Initiatives
Our Work
Nature worth growing, from nurturing parks to wide-open spaces and precious watersheds.
Fort Worth has extraordinary, untapped opportunities to welcome and encourage nature within our city limits, bringing it within reach of more residents. Our initiatives strengthen the places we love and grow Fort Worth’s natural footprint one project at a time.
Nurturing Parks
With 300+ existing parks covering more than 13,000 acres, Fort Worth’s parks system is expansive. Working with the Fort Worth Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), the Conservancy aims to bring nature even closer to home for the many Texans who live, work and play here by enhancing existing parks and strategically growing Fort Worth’s greenprint with new parks over time.
Expanding Open Space
Though Fort Worth has a growing network of permanently protected open space, it also loses roughly 50 acres per week of that to development. (City of Fort Worth, 2023) With Fort Worth’s population expected to grow by more than 270,000 people over the next quarter century, the Conservancy will work with public and private partners to secure high-value, strategic acreage across our city. More connected, natural areas mean we can better protect water quality and wildlife habitat, reduce flooding, combat the urban heat-island effect, and preserve our city’s historic identity, while giving residents more opportunities to connect with nature.
City of Fort Worth, Good Natured Green Space Initiative, Why is this effort needed? (2023).
Partnering with Private Landowners
As a city uniquely shaped by its rural ranching heritage, private landowners have long played an integral role in stewarding Fort Worth’s working lands and conserving its vital grasslands, waters, and wildlife. The Conservancy engages with private landowners and connects them to resources for conservation best practices and land protection tools to extend impact beyond public parks and open space alone.