City of Frisco Parks & Recreation Restoration Project

Laura Kuwayama, Class of 2020 – Monarch View Park is undergoing an incredible transformation. Thanks to HEB grants, City of Frisco and the hard work of volunteers, Want to be part of Phase 4? Join us on April 18th (9 AM – 12 PM) as we keep the momentum going.

Last month, the Frisco Fire Department and Natural Resources Division teamed up for a prescribed burn at Frisco Commons Park. While it looks intense, these controlled fires are vital for our vanishing ecosystems—suppressing invasive species and helping native wildflowers thrive. Check out the full story by Dan Kinkade (BPTMN 2015) on how we’re keeping our local landscapes healthy.

Become a Citizen Scientist! 🌊 Join Crystal Flannery-Bachicha and Lauren Kraus for Texas Stream Team training Date & Location TBD. You’ll learn to monitor local water quality and collect vital data used by the TCEQ and EPA to protect our waterways.

In Northwest Frisco, the Blackland Prairie Restoration Project is transforming Monarch View Park from manicured turf into a thriving native landscape. Over the past year, a partnership between Play Frisco, H-E-B, and the Blackland Prairie Texas Master Naturalists has united volunteers to plant over 5,000 native plants across nearly 100 species. This community-driven effort is not only rebuilding soil health but serving as a new model for future habitat restoration throughout the city.

We are thrilled to announce our continued participation in the Pollinators for Texas project! Our chapter has been selected to receive a $4,000 grant to help support native pollinators in our area.

A vibrant native habitat is truly taking shape at Monarch View Park! This dream is becoming a reality thanks to the incredible collaboration of Blackland Prairie Chapter Project Lead, Laura Kuwayama, the City of Frisco Parks department, dedicated local volunteers, the North American Telugu Society (NATS), and the Blackland Prairie Master Naturalists. With vital support from an H-E-B Pollinator Grant, Monarch Park now has a beautiful array of native species like Little Bluestem, Baptisia australis, and Wild Bergamot. These efforts are creating a crucial space for pollinators to thrive right here in Frisco!

Frisco, Texas’s Play Frisco won the 2025 Innovation in Environmental Resilience Award for their Blackland Prairie Restoration & Education program, a collaborative effort with partners like BPTMN, rebuilding native ecosystems and fostering environmental stewardship.

Rick Travis, Class of 2018 – Our Blackland Prairie Chapter “Moth Squad” will join Play Frisco for the City Nature Challenge “Mothing” at the Grand Park event in Frisco on April 26 from 7:30 -10:30 p.m. A Mothing BioBlitz uses UV lights to attract and record nocturnal insects. It’s a “species snapshot” for that location and date, utilizing the iNaturalist app.

Vicki Sanders, Class of 2022 – Eco Explorers in Frisco and at our Partner Blackland Prairie Raptor Center. Members this is an excellent opportunity to interact with and encourage Girl Scouts to get outside and learn more about the Blackland Prairie and all its components.

We are excited to announce our participation in the Pollinators for Texas project!

Jeff Witt, Natural Resources Manager for the City of Frisco’s Parks and Recreation Department. Come and hear about the activities and sites that await you in the “wilds” of Frisco!  You will learn about the how the city balances the demands of development with the protection of its natural resources and what the future looks like for this fast-growing community. 

Rick Travis, 2018 – On April 29, our chapter partnered with the Frisco Parks Department to hold a Mothing Event at Grand Park, in support of the iNaturalist City Challenge. It was a real treat and a wonderful experience for all those that attended, which included not only several members of our chapter, but also TMN’s from surrounding chapters, and several families from the Frisco area!

Rick Travis, 2018 – It was a very crispy BioBlitz as everything had gone to seed. About 30 participants added approximately 300 Northwest Park observations into iNaturalist. Around 35-40 additional species were added into the Northwest Park iNaturalist Project.

Rhonda Sanchez, 2019 & Outreach Director – We counted that we interacted with 250+ people by participating in this event. Enjoy the photos of our Outreach volunteers interacting with the community.

The Frisco Parks Department held an extraordinarily successful “Arborfest Tree Walk and Buffalo Stomp” nature event at Frisco Commons Park on Saturday, Oct. 30. Several Blackland Prairie Master Naturalists played significant roles in both the preparation for this event, and as participants in the event itself. The “Buffalo Stomp” portion of the event is a native plant seedball toss in the prairie restoration area at Frisco Commons. Well, to make seedballs, you need seed! Several BPTMN’s helped harvest native flora and grass seed form a large natural area in Frisco’s Northwest Community Park. Over several late summer and early fall…

Rick Travis, 2018 Northwest Community Park in Frisco is largely undeveloped, with a DORBA biking trail system. It’s very rich in native grasses and flora, and has been a great source of native seed and plants for Frisco Parks prairie restoration efforts. We’ll spend September and part of October at NW park harvesting seed, which will be redistributed into the prairie restoration sites at Frisco Commons and Cottonwood Creek Parks.

By Rick Travis, 2018 Hurray!!! Blackland Prairie Texas Master Naturalist Chapter and the Frisco Parks and Recreation Department have reached an agreement that allows our chapter members to provide VH eligible restoration and maintenance efforts within the natural areas located in various Frisco parks, such as Frisco Commons, Cottonwood Creek, Northwest Community parks, and the Stewart Creek Wetlands Preserve.   The Stewart Creek Wetlands Preserve Both weekend and weekday work sessions in the Frisco park natural areas will begin mid-March and can be found on the BPTMN calendar. Initial work will focus on the prairie restoration site at Frisco Commons…

By: John Garbutt Watching the five Cooper’s Hawks fledge in mid-June under their mother’s watchful eyes seems like years ago. After that moment, I figured I had possibly seen the last of them, at least as a group. I also had other places to go, The Rio Grande Valley, Fort Davis, and the Bolivar Peninsula.  As the calendar turned over to September, I began venturing back out to Frisco Commons on the weekends and on the way to work. The “kids” were missed. On Sunday, September 13, 7am, I began my usual circuit at Frisco Commons. Baltimore Oriole, Blue-Headed Vireo,…