2024 June Oak Cliff Advocate

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june 24

OAK CLIFF ADVOCATE VOL. 17 NO. 6

PROFILE

4 Dezi 5

DINING

18 Maskaras

Mexican Grill

FEATURES

6 Bishop Arts’ theater troupe

23 Twelve Hills

Nature Center unveils a new informational kiosk

COVER 14 Revelers Hall’s band

Maskaras Mexican Grill is a Spanglish blend meaning “masks,” a nod to owner Rodolfo Jiménez’ love for Lucha Libre memorabilia. Read more on page 18. Photography by Kathy Tran.

DEZI 5

IS DALLAS ENTERTAINMENT

A master plan from Dallas’ busiest musician

Story by SIMON PRUITT | Photography by AMANI SODIQ

“I’M 41 YEARS OLD. I don’t have any money saved in my bank account. I don’t have anything to show for anything except some knees that have bruises from performing,” says Dezi 5. “I gotta do something,”

His sentiment is genuine, but with a degree of sarcasm too.

Born Dezman Lehman, the entertainer is one of the busiest people in Dallas.

He’s released more songs than most artists in the city, spent more time performing live than most artists in the country and contributed more to his local artistic ecosystem than most people in the world.

Dezi has to book constant gigs for himself to make rent. He schedules his time on stage around his two late nights a week spent DJing and weekend afternoons giving tours of Deep Ellum. In January, he hosted the Dallas Entertainment Awards Gala that honored over 100 different creators in the city. Months earlier, Dezi created the awards show himself, which he plans to transition into the Dallas Entertainment Alliance, complete with workshops, conventions and a quarterly publication to highlight artists in the city.

His development from a club singer into an entertainment mini-mogul is no surprise. Dezi is Dallas through-and-through. He grew up in Oak Cliff with his grandmother, spending his time in the Full Gospel Holy Temple Church in Oak Cliff and Vern’s Place Cafe, a soul food restaurant and nightclub owned by his grandmother that gave him his first singing experience.

“It was really fancy,” he recalls. “Lots of glamour. Big glasses, big Afros, lots of ferns. I did the Dallas Entertainment Awards just to have a night where we can all get glamor and dressed up.”

On Jan. 31, a fully glammed-out Dezi 5 strutted out onto the Latin Cultural Center’s stage before a packed house of artists and media for the inaugural Dallas Entertainment Awards. He sang his newest single, “Pick Up Your Phone,” an anthemic R&B ballad behind a band and brass section.

It was his newest single at the time, followed by “Key At The Door” in March. Both songs are a smooth, poppy R&B sound, one that Dezi used to run from.

“Do you sing R&B or do you rap?” He remembers being asked as a Black musician. “That’s just how the world is. I tried to stray away from that in the beginning of my music career. I went rock ‘n’ roll.”

His first band was called Gypsy Hideout, a furious four-piece that ushered Dezi into a lifetime of going against the grain. In 2015, his rebellion reached its peak. He released “Crucifixion On The Dance Floor,” a thumping club music EP paired with live performances lampooning biblical imagery. Dezi says the provocation was his way of breaking free of the scrutiny he faced in the church growing up.

“Being queer, when you grow up you feel like you always have to sugarcoat and cover stuff up. You have to act a certain way, you have to stay within this box.”

In some ways lucky, in others unfortunate, Dezi says he never struggled with his sexuality.

“I have never been in any closet,” he says with a laugh. “Music is actually what separated me from being depicted as gay. It helped me but being treated that way made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. I was afraid to show how good I was.”

As soon as those walls came down, Dezi realized the power that came with his opportunity.

“Being a stage performer was my outlet to get out of that anger and frustration,” he says, “I could be a tyrant on stage. I could say, ‘Hey, stand up. Listen to me.’ It helped me develop a sense of armor.”

He’s been strutting around every stage that’ll hold him for years now, still wearing that armor even if he doesn’t need it.

Dezi 5 has plenty to show for what he’s done, but his work is scattered. There’s no through line to be found or magazine article to be written that represents his full story. He needs his masterpiece.

“I’ve been recording since 2014 and I still don’t have a full record,” he says.

Coincidentally, his first studio album, which leans into an R&B style, titled Master Plan is scheduled to release this September, on Friday the 13th. Perhaps, it will be the masterpiece that ties his decades of work together.

“I feel like if you’re passionate about something you just put all your honor to the passion, the money is gonna come.”

