Claudia Worme: Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Worme’s green efforts recently were recognized at the unveiling of Pappy’s Tree Grove, part of the new Alta West Commerce retail and residential development in West Dallas between Trinity Groves and Sylvan Thirty. The grove of 25 mature trees was preserved when developer Wood Partners built the new community around them, rather than bulldozing them and planting new ones.
Wood Partners named the grove for Pappy’s Showland, the post-World War II nightclub formerly at that site, then asked people all over Dallas to nominate green-friendly advocates to have their name connected to a tree. Melissa Kingston nominated Worme, a fellow Belmont Addition Conservation District resident, because of the great conservation work she does throughout Dallas.
“I’ve known Claudia for a little over 10 years,” Kingston says. “She has always volunteered to do whatever we need in the neighborhood, and one of her passions is trees. When I think about the people who really make an effort to take advantage of the reforestation assets the city makes available and take an interest in replanting our urban forest, she’s the first to come to my mind.”
Worme, who appreciates Wood Partners’ efforts to save the trees and feels “honored” to be one of the 15 names recognized in the grove, became a tree advocate while taking a mid-career sabbatical from her corporate job with Warner Brothers.
Starting in 2003, she threw herself into volunteering with organizations such as For the Love of the Lake, Preservation Dallas, White Rock Lake Conservancy and the White Rock Lake Task Force.
“I love this part of town and what it has to offer,” Worme says. “The reason I got involved in reforestation is because of White Rock Lake, and it being fairly untouched. The trees are very old and we’ve got to plant new ones so that — I know this sounds corny — so that future generations will have trees to enjoy at the lake.”
Worme’s volunteer efforts aren’t limited strictly to reforestation. During her sabbatical, she also volunteered to help with events, including the Belmont Addition’s porch crawl and research for Preservation Dallas’ database of historic buildings and neighborhoods.
This is not the first time Worme has been recognized for her work, either. In 2006, For the Love of the Lake named her volunteer of the year.
After spending the better part of a decade focusing her energy on volunteerism and tree advocacy, Worme has returned to her day job. Although she doesn’t have as much time to volunteer, she’s still passionate about reforestation.
“I still do my neighborhood stuff,” she says.
