HOUSTON – On January 11, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) and elected volunteers headed down to Little Thicket Park in the Heights to plant two thousand tree seedlings to populate the area with native greenery along the White Oak Bayou. It’s all part of their efforts to protect Houston bayous and revitalize the city’s natural habitat in partnership with the Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP).
GBEP is one of the nation’s 28 estuary programs dedicated to preserving our bays, bayous, and estuaries for future generations in collaboration with local communities and organizations, and KPRC 2 is teaming up with GBEP to highlight seven of its environmental initiatives committed to creating a sustainable habitat for the future throughout the year.
‘Houston Life’ showcased the first initiative with HPARD’s Natural Resources Manager Kelli Ondracek about the White Oak Bayou Riparian Restoration Project. This project aims to restore seventy parks adjacent to bayous and tributaries by removing invasive species and planting 200,000 native trees and shrubs by 2030. Plus, protecting the natural green space benefits the City of Houston with better water quality, less erosion, and flood prevention. Watch the video above to see the incredible effort in creating a greener impact.
These initiatives are made possible by the support of GBEP through funding from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Thanks to generous funding from GBEP, TCEQ, and the U.S. EPA, this partnership with the Environmental Institute of Houston (EIH) at the University of Houston-Clear Lake is paving the way for a sustainable and healthier future.
For more information about HPARD’s programs, click → here.