Working with the City of Dallas Department of Parks and Recreation

The historic Beeman Cemetery is owned and maintained by the City of Dallas.  When volunteers decided to undertake the restoration of the property as part of the Constellations of Living Memorials program, the first step was to seek permission with the City to undertake a change in their methods of maintenance.  This process is just getting started and here are the steps taken to date.

The first step was to make contact with the Park Department.  They are responsible for the maintenance of the city’s abandoned cemeteries.  We established communication with a Special Events Coordinator and an Urban Biologist.  After our initial discussion, it was decided that a Beautification Agreement will need to be drawn between the Beeman Cemetery volunteers and the City of Dallas Parks Department.  To date, we have submitted a proposed Scope of Work outlining our process for introducing a pollinator habitat for City approval.  We understand it may take 2 to 3 months before we receive City approval.  In mean time, we will be working on field observations and other “no impact” activities. Once we have City approval, they will turn over maintenance on a designated section of the cemetery to us and we will proceed with restoration of the grounds.