More than two dozen volunteers helped kickoff planting at the new Lake Arlington Native Plant and Pollinator Garden on Saturday, April 9.

The garden project has been in planning stages for more than a year and is a joint project between Arlington Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District. City officials hope to work with local conservation stakeholders and community groups to restore native prairie and wildflowers to 2.75 acres of land adjacent to the Lake Arlington Dam. The gated area also feature five, 400-square-foot demonstration garden beds with native plants and a gathering area for gardening classes, field trips, and other community events. The project is funded in part by a $10,000 grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation.

 Volunteers planted about 300 small plants on Saturday, with more planting days scheduled for later in the year. Saturday’s volunteer group included members of UT Arlington’s Freshman Leaders on Campus; the National Society of Black Engineers at UTA; the Native Plant Society of Texas; Arlington Conservation Council; as well as students and faculty from the Green Oaks School’s Adult Learning and Arlington ISD’s Martin High School. Promoting native, drought-tolerant plants is a water conservation strategy supported by both Arlington Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District.

For more information on the Lake Arlington Native Plant and Pollinator Garden, please visit SaveArlingtonWater.com.