South Kiest WPA Trail Restoration Project

The Friends of Oak Cliff Parks have been interested in the southern 57
acres of Kiest Park for several years. After looking at the original landscape
architect plans from 1934, a team from the FOCP Board of Directors made
several penetrations in the dense privet thicket. It was very difficult going but
after seeing the beautiful specimen oak, pecan and cedar trees and the natural
wildflower meadow in the interior, discussions began about how we could open
this really wonderful location to public use.
When the “Loving My Community” Grant Program was announced it
seemed to us to be the ideal way to obtain the funds necessary to begin opening
and restoring the original WPA Trails in south Kiest that had been abandoned in
the 1960s. With permission of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department, we
made application for one of the awards. Our proposal was for Phase I of the
work necessary to reopen this part of Kiest Park. This would be the restoration
of the main trail starting behind the tennis center and continuing through the
woods to the 45 feet deep ravine on the eastern end of the trail. We planned to
find the original asphalt trail, clear a pathway, level the pathway and then put a
permeable, mulch cover to keep walkers from having a muddy trail without
causing more runoff during rains. Our idea in this restoration is to limit the use of
this trail to foot traffic.
Our plans were accepted and we were awarded one of the grants to do
this work. Our plans also included an educational emphasis because of all the
natural beauty that we have discovered while working.
The Friends of Oak Cliff Parks have received support from the local
community such as the Kiestwood, Kidd Springs, Beverly Hills, Oak Park
Estates, Summit Lawn and Oakland Terrace Neighborhood Associations, as well
as volunteers from Dallas County Master Gardeners and Dallas County Master
Naturalists. As a matter of fact, the Master Naturalists have agreed to make the
identifying of the plants and trees in this area a project for 2010. This will enable
a real emphasis on education which is one of our missions in the community.
We will set up information kiosks at either end of this first trail to inform the
walkers of the names and descriptions of the many plants and trees present on
the property.
In addition, we have invited Troop 2012 of the Boy Scouts to make a
culvert necessary for the trail as an Eagle Scout Project. We are using the
national standards from the Forest Service for the culvert and trail project.
We hope that in the future there will be nature walks for school children as
there is such a richness of flora here in its natural state. Discovering this has
been a real joy to the members of the steering committee that have been working
to mark and clear the trail in preparation to calling in the volunteers who have
pledged 1,013 hours of work to make this project a success.
The Kick Off of the volunteer participation will be at 8 AM on Saturday,
May 22. The volunteers will meet in the parking lot on Conservation St. in the
northern part of Kiest Park. There the committee will discuss the safety
requirements, clothing necessary for work in the woods and answer any
questions. Our Master Naturalists will demonstrate correct pruning techniques
and proper use and handling of tools, especially when working with others at
close quarters. The volunteer team will then cross Kiest Blvd and go to the
beginning of the trail where they will begin the trimming and removal of the
already cut brush to the location where it will be chipped to be used as mulch for
the footpath.
The “Loving My Community” Grant requires that all work be completed in
12 months after the signature of the contract with the city. That means that this
project must be complete by mid January, 2011.