Tags
animals, Arlington, education, Halloween, kids, nature, nonprofit, North Texas, River Legacy, Trinity River
Coming up this weekend is a fundraiser for River Legacy in Arlington called “After Dark in the Park.” It’s a fall festival that showcases their environmental education programs. There are all sorts of activities, including hay rides, a pumpkin patch, animal encounters, face painting, balloon artists, and food trucks. Hours are 5-9 this Friday through Sunday evenings, and tickets are $8. (Or they have family fun packs.)
Yesterday was my first time visiting River Legacy Living Science Center, and it looked pretty cool. I was jealous to hear that all Arlington fourth graders get to take a field trip there. It’s a beautiful, heavily wooded park with all kinds of wildlife (apparently 1,300 acres). They have nature classes for kids and even adults, like “PSI: Pond Scene Investigation”; “Nature’s Nocturnal Wonders,” including a sleepover; and “Amusement Park Science,” which includes tickets to Six Flags. Even the building itself is cool; it looks like a giant flying bird and has a minimal impact on the environment.
I went yesterday to help set up for After Dark. We were putting twinkle lights all over the park to light the pathways around the forest. I probably should have read the description of this volunteer opportunity a little better, because I was not exactly prepared for manual labor outside. I’m sure I looked like a scarecrow decoration by the end, but it was good exercise, and I think the park is going to look awesome. And I got to commune with some local butterflies.
I’ve written about River Legacy’s Cardboard Boat Regatta before. They really know how to make learning fun. And their foundation preserves and enhances parkland along the Trinity River. (If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend kayaking along the Trinity. River Legacy offers educational canoe/kayak trips.)
If you want to help them out, they need volunteers for administrative work in the office, taking care of the turtles and whatnot in the learning center, and at special events like a kite festival, water festival, bird counts, clay shooting tournaments, Trash Bash, kids’ classes, and tons more.