Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your background? Where are you from?

I live in Dallas. I have a background in finances, I work in a bank downtown. And I enjoy nature and enjoy camping and hiking and am concerned about preserving the natural world and doing my part for a cleaner environment.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with the Conservancy? 

I’m very excited about the Conservancy’s vision of making the land between the Trinity River levees useful in downtown and to making this space accessible. I know that there is a desire to activate this space. It’s a challenging space as you know, it’s a floodplain, and so we have to activate it in such a way that’s compatible with that reality. But it’s something that I think is an important asset to the City of Dallas and I want to do my part to help keep it clean and to increase its vibrancy.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your volunteer work with the Conservancy?

I enjoy getting together with like-minded people. I enjoy being outdoors. I enjoy the cleanup. I get a sense of satisfaction seeing all the trash picked up and seeing the area beautiful again. I enjoy making and growing the seedballs, it’s a lot of fun. And just anything we can do to bring some activity to this natural area is something that thrills me to be a part of.

Q: When was the first time you volunteered with the Conservancy, and what did you take away from that experience?

The first time I volunteered was at a public hearing, and I helped out with the filming, video work and I’ve been involved ever since. I appreciated the fact that the Conservancy was getting many different perspectives involved, many different walks of life, people that view the river in different ways, people from communities that have different needs and I appreciated the fact that everyone’s voice was being heard.

Q: What do you value most about volunteering?

I value getting out, getting some exercise, and feeling useful. I’m very enthusiastic about just enjoying myself in the great outdoors and feeling like I’m making a contribution to natural preservation here in the city and in North Texas.

Q: What would you say to others who are considering volunteering with the Conservancy?

Tell them if you want to get out on a Saturday morning, stretch your legs, have some fun, swing around with a poker stick, as long as you don’t hurt anyone with it, have a lot of fun picking up trash and just having a good time with seedballs and other projects, you’ll meet some really neat people and make some new friends.

Join us on Saturday, February 29th for a Volunteer Open House at Trinity Park Conservancy — 1444 Oak Lawn Ave, Ste 200. Drop in anytime between 10am – 12pm to learn more about volunteer opportunities this year on the Trinity River! RSVP today or contact us at [email protected].

RSVP to the Volunteer Open House February 29th