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Reprint Courtesy of the Arlington Star-Telegram
Environmental Haven
Park has grown out of model partnership,
vision
Arlington, Texas — February 9, 2003
SHIRLEY JINKINS;SALLY CLAUNCH
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
Sylvia Greene remembers the comments when she began to promote
the idea of a first-class park and educational center on undeveloped
land along the Trinity River. "We ran into all sorts
of negative attitudes," she said. " 'You mean that
sewer?' and 'You're going to build it in a flood plain?' "
Greene, wife of then-Mayor Richard Greene, was recruited by
city park officials to lead the new River Legacy Foundation
in 1988 with the vision of an environmental haven for the
public.
Fifteen years later, the original 375 acres on Arlington's
northern edge have grown into the 1,308-acre River Legacy
Parks system, which draws thousands annually to its eight
miles of paved trails and environmental programs. "River
Legacy has proved to be a never-ending vision," Greene
said. "At first we set out to take that land, clean it
up and make it accessible, and teach stewardship to future
generations. Now, it's by far the most popular park in the
city."
The park's October harvest/Halloween celebration called
After Dark in the Park is its most popular event, drawing
some 6,000 people over four days. Officials credit the partnership
between the foundation and the city Parks and Recreation Department
as the key to the system's success. "It takes a unique
set of circumstances, the right people at the right time,
for a partnership like this to work," said Phyllis Snider,
foundation executive director. "I'm confident that you
couldn't do this in every community." Pete Jamieson,
city parks and recreation director, has watched the relationship
with the foundation develop. He has been with the department
for 22 years and became director in 2001.
Parks department representatives attend foundation staff
meetings, coordinate park improvements and special events,
and include the foundation in master planning and bond program
strategies, he said. The relationship works because both entities
have embraced the goal of environmental stewardship, Jamieson
said.
The foundation's primary purpose is to operate the Living
Science Center, but it also helps find funding for River Legacy
Parks projects beyond what the city budget can provide. Decisions
involving the parks and the center are made between the foundation
and the city, Snider said. She said groups from Dallas, Lancaster,
San Antonio and cities in Oklahoma have traveled to Arlington
to study River Legacy and its partnership structure. Officials
credit the partnership with making Arlington the first city
in the 75-mile Trinity River parkland project to finish its
section of trails. The Trinity Trails project is designed
to link Fort Worth and Dallas with a system of nature and
recreational trails along the Trinity River banks.
The showpiece of the River Legacy system is the $5 million,
12,000-square-foot Living Science Center, which opened in
1996. The center houses the foundation's educational programs
for children and teachers and provides an interactive center
for River Legacy Parks' 12,000 visitors per year. "There's
been dramatic change in our work since the center was built,"
Snider said. The foundation's original challenge was finding
resources to get the park operating, Snider said. Most of
the group's efforts now are directed toward funding, operating
and staffing the science center and its programs. Fund-raising
for other park projects is a secondary role. The foundation's
million-dollar annual budget is used to operate the center,
which has a staff of 20, plus 200 volunteers. Snider said
25 percent of the annual budget comes from tuition and fees
from the center's educational programs, 10 percent from the
city's parks budget and the remainder from philanthropic grants,
fund raising and special events.The economic downturn, however,
has had an effect on the foundation, Snider said. For the
first time in its 15-year history, the foundation last year
faced a budget deficit of $300,000, Snider said. Foundation
officials immediately imposed a salary and hiring freeze,
and fund-raising efforts were increased. The community fund-raising
appeals netted more than $200,000, Snider said, and cash reserves
covered the remaining $100,000 of the deficit. Snider has
also stepped up her search for grants.
Enthusiasm for River Legacy's vision has never paled for
park users such as Bonnie Bradshaw. The Plano resident made
the drive to Arlington last year to volunteer with the River
Legacy children's programs. "I was so impressed with
the quality, the scientific accuracy and the inquiry-based
approach to the programs," Bradshaw said. Jeff Williams,
foundation board president, was a River Legacy Parks user
first. "It's very exciting to see the way the park has
been preserved and yet enhanced," said Williams, a father
of three who worked on the Living Science Center building
project as a private civil engineer. "You have the trails,
but you still have those natural areas where you can see the
squirrels, the foxes, the ducks."
River Legacy Parks West
701 N.W. Green Oaks Blvd. at Cooper Street
River Legacy Parks East
1651 N.E. Green Oaks Blvd. at Collins Street
Parks are open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Admission is free.
River Legacy Stats:
* 1,308 acres in the River Legacy Parks
* 8 miles of paved trails
* Most well-attended event: After Dark in the Park, an October
harvest-Halloween celebration that draws 6,000 people over
four days.
River Legacy Parks chronology:
* 1976: First gift of 204 acres is donated from descendants
of Arlington pioneer James Gibbins -- Berta Rose Brown and
Margaret Rose May.
* 1985: Additional 171 acres are donated by the Ryan Companies,
Perry R. Bass and Texas Industries. Private donations of $100,000
are received.
* 1987: Grants totaling $2.45 million are secured to begin
development of the land.
* 1988: River Legacy Foundation is established: a public/private
partnership between the nonprofit organization and the city
of Arlington. The name River Legacy Parks is adopted.
* 1990: The first phase of visitor-ready parkland opens to
the public.
* The first Cardboard Boat Regatta, the foundation's annual
fund-raiser, is held.
* 1992: Phase II is completed with a picnic pavilion, shade
and trail enhancements.
* River Legacy Parks East is constructed, adding 49 acres
to the park.
* 1996: The River Legacy Living Science Center opens.
* 2002: Total area of the parks reaches 1,308 acres, the result
of land donations during the years.
Shirley Jinkins, (817) 548-5565 syjinkins@star-telegram.com
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