... and scene

A Bishop Arts acting troupe is thinking outside of the black box theater

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by YUVIE STYLES

Sonya Eudaley has played a number of roles throughout her life. Entrepreneur. Florist. French Revolutionary. Mrs. Claus.

In addition to being a Bishop Arts business owner for 15 years, she is a high school theater kid who never escaped the stage’s siren song. She now uses themed events around the neighborhood as an excuse to dress up and perform. On the annual Bastille Day hosted by Go Oak Cliff, she turns the storefront of her business, Dirt Flowers, into a full barricade a la Les Misérables

“Flowers have been my work for 20 years,” she says. “Because I’ve been a florist for so long I haven’t been able to do much theater.”

She was just getting around to changing that when COVID-19 hit; she’d planned to host murder mystery dinner parties at her venue space, House of Dirt. Four years later, the small businesses of Bishop Arts were finally getting their feet back under them, and Eudaley was itching for someone to die.

In April, she hosted two murder mystery dinner parties at House of Dirt as a fundraiser for the Bishop Arts Merchant Association. It was a trial run for the idea, and for her new nonprofit, Good Show Theater Co., which she started with Lake Cliff neighbor Brooks Thomas in an effort to bring more theater to Bishop Arts while lowering the barrier to entry for those interested in the hobby.

“There are plenty of platforms and opportunities for professional or semiprofessional actors to find shows and projects to work on,” Eudaley says. “What we don’t have enough of are opportunities for people who maybe theater is not their number one focus or their full-time career.”

Thomas moved to Lake Cliff 10 years ago after graduating from Southern Methodist University and has witnessed the “clay” of Bishop Arts change dramatically over the years.

He initially bonded with Eudaley over his own high school theater experiences, and thinks Good Show Theater Co. could serve as a way to remedy the “transactional relationship” he sees permeating the Bishop Arts community. Instead of just buying from Bishop Arts store owners, he wants to perform alongside them, in front of audiences made up of other Cliff Dwellers.

“As the clay gets larger it gets a little bit harder to mold,” Thomas says.

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“I think this, at least for me, has been an opportunity to take back a little bit of that moldable, sculptable clay and inject what has made Bishop Arts so appealing in the past back through theater.”

They want to start by commissioning live performances, like living statues, on the Bishop Arts streets. (“I would love to see some puppetry and mime work happening,” she says.) Then, another murder mystery dinner party will raise money for a full-scale show sometime in September.

Once shows are underway, tickets will be free or donation-based.

Anyone is invited to join the troupe, whether they have a background in theater or not. A banker with a knack for painting can help design sets. An office administrator with a thrifting addiction can become a costumer. The mother of three who still thinks about her line in the seventh grade production of Footloose can find center stage once more. The most important thing, Eudaley and Thomas say, is creating a creative space for the neighbors of Bishop Arts and its surrounding areas.

“There’s a lot of new businesses and a lot of new neighbors moving in every day,” Eudaley says. “They have moved here for the promise of the arts and while there is definitely not a shortage of art or theater in Dallas-Fort Worth, right here in the Bishop Arts District we could use a little more.”

Brooks Thomas and Sonya Eudaley started Good Show Theater Co. to bring more theater to Bishop Arts while making it more accessible for those interested.

By Richard Doherty

REDBIRD’S VERY OWN FLIGHT SCHOOL

The “Harvard” of aviation academies

Story

by ANDREW NORSWORTHY | Photography by VICTORIA GOMEZ

The first time Jack Parrish flew a plane, he was four years old, sitting on his father’s lap in what he thinks is Stearman.

Flying is hereditary for the Parrish family. His grandfather Lieutenant Roger Parrish was a commander of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and later became a pilot for American Airlines.

His 23-year-old brother Michael is a flight instructor.

After spending two years in seminary, Jack realized he was supposed to be a pilot and flew for American Eagle, a regional branch of American Airlines.

At the age of 23, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jack started developing a flight academy.

“My brother had just become a flight instructor and he needed a job. And there really weren’t many at the time just because of the COVID stuff,” Jack says. “So I was like, ‘Let’s start a flight school together.’”

The plan was for Jack, who was still working at the airline, to run the business side, and Michael to handle the flight instruction at what became Parrish Aviation Flight Academy at Dallas Executive Airport.

The duo started in 2020 with a single two-seater plane.

“We had the first three students start and they are students who live and have grown up in the Oak Cliff area,” Jack says. “It’s really neat.”

They’ve since amassed a fleet of planes, including Cessnas, a Piper Twin Comanche and a Ximango Motor glider. It’s one of the few programs in the nation to incorporate the latter plane.

