Friends of Oak Cliff Parks keeps four historic Oak Cliff green spaces growing

In 2002, David Klempin and Nola Rae Smith started what became the Friends of Oak Cliff Parks, a volunteer group formed after city budget cuts left many neighborhood parks in disrepair, particularly in southern Dallas. Today it is a Texas nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status that looks after four historic Oak Cliff parks: Lake Cliff Park, Kidd Springs Park, Kiest Memorial Garden and the Kiest Conservation Area.

The group runs on a steady rhythm of hands-on work. Its roughly 50 supporting members are backed by a core crew of about 10 to 15 people, according to volunteer coordinator Ellen Fitzsimmons, who described the group's mission to the Oak Cliff Advocate. Crews plant, prune, mulch and weed, and they maintain trails at the Kiest Conservation Area, a site of about 80 acres with woods and meadows. After rose rosette disease killed the roses at Lake Cliff Park, volunteers replaced them with a crepe myrtle demonstration garden. Their support also helped bring back the Kiest garden pergola, which was rebuilt in 2014 from original plans using $2 million in bond funds.

Friends of Oak Cliff Parks works alongside Dallas Park and Recreation staff, Greenspace Dallas, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, Scout troops, youth organizations and local businesses. Fitzsimmons says the parks have "beautiful bones" and "history worth keeping," and she notes that park stewardship matters more as Oak Cliff grows.

Getting involved is simple. Workdays generally take place on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and volunteers can come any day, as often or as seldom as their schedules allow. Each volunteer must sign a city waiver, and a rainy morning cancels the workday. To learn more, sign up or support the group, visit friendsofoakcliffparks.org.

Original reporting by the Oak Cliff Advocate.