Eco Warriors

 eco warriors web banner

 

Who are the Eco Warriors?

The Dallas Park & Recreation Department is committed to sustaining, protecting, and reducing its environmental impact. In November of 2019, the Eco Warriors, a green team for Park and Recreation employees, was established to take the organization to the next level and work to incorporate sustainability into the daily processes and cultivate a culture with sustainability at its core. Thirty employees from all divisions of the department meet monthly to work on environmental initiatives to reduce the department’s environmental impact. These initiatives include waste reduction, recycling, using green cleaning products, fleet improvements, increasing organically maintained landscaping, reducing greenhouse gases, and increasing building efficiencies.

The divisions participating in Eco Warriors include Marketing, Aquatics, Reservations, Recreation Services, Environmental Division, Facility Services, Youth Services, Planning & Design, Park Maintenance Operations, Golf Maintenance, and Support Services.

Eco Warriors Mission Statement

The Eco Warriors bring together the Park and Recreation Department's employees to promote positive environmental impacts. They invite all Park and Recreation employees to participate in the Greening Dallas Parks initiative. Eco Warriors promote the message that we each have a part to play in the environment, and every action adds up to make a big difference.

Eco Warriors Newsletter, Greening Dallas Parks!

The Eco Warriors email a newsletter approved by the Assistant Director of Administration to the Park & Recreation Department. The newsletter presents environmental topics, initiatives, and programs. Its goal is to be friendly, informative, and encourage environmental awareness every day. Please see the links to the Greening Dallas Parks! newsletter. 

Eco Warriors Program Highlights

Reverse Litter Program

Youth at Dallas’ recreation centers are participating in the City’s Reverse Litter program. Once a week, they explore their community parks searching for litter, recording the types of litter they find, and remove it. This program educates them about the impact of litter in our communities, how it can pollute water bodies, and the differences between recyclable materials and trash. Youth participate in citizen science by completing a litter tracking log which provides data. Reverse Litter empowers youth to take action to keep our water clean and parks looking nice. Since the program began in February 2023, more than 300 youth in the Out-of-School Time and Summer programs have logged over 100,00 pieces of litter, making a positive impact on our environment, parks, and communities.

Watch this video about the Reverse Litter program created by Park and Recreation’s Marketing Digital Content team with staff and youth at Eloise Lundy Recreation Center. https://youtu.be/XpA5B-aqZIQ

Print the pages below to participate in your own reverse litter project! 

Reverse Litter Graphic
Reverse Litter Tracking Log
  1. 1 Youth Recycling Litter Pickup Group
  2. 2 Youth Recycling Litter Pickup
  3. 3 Recycling Education Program
  4. 4 Youth Reverse Litter
  5. 5 Youth Recycling Pickup

Eco Warriors Awards and Recognition

2023 - Directors' Trophy - Dallas Park and Recreation Department

The recipient of this award is selected by the Director of the Park and Recreation Department and recognizes an individual or team who has made significant professional contributions in his/her specific field of interest. Eco-Warriors was honored as the recipient of this coveted award for their achievements in conservation and sustainability programs. 

2021 - Environmental Stewardship Award Class I - DFW Directors Association

Dallas Park & Recreation won the Environmental Stewardship Award Class I (cities with a population over 75,000) for the Eco Warriors Program, given by the DFW Directors Association. The Environmental Stewardship Award recognizes an outstanding achievement by a parks and recreation professional or agency resulting in a successful environmental project and conservation measure to sustain and protect the environment and/or reduce the environmental impact made by the agency.