Talks & Walks Calendar

Wild DFW at Garden Day: Flora and Fauna of Wild DFW

CC Young Senior Living Community
4847 West Lawther Drive, Suite 100 Dallas, Texas 75214

Friday April 4 from 3 to 5 pm

The Flora, Fauna, and Fantastic Nature of Wild DFW

Enjoy a talk with plenty of beautiful photos.Then we’ll amble the lovely grounds of CC Young, check out their garden projects, and learn about the native plant landscaping.

North Texas nature is anything but average! The area has astounding diversity, frequently landing in the top 10 of iNaturalist competitions worldwide. Drawing from her popular book, Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth, learn from author Amy Martin how that diversity arises from our unique tilted layers of bedrock and discover the plants and animals that live here.

Get to know the ecoregions that shape the area and why we serve as an integral ecotone linking east and west. Journey through the wonderfully wild areas of North Texas via incredible photos from the book. Meet the courageous volunteers who preserve these precious places and derive deep healing from them, a gift of nature available to us all.

Photo by Carol Clark.

The Bright Minds and Ecotone of North Texas
April 5 Sat – 2 to 5 pm

Allen ISD STEAM Center
1680 Ridgeview Dr, Allen, TX 75013

Get to know the bright young minds of Allen and what they’re up to. Tour the amazing eco-building and grounds of the Allen ISD STEAM Center.

Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth, will give a talk at 2 pm that will make you curious about what’s beneath your feet. Special appearance by Bob Mione of Connemara Conservancy. Books for signing and selling in her booth from 3 to 5 pm.

A Deep Dive into North Texas Ecotone & its Natural Wonders

Why is North Texas an epic ecotone? What is the Great Trinity Forest the easternmost example of? How do tilted layers of bedrock shape our three ecoregions, foster a plethora of soil types, and lead to our plant and wildlife diversity. And why did it tilt? Learn of places to experience these tenets firsthand from the book’s 25 hiking adventures. Enjoy astounding photography by skilled naturalists of hardwood bottomland forests and Eastern Cross Timbers, soaring limestone escarpments, lush wetlands, and rare remnants of Blackland and Fort Worth Prairies. Get to know a diverse community of volunteers working for nature.

Richardson Area Democrats go Wild (DFW) at Connemara

April 6 Sunday — 2 to 4 pm

Connemara Meadow
use the Bass Gated Entrance — map: https://connemaraconservancy.org/visit-the-meadow/
Go to 7800 Roberta in Plano. Drive down the alley to the left of the house and drive through the gate.

Folks gotta stay sane in these politically charged times. Come take a walk at Connemara Meadow, a chapter in Wild DFW. Commune with wildflowers and get to know a great group of people.

It will be very sunny — wear a hat and sunglasses. Wear sturdy walking shoes — soil will be wet after this week’s rains.

Info on RAD: https://rad.vote/

The Great Trinity Forest: The Green Heart of Dallas
by Amy Martin with Kristi Kerr Leonard

April 8 Tues. — potluck at 6 pm, program at 7 pm

Women’s Evening Alliance of First Unitarian of Dallas — WOMEN ONLY
4015 Normandy Ave. at Preston, 1 block north of Mockingbird, Dallas, TX 75205

The Great Trinity Forest 

In the early ’70s, a business and political crony campaign to straighten and channelize the Trinity River from east Fort Worth to the Gulf of Mexico included plans to level much of the immense woods between I-45 and US 175. Ned Fritz, who was leading the anti-canal movement in North Texas, knew that the forest needed to be named in order for people to care about it. The name that arose among activists, attributed to Campbell Reed of First Unitarian, was the Great Trinity Forest (GTF). The 6000 acres of urban bottomland hardwood forest is the largest swath of such an ecosystem in the nation.

Learn about the GTF’s ecology and natural treasures. Discover where to hike it, from refined and paved trails to utterly wild hikes. Find out about Ned’s efforts to familiarize people with the GTF by leading annual March walks to view the Texas buckeye blooms, and how these were carried on by Jim Flood and continue today via Kristi Kerr Leonard on the officially named Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trails. Understand the ongoing threats to the GTF’s autonomy and speculate on why it’s never been officially named or defined.

Photo of Texas buckeye blooms by Stalin SM.

Full Moon walk at Cedar Ridge Preserve with Wild DFW

talk & walk
April 11 Friday at 7:30 to 9:30 pm
sunset 7:54 pm, twilight ends 8:20 pm; moonrise 6:59 pm

Cedar Ridge Preserve
7171 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75249
Attendance limited; please register: link TBA

In a 20-minute talk, followed by book signing, Amy Martin will illuminate you about the Moon, how our satellite is responsible for the development of life on Earth and the best of Moon lore. Attendees will portray the Moon, Earth, and Sun, while Amy walks through the lunar phases, how they’re created, and what significance each holds for our daily lives.

