS CAMPAIGN CABINET Ron and Rebecca Gafford, Co-Chairs Roland Parrish, Honorary Chair Tillie Borchers Bill Chaney Roslyn Dawson Thompson Charles Elk Sharon Lyle Lynn McBee

Molly Morgan Texas State Director molly.morgan@tpl.org

Join us Your gift ensures everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate

Ray Garvin Texas Director of Philanthropy ray.garvin@tpl.org 3000 Pegasus Park Drive Suite 752 Dallas, TX 75247