Welcome to 52 Faces
52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.
At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
The garden behind the Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center is no ordinary green space.
It represents all kinds of ecological regions. It has plants native to the Cross Timbers, the ecological region North Texas sits in, such as buttercup and winecup flowers.
But it also has vegetation one would find in the far West Texas, such as the cholla cactus.
The Tarrant County Master Gardener Association maintains and cares for it all with leadership from Elizabeth Staples.
In the last several years, she has led projects involving keeping the garden tidy and maintaining its irrigation system. She ensures the garden is well equipped with plant life to benefit students’ outdoor learning.
Staples’ time with the countywide gardening program and at Alice Carlson has been eye opening, she said.
Bluebonnets grow at the garden behind Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center. (Nicole Lopez | Fort Worth Report)
“It’s been really wonderful,” Staples said. “I’ve learned so much.”
While master gardeners focus on the upkeep of the garden, the Fort Worth-based education garden service Made Greene leads outdoor lessons. Staples’ dedication to and collaboration at Alice Carlson’s educational garden earned her a nomination in the Fort Worth Report’s weekly series, 52 Faces of Community.
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“(Staples) giving up her time on a regular and consistent basis is the reason that the garden is still going,” Made Greene founder Mary Jo Greene said.
A historic building and garden collide
Staples was inspired by her late mother, a fellow master gardener, to join the local chapter in 2018. A year later, Staples started pouring her time into the Alice Carlson garden.
The school, originally Alice E. Carlson Elementary School, was built in 1926, but the garden wasn’t put in until the 1990s. In 1983, Fort Worth ISD considered closing the campus, but public outcry about the historic value of the school to the neighborhood prevented that from moving forward.
The school’s PTA secured a grant to replace aging tennis courts with a garden in 1997.
Now the garden draws students of all ages from all over the district — including those with specialty learning needs.
“It’s an amazing thing that the community came together, saved the school and built this huge garden,” Staples said. “It’s such a Fort Worth thing.”
Staples and the master gardeners are focused on replacing some of the garden’s plants, such as the cacti, for the safety of the students.
“Master gardeners are the backbone of keeping that sustainability piece going in so many different programs throughout Fort Worth.”
Mary Jo Greene, Made Greene founder
“I’m really just trying to keep it functional for the kids, to be safe,” Staples said. “It’s a lot of maintenance work.”
The group also focuses on tending to the Woodlands region of the garden. That project involves clearing overgrown shrubs and hedges and other landscaping tasks.
Another part of their work involves documenting and labeling the plants, which helps Made Greene as they present learning material to students.
Buttercups grow at the garden at Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center, tended to by the Tarrant County Master Gardeners. (Nicole Lopez | Fort Worth Report)
“She just wants to get in there and do the work and make sure it’s a usable space,” Greene said. “That is so commendable.”
The laborious work does not stop there for Staples and her fellow volunteers. She tends to the extensive irrigation system and happily offers her expertise to staff when it comes to plants and landscaping.
“She is this amazing, multifaceted kind of gardener,” Greene said.
Amid the area’s growing development, the garden stands steadfast and Staples is honored to be a part of it.
“It’s a hidden gem. It’s amazing to me because this is a huge piece of property,” Staples said. “It really shows our community cares about this.”
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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