Then off on a walk partially recreating the one featured in the Cedar Ridge Preserve chapter. We’ll conclude at the Bluebonnet Trail observation tower.

In cooperation with Audubon Dallas and Cedar Ridge Preserve.

Full Moon with ISS by NASA.

Wild DFW at Oak Cliff Earth Day
April 13 Sun from 12 – 5 pm

Lake Cliff Park 300 E Colorado Blvd. at Zang, Dallas, TX

Oak Cliff Earth Day (https://oakcliffearthday.com/) is sponsored by GreenSourceDFW (https://greensourcedfw.org/) and others.

Join with hundreds of greenies for a day of celebrating the environment and all who preserve it. Wild DFW (https://wild-dfw.com/) will have a booth, with all my books and info on Ned Fritz Legacy (https://nedfritz.com/). It’s a great vibe!

Wander around the event’s new location, beautiful Lake Cliff Park (https://www.dallasparks.org/…/details/Lake-Cliff-Park-560/), and peruse booths, speakers, performances, and lots of eco fun. Get to know the N TX eco-community!

See the event in action in this video: https://youtu.be/bWY1_JWddqs?si=hoysN0SYo59D75rA

Become a vendor! https://oakcliffearthday.com/vendors/

Or a sponsor! https://oakcliffearthday.com/sponsors/be-a-sponsor/

League of Women Voters Dallas: The Great Trinity Forest, the Green Heart of Dallas
by Amy Martin with Kristi Kerr Leonard

April 16 Wed. at 5:30 pm

League of Women Voters Dallas

Harryette Ehrhardt’s abode in Oak Lawn
contact LWVDallas for address and reserve a place (women only): info@lwvdallas.org

The Great Trinity Forest: the Green Heart of Dallas

In the early ’70s, a business and political crony campaign to straighten and channelize the Trinity River from east Fort Worth to the Gulf of Mexico included plans to level much of the immense woods between I-45 and US 175. Ned Fritz, who was leading the anti-canal movement in North Texas, knew that the forest needed to be named in order for people to care about it. The name that arose among activists, attributed to Campbell Reed of First Unitarian, was the Great Trinity Forest (GTF). The 6000 acres of urban bottomland hardwood forest is the largest swath of such an ecosystem in the nation.

Learn about the GTF’s ecology and natural treasures through this talk with sumptuous photos from Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. Discover where to hike it, from refined and paved trails to utterly wild hikes. Find out about Ned’s efforts to familiarize people with the GTF by leading annual March walks to view the Texas Buckeye blooms, now on the officially named Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trails. Understand the ongoing threats to the GTF’s autonomy and speculate on why it’s never been officially named or defined.

Amy Martin is the author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth, the only publication to include extensive info on the Great Trinity Forest plus easy information on how to access it in its five hiking chapters on the forest. She is also the writer/researcher of Ned Fritz Legacy, who was the first defender of the forest and brought attention to it through his annual Texas Buckeye Walks. Kristi Kerr Leonard, a North Texas Master Naturalist, is project manager of Ned Fritz Legacy and responsible for bringing the Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trails back from years of neglect by co-leading restoration teams.  

Step Into Nature: Earth Month Guided Hike Series with Dallas County Open Space
Discover Dallas County’s Hidden Gems: Goat Island Preserve

April 19 Sat — 9 am to noon

Goat Island Preserve
2800 Post Oak Rd, Hutchins, TX 75141

Attendance limited. Sign up here to be notified of changes due to weather and other factors.

Preserve info. Trail map.

Enjoy a lengthy hike through the fascinating Trinity River bottomland hardwood forest ecology with Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Goat Island Preserve is a gorgeous slice of Great Trinity Forest fronting the Trinity River. Bottomland forest with some huge trees. Hike route will include birdwatching trails on Goat Island itself. For those who want a longer trek, we’ll hike down Joe’s Riverside Trail to a picnic area for a break before returning. Super-hearty hikers can continue down to Lock & Dam #2.

Points-of-interest naturalist mini-breaks: birdwatching across from Southside Water Treatment Plant… multiple river overlooks… viewing and history of Lock & Dam #2.

We hope these hikes will help Dallas and surroundings develop a mindset of embracing its nature with a deep sense of pride. From that will arise more trails and greater land preservation.

