Twelve Hills Nature Center

A five-acre nature center established on reclaimed land about twelve years ago. It serves as a place for the local community to access a nature area without driving, and as an outdoor classroom for neighboring schools. It is located in north Oak Cliff, 7 minutes west of the Bishop Arts District.

Volunteers plant native grasses and other native plant seeds, remove invasive plants, maintain and beautify the trails and entrance area. They also lead nature walks and help with school and neighborhood events at the site.

2024 Activities –   51 volunteers with 1,970 hours of service performed

Prairie Restoration:

• The entire Nature Center, including the prairie and butterfly garden, continues to be managed by adding Backland Prairie plants and seeds and removing introduced and aggressive plants.
• Workdays are held every Sunday; several volunteers work on the project daily. Workdays are held for a few groups throughout the year. Young Men’s Service League sent volunteers most weeks.
• Professional tree-trimming was done to remove introduced trees and storm damage.

Education:

• Mentored a 2024 class project team. The team learned how to restore disturbed land to Backland Prairie. A plant rescue was held to obtain local prairie plants.
• Hosted Trinity River Crew teen internship. Interns learned about the Backland Prairie ecosystem and participated in a service project. Program is run by Trinity Park Conservancy and GreenSpace Dallas.
• Nature Leaders was held in the spring. 18 students completed a 14-week program where they learned about the Backland Prairie, outdoor ethics, and how to lead nature walks. They led nature walks for their peers over a period of a week. Many of the class walks were rained out.
• Walks for St. Cecilia’s Catholic School were held on Nov. 6 and 7. The topic was entomology.
• Little Bisons, in partnership with Rosemont Early Childhood PTA and Rosemont Primary School was held 6 times in the spring and fall. Nature programs were presented for preschool children and parents.
• West Dallas Community School families enjoyed a nature walk.
• We continue to participate in the MathFinders NSF grant, https://gomathfinder.org/ “encouraging students to love math by helping them see it everywhere”.
• 9 community nature walks were held; they provided AT for NTMN and education for the community.
• A Second Sunday Spanish Walk was held as a prototype for monthly programs in 2025.

Outreach:

• Twelve Hills participated in Oak Cliff Earth Day at Lake Cliff Park.
• Hosted an annual gathering and presentation for the Oak Cliff Gardeners’ Gardens Tour and Plant Swap.

Special Projects:

• Informational Kiosk
  • A long-awaited project- the creation and installation of an informational kiosk, was realized in June of 2024! The kiosk provides information on the nature center’s history and mission, a map, and information on upcoming events. A public dedication was held June 15.
  • A boulder inscribed with Twelve Hills’ land acknowledgement was installed near the kiosk.
• A special social media project, the Twelve Days of Twelve Hills was created to educate the public about some of the species at Twelve Hills, the volunteers, and to celebrate 1200 species on iNaturalist.