John F. Burke Nature Preserve

In an effort to balance protection of the city’s largest remaining natural area with provision of public access and education, Farmers Branch engaged Dunaway to prepare a master plan for their 104-acre nature preserve. The Master Plan incorporated parking upgrades, composting restroom facilities, an amphitheater classroom, boardwalks, a pedestrian bridge, river overlooks, wildlife blinds, and a hierarchy of hard and soft surface trails that provide experiences throughout the park as well as connections to adjacent cities and the citywide regional hike and bike trail network.

During the planning process, Dunaway worked with City staff and a select Advisory Committee to produce an inventory and analysis of current site conditions, evaluation of benchmark projects for programming comparisons, facilitation of community meetings to gather citizen input, and presentations to City leaders to garner support for future funding and plan implementation.

Phase 1 Improvements are complete and include an upgraded entry way with city branding, enhanced wildlife blinds to observe nature, decomposed granite trail loop, composite boardwalk structures overlooking the pond, and a river overlook structure that immerses users into the tree canopy and provides ample site views upstream to the Elm Fork Trinity River.