This will be unfettered nature, so keep in mind:
<> Terrain will frequently be rugged with some elevation changes.
<> Trails narrow will always be dirt and usually narrow, but with some easy sections on old ranch roads.
<> While we’ll go at a good pace, there will be stops for exceptional naturalist points of interest.

Come prepared:
<> Wear closed-toed shoes and long pants.
<> Pack multiple water bottles (24 oz. recommended.
<> Bring a bag lunch, snack bars and such for our mid-way break.

Preserve photo by Daniel Koglin.

Dallas Sierra Club: Go Wild (DFW) in the Great Trinity Forest

April 16 Sat, 9:30 am to 1 pm or so

Meet at the Trinity Forest Trail parking lot on the road to Trinity River Audubon Center, 6500 S Great Trinity Forest Way, Dallas, TX 75217. Google maps.

Only for the adventurous! Join with Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (https://Wild-DFW.com) and Wild DFW photographer Daniel Koglin for a lengthy hike into sections of the Great Trinity Forest that few people go — off the main trails, down old service roads, and tucked away in little parcels.  

Explore parts of the McCommas Bluff Preserve few visit, including some south of Trinity River Audubon with majestic old pecans plus gorgeous woods and prairies off Elam Creek. After a break for lunch (bring your own), venture through forests old and new to view McCommas Bluff itself from across the river. If there’s time, we’ll hoof it to a large pond frequented by waterfowl next to the McCommas Bluff Landfill. Final route depends on weather as there are a couple of creek crossings. 

Attendance limited. Reserve here: https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/dallas/great-trinity-forest-day-hike-saturday-april-26-2025

Tips for expert guides appreciated. Bring cash or Venmo to D-Smith-35 (enter: 2475) or Zelle (2147972475). Amy will have Wild DFWs for sale and signing. 

Hike specifics: 
<> Length: 3 to 7 miles, depending on when you want to turn back.
<> Time: 3 hours for sure, may be more like 4.

<> While we’ll go at a good pace, there will be stops for exceptional naturalist points of interest.

This will be unfettered nature, so keep in mind:
<> Terrain will frequently be rugged with some creek crossings.
<> Most trails will be narrow and dirt, with some mowed service roads.

<> No bathrooms. Cellphone coverage iffy in some spots. 

Come prepared:
<> Wear closed-toed shoes and long pants.
<> Pack multiple water bottles (16 to 24 oz. recommended).
<> Bring a bag lunch, snack bars and such for our mid-way break.

Photos by Daniel Koglin and Amy Martin.

Wild DFW at Laddfest

Celebrating the Charles F. Ladd Nature Preserve

April 29 Tues. ~ 7 to 8:30 pm

• D.L. Hopkins Senior Center
• 206 James Collins Blvd. Google maps
• Duncanville, TX

Charles F. Ladd Nature Preserve is 42 acres in Duncanville of riparian corridor, meadows, and woods bounded by Cedar Hill Road, West Danieldale Road and South Sante Fe Trail. The city’s first nature preserve, it was given to the city by former Duncanville business owner and real estate mogul Bob Ladd in 1998.

A coalition of activists formed the Duncanville Nature Conservancy, a 501c3 friends group led by Duncanville resident Jim Jones, and fought hard for an official designation. I’m proud to have played my small part in this effort.

Laddfest celebrates this heroic effort and superb civic achievement. I’ll be doing a short talk between 7 and 8 pm. Come see what it’s all about!

• talk: Duncanville, the Land of Limestone
• A whirlwind photo journey of the origins of limestone in the ancient inland ocean, the fearsome monsters that swam in that sea, the way creeks reveal limestone, and how the white rock transforms into Blackland gumbo clay soil.

Share this link: https://wilddallasfortworth.com/wild/?ajde_events=wild-dfw-at-laddfest

More info: 

• Duncanville creates city’s first nature preserve
• Activists rally to preserve Duncanville natural area

Photo by Mark Graham.

Native Plants and Prairies Day 2025

Saturday, May 3, 2025
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake
521 East Lawther Drive, Dallas, TX

Walks and talks about the Blackland Prairie and its wildlife, plus lots of booths and native plant sales. Kids activities.

Come visit my Wild DFW table on the back porch! Buy a book to be signed or bring one you’ve already bought. Ask questions about anything in the book.

Also available: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant. 

