Photography by Tyler Robinson
White Rock Lake is the beating heart of Lakewood, Casa Linda, Forest Hills and Lake Highlands.
Residents of surrounding neighborhoods use its trails, streams and parks to bike, jog, play pickleball, paddleboard and relax. Neighbors have grown to cherish the wildlife, and many hold special regard for the 1,015 acre lake that anchors the Dallas Park and Recreation system.
The Lake has also seen its fair share of ups and downs since its filling in 1911. From litter to neglect to drought to well-publicized spills courtesy of Collin County, locals have seen it take its fair share of blows.
For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL) aims to preserve and protect this local landmark as it approaches into its 30th year of service in the area. The organization supports this mission through litter clean-ups, maintenance work and improvement projects.
The nonprofit was founded in 1996 as a more consistent, organizational alternative to the City of Dallas’ annual Trash Bashes. The annual events drew hundreds of residents to the park once a year to get rid of litter, which was far more prevalent than it is today.
“If you’ve ever been around the lake, you’ll know that that’s not enough, because then with every heavy rain, all of that litter just comes down all of the streams and tributaries and creeks, and it lands in White Rock Lake,” says administrative coordinator Gail Greenaway, the organization’s lone part-time employee. “So there was really one person. Marci Novack is the founder of the group, and she just gathered up some neighbors and friends and people who were concerned about the quality of the park and the lake, and said, ‘We got to do something.’”
That something turned into the Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce Up. Operating in agreement with Dallas Park and Recreation, the monthly event brings together FTLOTL volunteers for a morning of litter pickup, tree trimming and other small improvement projects. Some longtime volunteers say the organization hasn’t missed a Saturday in close to three decades.
“All of our programs are very unique and different. And what I think is really cool is that you can volunteer in the capacity that you want to,” says FTLOTL President Elizabeth Sullivan. “Second Saturday is awesome, because if you can only make it out once a month, every six months, no problem. We’re always here every second Saturday for you. If you have more commitment, more capacity, maybe through your company, you adopt a shoreline, and you’re committing with your company to bring out eight to 10 people every month and really kind of getting in a little bit deeper then we talk about padillacs.”
Photography by Tyler Robinson
With the Padillac program, experienced volunteers are given access to FTLOTL’s fleet of three kayaks and six canoes free-of-charge. The padillac rowers collect waste that on-shore volunteers would be otherwise unable to reach. In the past, rowers have pulled tires, shopping carts, car bumpers and TVs out of the Lake.
FTLOTL also collaborates with the Texas Stream Team to monitor water quality around the lake. Texas Stream Team volunteer water monitors undergo special training to learn how to collect water samples, assess bacteria levels and report data — data which was used to help the City of Dallas after the Collin County sewage spill last year.
“When that happened, we had to be really big advocates for the water when the water activities were closed, you don’t want to close the water activities,” Sullivan says. “You want those to continue, but we had to make sure that we communicated that and the Stream Team was out there testing the water just to make sure it’s safe.”
In addition to its volunteer programs, FTLOTL also organizes improvement projects around the Lake. Last year, the group put in scannable QR codes at mile markers around the Lake to help lost park goers. They have also organized a celebration tree grove where neighbors can donate to get a loved one’s name on a plaque in lieu of a tree planting.
FTLOTL plants one to two trees a year in the grove to collectively honor individuals listed on a plaque, since planting.
The organization’s upcoming project takes aim at ADA accessibility around the Lake. With donations from the Chi Omega Christmas Market and the Lakewood Garden Fund, FTLOTL has identified nine sites around the Lake which lack handicap accessibility. Funds are currently being dispersed for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
“One of the problems that we had seen was that a lot of the park areas were not handicap accessible,” Sullivan says. “So what we did is we kind of did a survey with the City to see how many people in Dallas are handicapped, and how many of them are disabled that aren’t able to enjoy the park.”
FTLOTL will celebrate its 30th anniversary of custodianship next year. Looking ahead, organization leadership hopes to continue improvement projects and keep its Second Saturday streak alive. Sullivan says the organization is lucky to work in an area that loves the Lake as much as they do.
“I think that when people care this much, it’s instilled in the community, they keep coming back, and they keep coming back, which is so cool to see. I mean, one of our board members, he’s about my age, but the reason he’s on the board is because his mom was on the board. It really is something that legacy passes down. And when you build these giving back items in the community, people really keep coming back for it.”