For the nine-month program to be cost-effective, they had to have an in-house maintenance program and at least five planes, Jack says.

“That’s a really hard part there and once you get past that, then it’s a lot more viable to run a flight school,” Jack says. “So getting beyond that point was a challenge.”

There are now three full-time mechanics on staff, and Jack is actively looking for lenders to help students finance their education. The Career Program costs $83,000. To qualify to fly commercially requires a little bit more effort. Theoretically, a student could test out of core classes with the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), attend the aviation academy for $69,500 and finish up -

per-level credits online to receive the required four-year degree and flight school coursework.

“We’re trying to help our students fall in love with aviation and also get a much wider variety of experience and training than they will at most other schools,” he says. “Our career program is 20% less than the biggest competitors in the nation. So we’re doing it still at a really good cost.”

Jack, who is now 27 years old, also aims to amend the stigma and reputation of flight schools by providing an uplifting atmosphere.

“They have really fantastic operations from a business perspective, but from a people perspective, it’s very cold and corporate,” he says.

While he was in flight school, one of his classmates was cut from the program because they were not passing their check ride quick enough, a practical test for would-be pilots. That individual had even threatened to sue the school.

“I think here, everyone feels valued and feels like they have a place,” he says. “So I think it’s a very different culture.”

Michael left the academy to be the first officer at SkyWest Airlines. Jack’s brother-in-law who had also gone through their program to become a pilot, is the next chief pilot.

A short-term goal is to receive a 141 certification to accept international students and eventually grow the fleet to 30-40 planes. Jack is also working to become an administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration. A side quest for him is acquiring an aerobatic plane to compete.

Jack aims to make this the “Harvard” of flight schools in the nation. There’s now a flight simulator to teach students. They currently have more than 80 students enrolled. It’s been recognized by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) for distinguished flight training experience in the region. This recognition and a subsequent partnership with the nonprofit for flight training are among the school’s biggest accomplishments.

“We’re not just that little flight school startup anymore,” Jack says. “We’re actually building a reputation and showing that we know what we’re doing.”

CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

BEST ART GALLERY

WINNER - MERCADO369

2ND - LUMINARTÉ FINE ART GALLERY

3RD - WE ARE 1976, INC.

BEST BOOKSTORE

WINNER - WHOSE BOOKS NEIGHBORHOOD BOOKSTORE

2ND - THE WILD DETECTIVES

3RD - LUCKY DOG BOOKS- OAK CLIFF

BEST EVENT VENUE

WINNER - THE MASON DALLAS

2ND - TURNER HOUSE

3RD - THE CLIFF HOUSE

BEST INDOOR ACTIVITY

WINNER - MOVEMENT- DESIGN DISTRICT

2ND - ARTS MISSION OAK CLIFF

3RD - OAK CLIFF CULTURAL CENTER

BEST LIBRARY

WINNER - NORTH OAK CLIFF LIBRARY

2ND - HAMPTON- ILLINOIS LIBRARY

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BEST MEMBERS-ONLY CLUB

WINNER - OAK CLIFF LADIES CLUB

2ND - CHÂTEAU LE SOL

3RD - LE SOL HOUSE

BEST OUTDOOR ACTIVITY

WINNER - DALLAS ZOO

2ND - OAK CLIFF NATURE PRESERVE

3RD - KIDD SPRINGS PARK

BEST PLACE FOR LIVE MUSIC

WINNER - REVELERS HALL

2ND - THE WILD DETECTIVES

3RD - BISHOP EXCHANGE

BEST PLACE TO TAKE YOUR DOG

WINNER - OAK CLIFF NATURE PRESERVE

2ND - ELMWOOF DOG PARK

3RD - MOSS PARK

BEST THEATER

WINNER - TEXAS THEATRE

2ND - KESSLER THEATER

3RD - BISHOP ARTS THEATRE CENTER

THE BROTHERS: REVELERS B A

REVELERS HALL’S

New Orleans-style brass in Bishop Arts

Story by EMMA RUBY

Photography by LAUREN ALLEN

“I’M KEVIN,” says the tuba player, and the entire crowd boos.

They boo because they love him.

They boo because, without Kevin Butler, no one would be here tonight.

They boo because they know it’ll get the rest of the band fired up.

Butler steps back into the shadows as Phil “The Thrill” Joseph, a trombone player whose body shakes and shimmies and slides in time with his instrument, leaps forward to the center microphone on the Kessler Theater stage.

