The McKinney Parks Foundation organizes volunteers on community enhancement projects such as the East McKinney Learning Garden, Firewood Stations at Erwin Park, preserving monuments of the Historic Interurban Railway, trail maintenance and creation, and restoration in prairies and riparian zones. We work directly alongside McKinney’s Parks and Recreation Department to ensure our projects align with the Parks Master Plan. We regularly partner with other local groups such as the Blackland Prairie Texas Master Naturalists, McKinney Garden Club, Scouts of America, and DORBA, who built and maintains the mountain bike trail in Erwin Park.
To volunteer with us, click the check out our latest Volunteer Events.
East McKinney Learning Garden
The McKinney Parks Foundation (MPF) is proud to work alongside the City of McKinney to create the East McKinney Learning Garden (EMLG). The EMLG will break ground this Spring and is expected to be completed in second quarter 2024.
Located at 704 Greenville Rd in McKinney, the Garden is adjacent to the new TUPPS Brewery and a short stroll to the Historic McKinney Downtown Square. The Garden’s goal is to assist in bridging the large food-desert gap in our community by teaching people how to create food-producing gardens in their own backyards and to use that food as part of a healthy diet. Click here to access the full breakdown of this unique community project.
Firewood Stations at Erwin Park
Erwin Park is maintained by DORBA Trail Steward Shawn Feiock, and through a partnership with the McKinney Parks Foundation and the McKinney Parks and Recreation Department, Shawn has been able to organize the installation of many Firewood Stations at the Park. the purpose of the Firewood Stations is to reduce deforestation of the Park along biking and hiking paths.
Campers are not permitted to remove trees in the Park, not even for the purpose of making fire in the Parks firepits. Campers are encouraged to bring their own firewood or visit the Parks Firewood Stations. When at the station, Park goers have an option to donate to the Parks Foundation. All donations made to the Firewood Station go back into maintaining Erwin Park.
The McKinney Parks Foundation also assisted in the aftermath of the sudden loss of trees & trail at Erwin Park in 2023, through the ‘Shade the Trail’ Project where we planted 75 trees and reconnected trail which had been bulldozed unexpectedly earlier in the year.
Gray Branch Parkland
The McKinney Parks Foundation has partnered with the City to plant trees and stretches of wildflowers throughout Gray Branch Parkland.
Gray Branch was once part of a local farm and while much of its prairie nature still exists thanks to that history, we’ve got some work to do to restore other areas. As part of this initiative, we are planting native wildflowers and grasses. Not only will they add color, but these native plants will also attract butterflies and other pollinators. So, remember to stop and smell the flowers, but leave them “bee!”
50 trees were planted in the Park in late 2022 thanks to the Texas Trees Foundation and Clayton Homes. McKinney Parks Foundation and City of McKinney were proud cohost this tree planting at the Park.
Historic Interurban Railway
The McKinney Parks Foundation discovers, in parks and easements, historic landmarks of the interurban railway that once ran through McKinney. The interurban railway allowed for exponential growth of McKinney – turning it into the beautiful and diverse city it is today. We honor the landmarks we discover by uncovering them and making them accessible to those who travel park paths. Click to read on about the Historic Interurban Railway in McKinney.
McKinney Greens Preserve
McKinney Greens has a combination of Riparian Restoration efforts and pockets of Prairie throughout the inactive Park.
Riparian Restoration took place on this site in 2021 at “Restore the Canopy: Wilson Creek Tree Planting Event”. One-thousand two-hundred (1,200) Trees were planted in order to provide health, habitat, and coverage along Wilson Creek and improve the riparian zone.
McKinney is within the Blackland Prairie Ecoregion. This is the most endangered ecosystem in the world. The ‘pockets’, or circles, of wildflowers were introduced in late 2023 by the McKinney Parks and Recreation Department. These are blooming along the concrete path throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall and provide habitat, erosion control, host and nectar plant availability for pollinators, and by being native and drought tolerant, conserve water.
Wilson Creek Nature Trail
When the McKinney Parks Foundation unofficially first formed in 2018, the Wilson Creek Nature Trail alongside the Recreation Center at Towne Lake was overgrown and unable to be walked through. The one of the Parks Foundation first consistent projects was to widen the walking path. Along the way, we discovered a slew of washed in trash, poison ivy, and hazards that made the path dangerous and unenjoyable. Since then, we have officially Adopted the spot through Keep McKinney Beautiful’s Adopt-A-Spot and maintained the path ever since.
