A new community park with a playground, walking trail, outdoor classroom and community art installation is coming to Mockingbird Elementary.
The park, scheduled for completion in fall 2021, will be open to the public after school hours and on the weekends. It will primarily serve the Wilshire Heights, Stonewall Terrace, North Stonewall Terrace and Caruth Terrace neighborhoods, which are not located within a 10-minute walk of a park.
“This park will be a benefit to kids at school, but also to those neighborhoods bordering the street that don’t have a great place to walk to a park,” District 14 park board member Amanda Schulz said. “A lot of schools have yard space that isn’t being actively used. It could be spaces for the community to come together and have green space to enjoy.”
The park is a product of the Cool School program, a partnership consisting of the Texas Trees Foundation, the Trust for Public Land, Dallas ISD and the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. The goals of the program are to provide park access to neighbors living in park deserts, provide shade and promote outdoor education.
The program launched in 2016, and East Dallas’ first Cool School park was built at Dan D. Rogers Elementary. It opened in May 2019.
“The garden at Mockingbird has been a gem and a focal point at the school,” Schulz said. “Parents are champions for outdoor spaces already, so the community is really excited about this.”
For more information and to provide feedback, join the virtual meeting from 5-6 p.m. Thursday on Zoom.