Joseph, ever the band’s hype man, coos at the audience’s rowdiness and coaxes trumpet player Alcedrick Todd forward. Todd pretends to hesitate, then joins Joseph center stage.

It’s time to give Butler his flowers.

THE ORIGIN STORY

DNButler was born in the New Orleans suburbs and visited family often after moving to Houston at age nine. A naturally tall kid, his middle school band directors handed him a tuba and his parents inundated him with brass band influence until the jazz stuck.

Butler wound up in Dallas after pursuing a master’s degree in tuba from Southern Methodist University and stumbled into a few sousaphone gigs around DFW where he got to know the North Texas jazz scene, which was lacking a New Orleansstyle brass band.

Playing around town, he met Todd through the Scat Jazz Lounge in Fort Worth. Todd played the Wednesday night show backed by a young Christian Levens on drums. A product of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Laffayette, Louisiana, Todd plays the trumpet in a way that will make you think you’ve never truly heard jazz before that moment. And Levens, who hailed from Fort Worth and is

the son of two musicians, started playing with Todd at 17 years old. It was Todd who gave him the nickname that he can’t seem to shake: Baby Jazz.

“I feel like I’m going to be Baby Jazz even when I’m 60, 65, 70 years old,” Levens says.

In 2017, Butler was tasked with organizing a group to take up residency at a bar in Shanghai, China. Todd and Levens agreed to join, and almost immediately the band became “Shanghai-famous,” Todd says. It wasn’t uncommon for the musicians, who became known for their out-of-the-box crowd work, to be recognized by clubgoers while out shopping or eating at a restaurant.

“The owner of that club was really into jazz and blues music and he would push us to interact with the crowd. Instead of just being jazz musicians, saying ‘Thank you’ and going on to the next song, he wanted us to talk with the crowd,” Butler says. “That was one of the places where we really started doing what we now do at Revelers Hall.”

Meanwhile, Joseph was wrapping up a cruise ship gig. Originally from DeSoto, he reluctantly took up trombone after showing up late to sixth grade percussion tryouts. His dreams of drum line dashed, he was “pissed,” but trombone soon became “a part of him.” While studying classical trombone at the University of Texas at Arlington, Joseph was taken under the wing of the university’s artist-in-residence Adonis Rose. Rose was bandmates with Todd and introduced the two.

“We formed an alliance and we’ve been cool ever since,” Joseph says.

For a few years, everyone was back in DFW playing gigs and making it work. Todd had his own group, the Mississippi Bastard Project, and Butler had his, the Big Ass Brass Band. Everyone was a gun for hire, filling in on any gig that had an open slot.

Then, in 2020, Butler received the call about a new concept in Bishop Arts: a New Orleans-inspired jazz bar where a French 75 could be served alongside a Lone Star beer. The venue needed an anchoring group, owners Jason Roberts and Amy Cowan told Butler.

“And those were the guys I called,” Butler says. “Because they were the best.”

THE WEEKEND SLOT

There is a learning curve to playing Revelers Hall.

Unlike other jazz clubs, there is no stage. Musicians and audience members are eye level throughout a performance; there is quite literally no pedestal to stand on. The venue is small, so there is also no avoiding the crowd. When the bar first opened, the musicians and audience alike didn’t really know what to do in the space; it was a difficult gig to play, Joseph says.

“I almost quit. We started here and the first three months, it was weird. It was kind of slow, not at all what you see now,” he says. “Thank god I didn’t (quit) because that would have been the biggest regret of my life. We brought a lot … Even during the pandemic we were cranking it out and I realized this is a solid group of guys.”

They brought in Daniel Porter on keys. Joel Wells Jr., a server at the now defunct Dallas Grilled Cheese Co., would run over on his breaks to sing. Somewhere along the way, they all started thinking of the audience as a sixth member of the band.

And for four years now, every Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., the Revelers Hall House Band plays. The music is classic New Orleans jazz: songs about Shaking That Thing or Money Money Money draw in curious passersby.

With just a glance, the band can jump from solo to solo, or bring the whole thing to a screeching stop.

“You’re seeing 15, 16 years of history. Sometimes I can look at one of them and we can have a whole conversation in a millisecond,” Levens says. “It’s just a look and they know exactly what I want, and I know exactly what they want.”

Each member of the band describes the others as his brothers. In four years, they’ve navigated life milestones such as marriages, births and heartbreaks. And they haven’t always handled the inevitable disagreements that come with a creative endeavor well.

