A New Generation Planted at Bachman Lake Park: 38 Texas Native Trees in the Ground

“Trees are generational,” said District 6 Dallas Park Board Member Tim Dickey. Dickey spent a lot of time at Bachman Lake Park when he was a boy. He remembers groves of Post Oak trees all around the park when he would attend the Kiwanis Camp during the summers.

The construction of the Bachman Lake Aquatic Center saw 31 mature trees cut down and over the past several years other trees have been lost due to storms and age. In its ongoing renaissance, Bachman Lake Park got a huge facelift with 38 native Texas trees being planted on the south side of the park on March 8. 

“Everywhere there’s a tree, there’s a family that can sit down and have a picnic.” Dickey said. “Tree canopies are precious especially in Northwest Dallas.”

Popular Bachman Lake Park to Get More Shade

The planting of the trees is the culmination of three years of juggling the needs of the Parks Department and the Aviation Department and then actually getting the trees planted,” said outgoing Friends of Bachman Lake (F0BL) President Susanna Brown.

“It’s like threading a needle,” Brown said. “There’s always been a challenge between parks and aviation. We had to make sure that the trees are not too tall or attract too many birds.” The Parks Department said irrigation needs to be in place before any trees are planted to ensure their success. The irrigation cost is $2,000 per tree.

“We’re very grateful that the Texas Tree Foundation is leading the way,” Brown said. “We are also very grateful to aviation and parks. They helped make this happen as well.” Along with planting of the trees, the Texas Tree Foundation is also covering the cost of the irrigation system.

Texas Native Trees Should Help Northwest Dallas Cool Down

In 2023, Bachman Lake Park was found to be in one of the sections of Dallas where heat is absorbed and can be as much as 20 degrees hotter than neighborhoods where there is more greenery. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines an “urban heat island” as an area with few trees and more pavement.

It came as no surprise that Bachman Lake Park was a part of the “heat cone” since it abuts Dallas Love Field.

“Trees are a valuable resources,” said Stephanie Butts, director of communications for the Texas Trees Foundation. “We are just so thrilled to be a part of this project.”

“This is a huge victory,” said Eric Wettengel, urban forestry manager for the foundation. “This is a huge step forward for the park. Once the trees get nice and big it will give people reprieve as they do their laps around the lake.”

Planting trees at Bachman Lake Park was a perfect opportunity for the foundation to fulfill its mission of planting trees in public open spaces.

“The tree planting activity of the Foundation has grown from providing several hundred trees per year to providing thousands of trees each year, all on public property,” according to the foundation website.

Generations to be Served by Trees in Years to Come

Working with the city arborist, Brown said the trees planted this past Saturday are located on the south shore by the exercise equipment.

“They are all Texas native trees,” Brown said. “We are using the same palette of trees that are being planted along the Lemmon Avenue Streetscape Enhancements. A total of 250 trees will be planted along Lemmon Avenue, she said. 

FoBL is hoping the city will help get the park additional trees next year. Those trees would be planted in the area between the Webb Chapel Extension bridge and Lemmon Avenue.

“We’re hoping the Parks Department will remove the asphalt” which would allow for trees to be planted, she said.

The investment in the park will serve generations to come, Dickey said.

“We need every tree we can get. Bachman Lake Park is highly used,” he said. “Trees are critical” to all the residents in the surrounding neighborhoods.