Uncategorized Archives - McKinney Parks Foundation

Starting 2023 Strong

On January 19th, 2023, the McKinney Parks Foundation held the Annual Kick Off Celebration. This event was hosted by The Stix Icehouse and featured a local artist, Anne Royer, from The Cove, McKinney. Anne’s piece is from her Exhibition; On Landscapes: Of This and Other Worlds. The event was a low-waste event and featured almost no single use plastic.

Thank you to the City of McKinney Parks and Recreation Department, McKinney City Council, Erwin Park MTB, DORBA, The Cove, and of course The Stix Icehouse for your support with this event. Thank you President Rick Moreno, Vice President Greg Smith, Secretary Kevin Korenthal, Treasurers Emily Shao and Andy Hundson, and Communications Mary Abercrombie.

Volunteer of the Year, 2022

The McKinney Parks Foundation is proud to begin its first year in honoring a Volunteer of the Year. For 2022, we have recognized Bruce Mead as Volunteer of the Year.

Bruce is dedicated to McKinney parks. If you have been to one of our volunteer work days you most likely met Bruce. Bruce is a force of nature, always alert and present, involved and participating, and full of new ideas and energy. Bruce goes above and beyond.

Thank you, Bruce, for all your contributions!

Local Art, Native Ecoregion

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is jan1923-kick-off-4.jpg — Anne Royer’s Flora and Fauna of a Texas Prairie, February 2022
Plutonium Spray Paint on Yupo
36″ x 60″

Anne’s piece, pictured left, is of the Blackland Prairie and was created using sustainably harvested native plants from a Wildlife Restoration in McKinney (the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary). Anne pushes the boundaries of traditional landscape painting by employing non-traditional image-making processes. Anne’s inspiration came from efforts to preserve Texas’ Blackland Prairie, an endangered ecosystem. The various plant forms used to create these paintings are native plants and the animals included in the paintings are among the many that live here in the Blackland Prairie ecoregion.

In 2022…

The McKinney Parks Foundation had a reported 1,929 volunteer hours worked. This is valued at $55,053.66 according to the Independent Sector.

The McKinney Parks Foundation participated in a planting of 1,537 trees between Gabe Nesbitt Park, Gray Branch Community Parkland, and as a partner for Princeton at J.M. Caldwell Sr Community Park.

The McKinney Parks Foundation developed 3.2 miles of trails along Gray Branch Community Parkland.

The McKinney Parks Foundation planted wildflowers amounting to a total of 2 acres at Gray Branch Community Parkland.

The McKinney Parks Foundation has collected 2,000 gallons of litter along Wilson Creek, over the stretch of 4 miles of waterways.

2022 has brought an amazing value to McKinney Parks, our community, and our local ecosystem. We want to give a special thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers who have a keen interest in keeping McKinney Unique by Nature. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Here’s to 2023… Get Involved!

Volunteer with us! Check out the ‘Events’ tab to see upcoming Volunteer Work Days. Email us at mckinneyparksfoundation@gmail.com if you’re interested in organizing a separate Volunteer Work Day for your corporation, business, group, or club.

Attend a board meeting! Board meetings are usually the third Thursday of each month, 7:30 PM, at the Eldorado Country Club. Be sure to email Greg Smith at lg.smith2412@att.net and let us know you’ll be there. Board Meetings can move around – so subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.

Donate! We accept donations online, via check, cash, or in-kind donations. You can also check out our Amazon Wishlist. The more tools we have – the more we can serve our McKinney Parks!

Dedicate a Bench. With your donation, the McKinney Parks Foundation will place a bench in a McKinney Park with a plaque. Please see click the tab ‘Projects’ to find out more about the Memorial Bench Program.

Kick-Off Celebration

JOIN US FOR THE KICK-OFF CELEBRATION

Thursday, January 19th, 2023, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Hosted by The Stix Icehouse, 301 Eldorado Parkway, McKinney, TX

The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that will utilize donations to enhance the beauty and unique by nature qualities of McKinney. We are seeking funds for tools, equipment, plants/trees, landscape supplies, educational materials, matching grants and administrative costs.

Donation levels include:

Friends of the McKinney Parks Foundation, $100.00 +

Supporters of the McKinney Parks Foundation, $500 +

Sponsors of the McKinney Parks Foundation, $1,000 +

Donations-in-kind will also be accepted. These can be tools or materials, refreshments for Trail Crews, administrative help, or other professional services.

Any monetary donation will be appreciated and put to good use.

Consider donating items from our Amazon Wishlist.

Volunteer with Us

Check out our events tab to see where you can get involved.

McKinney is truly a “unique by nature” city and the McKinney Parks Foundation (MPF) was formed to partner with the city to enhance the beautification and maintenance of the parks and open spaces, promote community involvement and provide education about the wonderful natural spaces in our city. A group of local McKinney residents have come together out of love for our city, and the natural world in which we live and play. We have formed an officially registered non-profit organization with the State of Texas (with an IRS 501(c)(3) status pending) to function in partnership with the McKinney Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (PROS) department to engage citizens, and feel ownership of our natural spaces.

North Texas Giving Day 2022

September 22nd, 2022 is North Texas Giving Day. Please donate!

McKinney is truly a “unique by nature” city and the McKinney Parks Foundation (MPF) was formed to partner with the city to enhance the beautification and maintenance of the parks and open spaces, promote community involvement and provide education about the wonderful natural spaces in our city.