“I think we would be a therapist’s worst nightmare,” Butler says. “But we don’t give up on each other.”

“At this point, I only want to do business with my brothers,” Levens adds.

If Joseph is the band’s dancing mascot, Todd is the fireworks that go off the moment a game is won. His bursts of energy are disciplined, proof that he has been a performer for decades and knows the precise moments to play the showmanship card.

“These guys are the party, and I try my best to be the confetti for the party,” Todd says. “I try to read everyone’s energy and get in when I fit in.”

On piano, Porter bridges the brass and the bass, and the band with Wells’ bluesy, smooth and subtle vocals. Tucked behind his drum set, Levens is the beating heart and never peacocks for attention. He’s the kind of guy who would rather throw the touchdown pass than catch it; end zone celebrations are best left to Joseph anyhow.

And Butler steers the ship, a vessel for his New Orleans jazz dream. On the sousaphone he sets the tempo; between songs he is on the mic.

Despite being the band’s backbone and voice, he is an intrinsically shy person. He’s never totally shaked the stage fright thing, he just learned to manage it. He can summon gusto when it comes to introducing an exciting new song or the members of the band, but he usually turns from the mic without saying his own name.

“It feels so awkward to introduce yourself,” he says.

Eventually, the audience started to notice. They started to ask “Who are you?” Then they started yelling it. So Todd took things into his own hands and freestyles the Kevin Butler song.

THE LIVE ALBUM

The Revelers Hall House Band recorded a live album at the Kessler Theater on the night of March 8. The crowd was full of Revelers regulars, who the band refers to as family. A woman — one of the band’s truly loyal listeners — was even called onto the stage for a “Happy Birthday” serenade.

So by the time Butler avoided naming himself, it was well rehearsed vitriol on

the audience’s part that encouraged Todd to go off script for the Kevin Butler song. Hearing the song is like watching lightning strike the same tree over and over again. If you can imagine the most scathing dis track you’ve ever heard, the song is the complete opposite. Butler turns bright red as Todd spits and weaves rhymes of adoration for the band leader. When it gets to the chorus, he screams “His name is Kevin” while the crowd chimes in, “Butler, Butler!”

The song has become such a running joke that it is as much a love letter to the fans as it is to Butler himself.

“There’s always that extra element in the band, and it’s the audience,” Todd says. “These people are here, and that’s what keeps us here. We feed off each other.”

They don’t know when the live album will be released, although Butler says he hopes it will be around the end of the year. It takes time, and money, to work through those kinds of things.

It hasn’t fully sunk in that they’ll have a live album under their belts. Each member plays with nearly a dozen different jazz bands, most of which are “in the Revelers orbit” any given month.

“Things are moving so fast right now,” Levens says. “At some point I’m sure I’ll listen back to the live album and be like, ‘Oh man, that was such a pivotal moment.’”

Most Sundays, the band picks “You Are My Sunshine,” the state song of Louisiana, to mark the end of their show. With Wells’ signature warble, the first verse is an emotional moment before the band picks up the tempo for a jolly outro.

“You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you.” The sentiment echoes through the bar.

Every show is an opportunity to take pause and to escape the troubles of life, Todd says. Both for himself and for the listener.

“We live in a world where hope and optimism are kind of dwindling,” Todd says. “I think as long as our music and our message is getting out there, then we are being good vehicles to distill hope and optimism to anyone who listens. Because music is people.”

FUSING

FLAVORS LUCHALIBRE & AUTHENTIC

Maskaras Mexican Grill is creating a home for neighbors

Story by PARKER JOHNSON | Photography by KATHY TRAN

AT MASKARAS MEXICAN GRILL , owners Rodolfo Jiménez and Zulma V. Hernández have reimagined the traditional Mexican restaurant into a vibrant celebration of Lucha Libre culture. Nestled in the heart of Oak Cliff, it’s in its eighth year of operating.

Jiménez, a former model, actor and host along with his wife, Zulma, an entrepreneur and former beauty queen from Jalisco, aimed to break away from the stereotypical decor.

“We were tired of the cliché,” he says. “We decided to change the way Mexican food and restaurants needed to be seen and experienced.”

The name “Maskaras” itself, a playful Spanglish blend meaning “masks,” is a testament to Jiménez’s creative spirit and his lifelong passion for Lucha Libre memorabilia. This commitment has transformed the restaurant into a mini museum.

Targeting the establishment as a family-friendly venue was a conscious decision, aiming to recreate the warmth and welcoming atmosphere of Mexican hospitality.