Get info on:
<> Ned Fritz Legacy
<> Friends of LLELA 
<> Eastwood Riparian 
<> Friends of Piedmont Ridge 
<> Ned & Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail restoration 

Native Plants and Prairies Day is “a fun free event for families to celebrate our blackland prairies here in North Texas. Join us for our speakers, exhibits, tours, and kid’s activities. The day highlights the importance and value of our North Texas prairies as habitat for bugs, birds, and mammals and as a vital natural resource.”

Presented by Native Plant Society of Texas, Dallas Chapter; Texas Master Naturalist, North Texas Chapter; and the Native Prairies Association of Texas, Blackland Prairie Chapter.

White Rock East Garden Tour w Wild DFW & Constellation of Living Memorials at Warren Ferris Cemetery

May 4 Sun – 10 am to 5 pm

Warren Angus Ferris Cemetery 
8381 St Francis Ave, Dallas, TX 75218

<> White Rock East Garden Tour 
<> Wild DFW
<> Constellation of Living Memorials 

Celebrating native plants and wildlife habitat restoration through recovering historic cemeteries.

<> Wild DFW with Amy Martin <>

Come visit my table and purchase copies of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as my poison ivy book, Itchy Business.

Ask questions about North Texas nature and best places to experience it, native plants and invasive control, urban wildlife and the ecological and psychological benefits of urban nature. Info on Friends of Piedmont Ridge and Ned & Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail, plus Ned Fritz Legacy.

<> Constellation of Living Memorials <>

Visit with Constellation of Living Memorials and learn about their statewide work aiding the conversion of historic cemeteries into wildlife habitat. Get a short tour of the cemetery that started it all led by master naturalists and master gardeners.

Buy a copy of Land is the Cry by Susan Starling. More than a biography of Warren Ferris, it details several little-known aspects of Native Americans and settlers in the founding of Dallas.

Photo by Carol Clark.

Mother’s Day Walk in honor of Genie Fritz on the Texas Buckeye Trail

May 11 Sunday – 10 am to 12 pm

Ned & Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail
7000 Bexar St, Dallas, TX 75215

Come hike the soft-surface (natural) trail segments of the Ned & Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail to the Trinity River as part of the Ned Fritz Legacy https://nedfritz.com/ team’s annual Texas buckeye walks, organized by Kristi Kerr Leonard.

Most likely the Texas buckeyes will be finished blooming. So we’ll instead have a wonderful hike in the beautiful spring woods celebrating Amy’s 6th anniversary of recovery from a severely broken neck, an injury from which only 2% walk away intact.

Along the 2.5 mile round-trip, view the 2nd Saturday workday team’s habitat restoration efforts. Join their efforts. https://volunteersignup.org/QREYA

This amble recreates the trail’s chapter in @Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (Timber Press). The hike, one of the book’s 25 adventure narratives, was taken in spring with Kristi Kerr Leonard and Eileen McKee, the Fritzs’ daughter, to experience the Texas buckeye blooms.

Photo of the Bonton Woods by Stalin SM.

May 11 Sunday — 8 to 9:30 pm. (Moonrise 7:42 pm / Sunset 8:16 pm, twilight ends 8:42 pm)

Western Heights Cemetery
1617 Fort Worth Ave, Dallas, TX 75208

Walk one of Dallas’ most historic cemeteries with graves dating back to 1848 in the Full Moon light on Mother’s Day and learn of the mothers who helped create Dallas, for better and for worse.

Cemeteries are the ultimate keepers of our history. Fort Worth Ave. is one of the oldest roads in North Texas and its history is anchored at Western Heights thanks to the cemetery’s research team, and the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group.

Through the @Constellation of Living Memorials‘ two-year pilot program, the cemetery received a grant from the Texas Historical Foundation to create a native pollinator habitat, a first step in restoring it to the original prairie.

“Graveyards are Surprising Hotspots for Biodiversity,” states a Scientific American headline. The article that a species of lichen is extinct everywhere except for a cemetery in Berlin. Because they have largely been neglected, biodiversity has been preserved.

Constellation of Living Memorials, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to the revival of historic and forgotten cemeteries, turning them into native plant and wildlife havens. 

Friends of Piedmont Ridge Restoration Day
(White Rock Bluffs)

Mark your calendars please:
June 1 Sun. 10 am to 1 pm (note morning time)

Gather time: 9:45 pm. Meet in the parking lot at 2725 N Jim Miller Rd, Dallas TX 75217, a few blocks south of Scyene by the baseball field.