Support us by clicking here to donate.

The MPF has three main functions:
Organizing volunteers to help with projects in conjunction with the McKinney PROS Department;
Encourage engagement by residents in park activities and programs;
Provide a structure for organizing educational opportunities about the natural environment.
The MPF will develop teams of volunteers to work on projects in the parks such as maintenance of hike and bike trails, building nature trails, upkeep of parks and open spaces, and adding amenities. We will partner with other local organizations (e.g. Master Naturalists, Crepe Myrtle Trail, DORBA) to provide education to school children and other McKinney residents and visitors that are interested in learning about nature and the ecology of North Texas. We will engage in direct fundraising and grant sourcing to support these projects and to partner with the City in park and open space development.
We have a Board of Directors comprised of McKinney residents who have served on the Parks Advisory Board, a Master Naturalist, a licensed professional engineer, and others who have a keen interest in community involvement and enhancing the quality of life in McKinney.

Our Needs
– Volunteers for monthly events.
– Tools and supplies to perform the trail maintenance for two of our Adopt-A-Spot locations.
– Bug spray, bottled water, work gloves to hand out to volunteers at events.
– Low trailer to transport equipment

****SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR A SPECIAL EVENT NOVEMBER 6th**** contact us for more information. Sponsors who would like to set up a tent at our November volunteer event and provide bottled water, coffee, packaged snacks are appreciated. We will he holding a special event with over 100 volunteers.

Mission
McKinney is truly a “unique by nature” city and the McKinney Parks Foundation (MPF) was formed to partner with the city to enhance the beautification and maintenance of the parks and open spaces, promote community involvement and provide education about the wonderful natural spaces in our city.

Grand Opening of the Erwin Park Skills Course

The McKinney Parks Foundation has been proud to support the volunteer efforts to build the new skills course at Erwin Park. Volunteers from the McKinney Parks Foundation participated in the final preparations in April prior to the grand opening.

Rich Szecsy serves the the current President of the MPF and is also the Trail Steward at Erwin Park. Rich’s tireless efforts have helped make this park attraction possible. He brought together multiple volunteer groups and clubs (DORBA, City of McKinney, McKinney Parks Foundation, scout groups, Team Dirt and Vert, North Texas Cycling, Texas Shreds, and many others) for the construction of the course.

McKinney Parks Foundation 2022 Kickoff Event

Thursday, January 13th form 6-8 PM

The McKinney Parks Foundation had a successful 2022 kickoff event. We welcomed visitors learn more about our 2022 initiatives and convey our excitement about the newest trail we will be working on in 2022 which will be accessible from Gray Branch Road.

We want to extend a special “Thank You” to the Parks Department employees, the Mead Family for lending their event space, and our friends with other clubs and non-profits who have supported our events and are excellent partners (Collin County Master Gardeners, DORBA, and more).

Subscribe to our e-mail list to be notified of upcoming events are they are published. We look forward to an exciting 2022!

Fallen Trees Removed From Wilson Creek Trail

The McKinney Parks Foundation held the July volunteer day at the Wilson Creek Trail adjacent to the Recreation Center at Towne Lake. Volunteers removed several fallen trees on the work day July 17th and again during the week. Check out the video below to see some of our work in action! Join the MPF for our monthly volunteer days. If you enjoy working with tools outside, we are the place for you!

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A post shared by McKinney Parks Foundation (@mckinneyparksfoundation)

Other work performed included litter collection, trimming of overgrowth, and the clearing of brush around the picnic areas. Volunteers who need to earn service hours for their school or club can have their paperwork signed by a board member at the end of each event. The Wilson Creek Trail is one of two Adopt-a-Spot sites where the MPF performs maintenance and enhancement for public enjoyment.

Erwin Park Prairie Restoration Work

May 15, 2021: The prairie located on the north end of Erwin Park sustained damage last year when cars drove over the prairie and parked in unauthorized areas. Volunteers installed erosion control mats during our Saturday event. The area has been marked off with caution tape. Grass seed was also applied across the area. The restoration of the prairie was an important step in preservation and maintenance of the park.

The trail work day event on May 15th was a larger joint effort with multiple volunteers and organizations. Volunteers on site included: Dallas Off-road Bike Association (DOBRA), friends of Erwin Park, the McKinney Parks Foundation, McKinney Running Club members, and snacks were provided by Sun & Ski Sports. A lot of progress was made on the mountain bike skills course.

The McKinney Parks Foundation receives ExtremeTerrain Clean Trail Grant

The McKinney Parks Foundation received at grant from ExtremeTerrain for trail projects at the Wilson Creek Nature Trail at Towne Lake, Erwin Park, and McKinney Greens projects. The grant of $250.00 will supply tools for trail maintenance and enhancements.

The McKinney Parks Foundation will be putting the tools to use during an event on April 24th at McKinney Greens. Check back for more at the end of April when we can show what we have accomplished with the grant!

Extreme Terrain’s Website: Click Here

Uncovering Railroad History

On January 16th, 2021, volunteers with the McKinney Parks Foundation cleared an area of McKinney Greens to reveal a historic railroad abutment from the early 1900’s. The Texas Electric Railroad went through McKinney and crossed the Wilson Creek west of Highway 5. This hidden gem is a part of McKinney’s past and can now be enjoyed and appreciated by the residents. Over 20 volunteers from groups such as the Lion’s Club and Young Men’s Service League devoted their efforts to this project.