Friends of Bachman Lake Newsletter - Summer 2025
- Friends of Bachman Lake
- Aug 7
- 6 min read
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” – William Shakespeare
Taking the time to take the time
Welcome to our Summer Edition, a by-product of the summer months being a time to unite with family and friends, to take a break from the urgency of self-imposed must-dos, and to get away from rigor and stress. It's a time to breathe again.
So, for July and August, we've been breathing, while still keeping our eyes on our beloved Bachman Lake Park community.
The school year is once again upon us, but we hope you still take time to prioritize what's important, including looking after your mental and physical health. Whether you go near or far, it's all about changing the scene, switching your digital life to analog, or perhaps even completely off. It's about disconnecting from our doom scrolls, then reconnecting with what makes us joyful. However short or long, take that time for yourself. Because in the end, we're only human after all, and we have to care for the best thing we've got – ourselves.
And here now the news ...
Supporting art with United Juntos event at Bachman Recreation Center
Friends of Bachman Lake was honored to have been invited to join United Juntos at their first art event for the Bachman community. The turnout was fantastic with a DJ, prizes, project tables, and participation from so many businesses. Being seated next to the Bachman Library was perfect, since they had all sorts of fun book giveaways and were busy providing library cards. We predict that this event will become a summer staple for Bachman and look forward to helping out again next year!
From United Juntos:
United Juntos is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing people together through participatory art. Today, we support artists in designing community-driven events that are free, accessible, and rooted in the neighborhoods they serve.
Honoring a great citizen
A Park Board member for District 6, a lifelong resident of Bradford Estates, a vocal citizen who's made a difference –there are lots of ways to describe Tim Dickey. He likes to describe himself as a "wack-tivist" for the sometimes unorthodox, yet effective ways he's helped make changes for the better.
Friends of Bachman Lake, friends from the Park Board and others held a thank you and sendoff for Tim at On Rotation Brewery in June as he embarked on his next adventure in Colorado. The goodbye was bittersweet because, while we like to see good things happen to good people, there's also no denying that we will lose a strong voice in the community with Tim's departure. From helping uproot seedy businesses from the neighborhood to maneuvering ways to unlock available funding for Bachman area parks, Tim has been a rock. And a star. Yes, a rock star.
Thank you Tim!
FoBL receives grant from Love Your Block
Dallas is one of 16 cities picked by the Bloomberg Foundation to participate in their 2025 Love Your Block program. This grant is given to groups or individuals to improve their neighborhoods through cleanups, creating murals or other art projects, starting community gardens, combating blight, or other similar improvement projects. These efforts are resident-led neighborhood revitalization projects.
FoBL Board Member Jeff Brown applied for a Restoration and Resiliency grant, among 178 applicants across Dallas. We were one of the 30 chosen! Friends of Bachman Lake was awarded a $1,500 grant to put toward equipment to support our efforts in removing invasive plants and replacing them with native plants that are more beautiful and beneficial to our native wildlife. This equipment will support a new Texas Master Naturalist program in the Greenbelt coming this fall.
If you would like to join us in improving the Bachman Greenbelt, please sign up to volunteer for the Green Team here.
Greenbelt added to Adopt-A-Spot city program
Friends of Bachman Lake was proud to attend the installation of an Adopt-A-Spot sign for the Bachman Greenbelt!
Have you heard about the Adopt a Spot Program? It is a part of Code Compliance's "Keep Dallas Beautiful" initiative, meant to protect and care for Dallas neighborhoods and parks to keep our city clean and attractive.
Cushman & Wakefield has adopted the Bachman Greenbelt, which means they will be conducting quarterly clean-ups in the area to keep the space free from trash. They will work in concert with the city, who will provide the equipment and pick-up.
This is another big win for the Bachman Greenbelt, drawing more attention to this beautiful spot and keeping it clean and preserved for all our visitors!
If you would like to get involved with supporting the greenbelt, please consider signing up to be on our Green Team.
Let's give a 5K event a running start
We’re exploring the idea of hosting an annual 5K race to help raise funds for future projects and events supporting Friends of Bachman Lake and we’d love your help!
If you or someone you know has experience organizing, hosting, or conducting a 5K race for runners, cyclists, or both, we’d be thrilled to connect. This could be an exciting new tradition for our community, and your insight would be invaluable as we plan.
Please reply below if you’re interested or know someone we should talk to. Thank you for being such an important part of our efforts!
Vandalism at the Greenbelt
In July, some trees, recently-installed wayfinder signs and a bench were vandalized at the Greenbelt. The incidents occurred soon after an extensive clean-up and privet removal event that month. Given the timing, the vandalism suggests that a person (or persons) tenting nearby took offense to what they likely believe is a breach of their encampment zone.
We have reports into the city, and City Council Member Gay Donnell Willis has been in touch with police. Thanks especially to our citizen eyes on the ground, we're confident that the progress we've made will continue unabated.
Of course, we are sensitive to any safety issues and concerns at the Greenbelt and are working closely with Parks, Police and City officials to ensure that no one literally 'takes a hatchet' to the great work so many have done so far.
And speaking of great work ...
Help Fund a Troop 125 Eagle Project to combat vandalism
Where there is setback, there is pushback. And one opportunity to combat vandalism is being led by Alden Thomas, a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 125 of Dallas.
Alden is fundraising for his Eagle Project to repair and protect the signs at Bachman Lake trail which provide safety and other information to visitors to the 40-acre park. His project will remove vandalism, install corkboard, and affix plexiglass covers to each sign. You can give at this link below.
Any amount helps. Thank you!
Alden thanks you for your help. We thank Alden for taking up this cause!
As we approach North Texas Giving Day, it's encouraging to see community members make their "giving day" just about any day they can make a difference.
Events
Council Member Budget Town Hall Meetings
Throughout August, Dallas City Council members will seek community feedback on upcoming budget priorities. From the Budget Town Halls page, choose the town hall in your district you would like to attend. The dates, locations and online availability are all listed. For the Bachman Lake Park community, the districts that surround the park are Districts 2, 6 and 13.
Meet and Greet Every 4th Wednesday
Join our 4th Wednesday Meet and Greet at On Rotation Brewery & Kitchen. Enjoy a casual time, talking about anything you want and eating and drinking anything you like! It's casual and it's fun! Check the events on our website for any updates or changes to these dates.
*Note that times/dates are subject to change. We will issue notices if the event changes or is postponed.
Gearing up for North Texas Giving Day
North Texas Giving Day, an event coordinated by the Communities Foundation of Texas, is September 18. This is an opportunity for people to donate to their favorite North Texas causes and Friends of Bachman Lake will once again participate. We seek funds to restore the Bachman Greenbelt and continue the progress we've made there and in the main park at Bachman Lake. The donation window will be announced in the coming weeks.