Please register so we can notify you of last-minute changes: https://volunteersignup.org/99ETT

For June 1 Sun:
LACYWOOD OVERLOOK
• Continue to liberate the newly discovered 2nd eastern red cedar lodgepole woods at the beginning of Lacywood.
• Add on to the eroded trail blockage at the beginning of Lacywood and block at the top of eroded trail.
• Create blockage at top and bottom of second eroded trail at the Lacywood Overlook.
• Brainstorm climbing aids on three steep Lacywood trail sections.
SCYENE OVERLOOK
• Continue clearing nandinas in original lodgepole woods.
• Finish clearing large red-tipped photinias at ascent to Scyene Overlook and use brush to block unauthorized access at Scyene where fence was removed.
• Trim back connector trail to JJ Beeman Trail.

Bring:
• Water
• Snacks
• Loppers
• Trash sacks for litter

Wear:
• Leather or garden gloves
• Sturdy closed-toe shoes
• Long sleeve shirt
• Long pants

Restoration support is graciously provided by Trinity Coalition.

Message us your email address to be added to the Friends of Piedmont Ridge email list.

Full Moon Walk Full Moon Walk at Elm Fork Nature Preserve

Elm Fork Nature Preserve – 2335 Sandy Lake Rd, Carrollton, TX 75006 in McInnish Park – Google maps

A Dallas County Open Space property managed by Carrollton Parks & Recreation

• June 10 Tuesday
• Check in at 8:15 pm. Event starts at 8:30 pm, ends at 10 pm
• Sunset 8:35 pm, twilight ends 9:04 pm, moonrise 5:26 pm. 

Leader: Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth  https://Wild-DFW.com/ 
Take a walk in the Full Moon light with Amy Martin, the Moonlady and author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. While we wait for full darkness, Amy will present a poetic overview of the Moon and lead an audience-involving demonstration explaining the lunar phases and why we only see one side of the Moon. After this, you’ll be a pro-level Moon watcher, able to predict where the Moon will be at any time.

Then off a hike on wide, well-maintained, trails among the large trees of Elm Fork Preserve past a spur of the Elm Fork, stopping at a moonlit pond for a nice howl at the Moon. Enjoy breaks for short raps ranging from synchrony and the formation of life on Earth to the nature of moonlight. We’ll chat about nocturnal denizens, their use of Moon phases, and how urban nature turns to darkness for safety and adaptation from Wild DFW’s After Dark chapter. Plus plenty of Moon bathing, Moon-shadow dancing and Moon song singalongs. 

The Great Trinity Forest: The Green Heart of Dallas
by Amy Martin with Kristi Kerr Leonard

July 12 Sat. at 2 pm

Forest Green Branch Library
9619 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75243 (correct address, ignore Facebook map)

Friendship Force Dallas

The Great Trinity Forest 

In the early ’70s, a business and political crony campaign to straighten and channelize the Trinity River from east Fort Worth to the Gulf of Mexico included plans to level much of the immense woods between I-45 and US 175. Ned Fritz, who was leading the anti-canal movement in North Texas, knew that the forest needed to be named in order for people to care about it. The name that arose among activists, attributed to Campbell Reed of First Unitarian, was the Great Trinity Forest (GTF). The 6000 acres of urban bottomland hardwood forest is the largest swath of such an ecosystem in the nation.

Learn about the GTF’s ecology and natural treasures. Discover where to hike it, from refined and paved trails to utterly wild hikes. Find out about Ned’s efforts to familiarize people with the GTF by leading annual March walks to view the Texas buckeye blooms, and how these were carried on by Jim Flood and continue today via Kristi Kerr Leonard on the officially named Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trails. Understand the ongoing threats to the GTF’s autonomy and speculate on why it’s never been officially named or defined.

Photo of Texas buckeye blooms by Stalin SM.

Twelve Hills: The Moon & Nature at Night (talk & walk)

Friday, October 4 at 7 to 9 pm

Twelve Hills Nature Center https://twelvehills.org/
817 Mary Cliff Rd, Dallas, TX 75208

Take a walk in the Full Moon light with Amy Martin, the Moonlady and author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. We’ll recreate the hike from Wild DFWs’s After Dark chapter with Marcie Haley and Kristi Kerr Leonard.

But first, let’s talk poetic about Moon, how the lunar phases affect our mood and shape wildlife’s activities. Attendees acting as the Sun, Earth, and Moon, attendees will embody the lunar phases to show how they’re created as Amy explains the pertinent points of each one. Plus why life on Earth owes its existence to the Moon and synchrony.

Then off on a night hike with breaks for discussing the qualities of moonlight and why the Moon moves us so deeply. Plus plenty of Moon-shadow dancing and Moon song singing. Bring ultraviolet lights to see lichens glow!

Photo of Full Moon rise at Twelve Hills by Stalin SM.