Lagoon Nature Walk

Funded by a generous grant from the Meadows Foundation, The Leonhardt Lagoon Nature Walk features twenty-five numbered markers and four descriptive panels highlighting the birds and insects, plants and trees, fish and other wildlife that make their home at the Leonhardt Lagoon in Fair Park. A printed walking-guide, keyed to the markers, helps visitors learn more about the flora, fauna and wildlife living around the area of each of the markers.

The secrets of this ecologically balanced aquatic community are revealed through a printed walking guide and descriptive panels strategically located around the perimeter of the lagoon. Visitors are encouraged to explore the lagoon sculpture, discover the fascinating world of exotic plants such as "Lizardtail," "Cypress Knees" or "Duckweed", and to observe this special habitat that is home to more than 70 species of birds, like the Least Bittern and Chimney Swift. The walking guide also explains the contribution that Damselflies and other insects make in providing food for the wildlife living at the Leonhardt Lagoon. Developed by the Dallas Museum of Natural History, the nature walk extends the Museum out-of-doors providing a "living" exhibit for visitors to Fair Park and the Museum.

The Leonhardt Lagoon, named after philanthropist Dorothea Leonhardt, was built with Federal WPA (Work Progress Administration) funds in 1936, at the site of the Texas Centennial Exposition. By the 1970's the lagoon had become choked with algae fed by fertilizer runoff from the nearby grounds area surrounding the museums as well as silt from the erosion of the lagoon's banks. Its food chain had become unbalanced because of an over abundance of vegetation. Since 1983, the lagoon has been drained, excess vegetation cleaned out, and native Texas plants introduced to restore the ecological balance in the lagoon. A sculpture, reflective of nature, was built to create an environment to be experienced and explored, while providing an interesting way for visitors to see the lagoon's plant and animal life. Artist Pat Johanson, was commissioned to develop environmental sculptures for the lagoon. The sculptures, competed in 1986, are built of gunite, a type of concrete sprayed over a steel foundation. Crushed firebrick was mixed with the concrete to create its vivid terra-cotta color. Comprised of two segments at the north and south ends of the lagoon, its curling fo~ns are glimpsed through the drooping foliage of the Bald Cypress trees that line the water's edge.

The sculpture at the north end resembles Sagittaria patphylla commonly known as the 'delta duckpotato" because ducks like to eat its fleshy roots and measures 235 by 175 feet. The south end traces the Pteris multifida, a fern, and measures 225 by 112 feet. The sides of several of its "leaves" curl upwards, and at one point form an arch creating a bridge for people to walk across.