“We’re the kind of owners that are always here,” Jiminez says. “We try to make people feel like they’re in our house.”

The menu at Maskaras Mexican Grill is a fusion of traditional recipes passed down from their mothers, combined with Jiménez’s own culinary experiments. Dishes like chile relleno hold a special place in his heart, as they evoke childhood memories of watching his mother cook.

“You just have to stick to a great recipe,” he says. “A simple taco can be a gourmet taco if you make it the right way.”

It’s a destination that connects people to their roots, memories and emotions — from children running around in Lucha Libre masks to adults moved to tears by flavors that transport them back to Mexico.

“It’s rare,” Jiménez says. “It takes them home.”

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FOR SALE 6 pc Queen bedroom set (solid wood). Separately or together. Good Condition. $1200 for set. 956-645-1747

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ROOFING & GUTTERS

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HELP US KEEP REPORTING RELEVANT NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

A LEGACY OF NATURE EDUCATION

Twelve Hills Nature Center to unveil informational kiosk

Story by ALYSSA HIGH Photography by LAUREN ALLEN

When neighborhood lifetime gardener Kathy Harris found out that she had cancer, she had a lot of affairs to get in order. Among the most important were her native and pollinator plants, which she was worried would be lost if the new owner of her house removed them.

To preserve the plants, she donated them as part of her will in May 2023 to Twelve Hills Nature Center, a neighborhood nonprofit nature center.

Harris was passionate about nature education. She was an educator at the Perot Museum and the Dallas Zoo, a member of the Oak Cliff Gardeners and the former president of the Dallas Area Rose Historical Society. Her work with the Oak Cliff Gardeners often benefitted area organizations like the Twelve Hills Nature Center.

“Kathy dedicated her career to helping to introduce the natural world to children and families through her work as an educator at the Perot Museum and the Dallas Zoo,” says Marcie Haley, Twelve Hills Nature Center Board President. “Her clear love for helping people see nature more closely is a value shared by the mission of THNC.”

Plants that could not be used by the nature center, as well as garden furniture, bird baths and statuary, were auctioned to members of the Oak Cliff Gardeners for the benefit of THNC.

The seeds for the nature preserve began in the 1950s when the plot of land was a 20-acre apartment complex that took over an area just blocks away from Stevens Park. By the late ‘80s, the complex closed, leaving the site full of demolished buildings. It sat there for over a decade without a plan to revive the site.

City council, landscape architects and neighbors got together for years, working on a solution that would improve the neighborhood.

Twelve Hills Nature Center (THNC) was founded as a nonprofit in 2002. The group was successful in getting five of the 20 acres rezoned for green space, marking the beginning of the nature center.

“The preserve is designed in a way that we hope will make visitors forget they’re in a city and experience what Dallas was like then tall grasses ruled and the land was undisturbed,” Haley says.

The nature center also aims to be used as an educational tool. During the day, from within the center’s trail, elementary school students can be heard playing on nearby playgrounds. There are two schools within walking distance that serve over 1,200 students, Haley says.

With educational programs like Twelve Hills Nature Leaders, a free after-school program that teaches 15 teenagers to lead over 700 students on nature walks.

“All the work done at the nature center is performed by dedicated volunteers from the neighborhood and the North Texas Master Naturalists,” Haley says. “They work tirelessly to remove introduced species and bring in Blackland Prairie native species from seeds and plant donations.”

Later this month, the 1,000th species will be introduced to the nature preserve. Naturalists use an app called iNaturalist to track observations of plants, insects, animals and fungi to get a complete picture of what species are in the nature preserve.

“Prairies play a role in climate change strategies.” she says. “By protecting more of our native species of plants, more insects are protected, which in turn means more birds, mammals and reptiles are protected. All of these things help clean our soil and water, making more oxygen.”

Funds from Harris’ plant auction went toward an informational kiosk, which will open on June 15 in Harris’ honor. The kiosk will include a map for orientation, information about the history of Twelve Hills and the Blackland Prairie, upcoming events, which plants will be blooming and what birds might be visiting at the time. Informational panels will be in both English and Spanish.

“It is truly heartwarming to see the community come together to honor Kathy’s legacy and contribute to the enhancement of Twelve Hills Nature Center,” says Van Johnson, leader of the Oak Cliff Gardeners Group. “This kiosk serves as a valuable resource of knowledge and inspiration for future generations of nature enthusiasts.”

Twelve Hills Nature Center is home to 1,000 species including native plants and pollinators.

A Next-Level Real Estate Experience

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