Story by Mary Martin. Photos by Jack Helms.
The Trinity River Audubon Center sits just southeast of downtown, a natural retreat in an urban area. A modern, asymmetrical building designed by architect Antoine Predock, opens up into 120 acres of The Great Trinity Forest. Once an illegal dumping site known as the Deepwood dump, this Audubon Center was reclaimed in 2008 as part of the City of Dallas Trinity River Corridor Project. Today visitors can wander five miles of trails through prairie and wetland ecosystems, around ponds and through hardwood forests.
Earlier this year, the team at Trinity River Audubon Center was forced to pause its programs, but now the outdoor area is available with timed tickets to ensure social distancing. “While COVID-19 has presented many challenges, not only for our organization but other groups as well, Trinity River Audubon Center is slowly re-opening our trails and adding various onsite and virtual programs,” Shelly White, the Center’s director, says. “We look forward to continuing our conservation work and educating others about valuable resources, including the Great Trinity Forest and Trinity River, and making an impact (while lessening the climate impact) in our community.”
If you would like to learn more about the Trinity River Audubon Center or reserve a ticket, visit trinityriver.audubon.org.
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When Kathy and Larry Helm heard about The Senior Source’s 60th Birthday Diamond Dance-Off, they knew they had to put on their dancing shoes! For the Helms, this event combined two of their passions into one. Celebrating and supporting The Senior Source, a Dallas-area nonprofit that has been serving older adults for 60 years, and dancing together, which they have been doing since they were high school sweethearts. Both Kathy and Larry have chaired the board of directors of The Senior Source and have been proud supporters since 1998. It seemed only fitting they should be voted into the finals to dance on stage at Klyde Warren Park this past summer.
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