SOUTHERN GATEWAY PARK PARTNERS WITH CONSULATE GENERAL OF CANADA TO BUILD GARDEN FOR MONARCHS, OTHER MIGRATORY POLLINATORS

Garden Plan Includes Native Texas Plants to Nourish Weary Airborne Travelers During Their Annual Journey

(DALLAS) – May 8, 2024 – Texas motorists are certainly familiar with I-35, the interstate highway that runs from Laredo, Texas near the Mexican border to Duluth, Minnesota. But another species has been well-acquainted with the route since before the 1,600-mile-long road was even conceived, much less built – the Danaus Plexippus, more commonly known as monarch butterflies.

To assist the fragile and endangered orange-and-black fliers on their long journey, the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation has partnered with the Consulate General of Canada to build a garden rich with native Texas plants at their future Southern Gateway Park site in Oak Cliff. The goal: provide monarchs with a convenient “rest stop” as they make their annual pilgrimage to and from Mexico from the U.S. and Canada. Monarchs are the only known butterflies to make a two-way migration just like many birds do.

“This future pollinator garden will be situated along important migratory flyways, including the Texas Funnel, which supports monarch butterflies as they travel through this area twice a year,” said Noëlla De Maina, Consul, and Head of Political, Economic and Public Affairs with the Office of the Consulate General of Canada in Dallas. “Just like the butterflies, we need our continental partners, the United States and Mexico, to reverse biodiversity loss and ensure nature is healthy, thriving, and sustaining the lives of current and future generations.”

“This new garden is a symbol of friendship and cooperation between our countries,” said April Allen, President and CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation. “And it’s yet another example of how Southern Gateway Park is truly a ‘park with a purpose,’ creating sustainable green spaces that help reconnect communities and are authentic to Oak Cliff.”

“Former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, co-chair of the Southern Gateway Alliance, likes to call Southern Gateway Park the new, beautiful front yard to our city,” she continued. “This is our way of rolling out the welcome mat to all our visitors, whether they walk, drive, ride or fly!”

The Southern Gateway Alliance is a diverse group of civic and business leaders serving as ambassadors for the park. The first phase of Southern Gateway Park – including the new pollinator garden – is expected to open in early 2026.

Until then, Southern Gateway Park (SGP) and Dallas’ Consulate General of Canada are teaming with the Oak Cliff Veggie Project to plant and distribute free pollinator plants, along with details about the monarchs’ migration and educational growing tips and techniques for their own pollinator gardens. In addition, younger attendees will receive butterfly origami kits and coloring pages featuring SGP’s mascot Oakley the butterfly.

The Oak Cliff Veggie Project is a nonprofit organization that seeks to make the Oak Cliff community healthier and more self-reliant through nutrition and gardening. The free event begins at 9 a.m. om Saturday, May 11 at the Project’s Community Garden, located at 1300 E. Clarendon in Dallas (75203). Plants are provided courtesy of the Dallas Zoo’s Prairie Plant Propagation Center and the Texas Conservation Alliance.

About Southern Gateway Park

Southern Gateway Park is a five-acre bridge park spanning Interstate 35E between Ewing and Marsalis Avenues, directly adjacent to the Dallas Zoo. This “park with a purpose” will transform the city’s southern sector and be a key catalyst for closing the opportunity gap that was created when the highway was originally built in the 1950s through the middle of Oak Cliff. Once open, the park will attract an estimated 2 million visitors annually and is predicted to generate more than $1 billion in economic impact in its first five years. In addition to native landscape and ample green space, park amenities will include: a stage and pavilion for concerts and live events, an inclusive children’s playground, outdoor classroom space, a multi-purpose building for dining and community events, integrated history exhibits, a dedicated food truck area, interactive water features, and so much more. Together with the Dallas Zoo’s Master Plan, the collective capital investment in this area will exceed $250 million, the largest investment in Southern Dallas’ history. 

For more information, please visit www.southerngatewaypark. org.