In this episode of The Social Impact Podcast, Bree talks with Molly Morgan, Texas State Director for the Trust for Public Land (TPL), about how parks and green spaces are essential infrastructure for health, equity, and community life. Molly shares her journey from studying studio art and landscape architecture to becoming a community-focused designer and then a statewide leader. She explains that her work centers on community-designed park spaces shaped by residents’ needs and stories, rather than just professional plans.

Molly walks through TPL’s work in Texas, especially in Dallas, including:

• The Five Mile Creek urban greenbelt—an 80-year-old city vision being realized as a trail and park system.
• Turning vacant public lots into small, affordable neighborhood parks.
• Preserving Big Cedar Wilderness, nearly 300 acres of nature inside Dallas city limits.

Throughout the conversation, she highlights the mental and physical health benefits of green spaces, including reduced stress and cortisol levels, improved outcomes for children’s mental health and test scores, mitigation of extreme heat, and even faster recovery after illness. She and Bree also explore temporary and creative solutions, such as pop-up parks, potted plants, painted asphalt, and green alleys, that can quickly bring relief to communities, like fire-impacted schools with no play space.

The episode closes with Molly’s advice for aspiring impact professionals and community members:

• You don’t have to be an “environment person” to help—nonprofits need skills in finance, web, marketing, and operations.
• Small actions, like simply showing up to a local park, can make others feel safer and more welcome.
• Everyone deserves “a place to breathe,” and parks are a powerful way to give that to communities under stress.

.tpl.org

tpl.org/our-work/greener-dallas-greater-dallas

thesocialimpact.co

[email protected]

Support the show