Guy Hagstette, Kinder Foundation vice president of parks and civic projects and Buffalo Bayou Partnership board member, joined Scott McCready, principal at SWA Group, on September 24, 2020 to host a webinar in celebration of Buffalo Bayou Park’s fifth anniversary. Reunited five years after the completion of the park they both helped make a reality (Hagstette served as project consultant; McCready as lead designer), their presentation addressed the careful thought and planning that went into the realization of Buffalo Bayou Park. You may watch the full conversation below or by clicking this link.
Floating debris and litter that has made its way to the bayou.
From plastic water and soda bottles, to takeout containers and coffee cups, and even a rare basketball, the debris and litter which finds its way to Buffalo Bayou is an ongoing and nearly overwhelming problem.
Houston’s stormwater drainage system runs in such a way that following any rain event, litter from the streets is swept up in currents of water which travel into curb catch basins. From there, the debris journeys through an underground system, ultimately finding its way to the bayous, where it floats along as unsightly trash. If not managed properly, the rafts of litter, which can grow to be quite large, carry on to Galveston Bay and beyond.
Kinder Foundation believes in Houston’s ability to rise to a challenge. Despite these trying and uncertain times, we encourage every Houstonian to stay positive, calm, and follow the direction of our County Judge and Mayor.
Rich and I have witnessed, time and time again, Houstonians’ collective grit and resiliency. Together, we will emerge a stronger and more united city.
To learn about the Kinder Foundation’s COVID-19 relief efforts, please click here.
Justin Dyer is the director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri. He is responsible for leading a vibrant, diverse community of scholars who share an academic interest in rigorously unpacking the complex history of constitutional democracy in the U.S. and around the globe. He is also one of the nation’s leading experts on the United States Constitution.
Dyer was recently featured on the Our Voices Matter podcast, hosted by Houston journalist Linda Lorelle. By coincidence, his episode was recorded on December 10, 2019, the same day the United States House of Representatives unveiled two articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump. Per the episode description, “during the conversation, he helps put the current political landscape into historical context and shares his hopes and fears for post-impeachment America, based on the document our founders created.”
Take a listen to the episode here or watch it below:
Over the past six months, we have highlighted the progress made along each of Houston’s Bayou Greenways as part of the Houston Parks Board’s Kinder Foundation-supported Bayou Greenways 2020 project. This is the sixth in the series of posts, all of which can be found here.
More than six years ago, the Houston Parks Board announced a $50 million catalyst gift from the Kinder Foundation to support the ambitious Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative. Construction began at the end of 2014, and since then, Houston Parks Board (HPB) and its partners Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Harris County Flood Control District have made remarkable progress.
In a series of blog posts throughout the year, we will highlight the progress made along Houston’s Bayou Greenways as part of the Houston Parks Board’s Kinder Foundation-supported Bayou Greenways 2020 project. This post focuses on the Parks Board’s Bayou Greenways-related conservation and maintenance efforts.
By the end of next year, 150 miles of trails will weave through 3,000 acres of Greater Houston’s greenspace, connecting residents to nature and each other. The Houston Parks Board has spent the past five years designing and constructing this network of trails which comprises the Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative.
But the work does not stop when the last trail is christened. The Houston Parks Board has and will continue to invest significant resources toward routine maintenance and conservation, ensuring the highest standard of safety, beauty and ecological integrity of the trails and bayou system’s riparian zones.
In a series of blog posts throughout the year, we will highlight the progress made along each of Houston’s Bayou Greenways as part of the Houston Parks Board’s Kinder Foundation-supported Bayou Greenways 2020 project. This is the fourth in the series.
Houston Parks Board began construction on the missing links of White Oak Bayou Greenway at the end of 2014, and since then, Houston Parks Board and its partners have made remarkable progress. In fact, this first Bayou Greenway is nearing completion.
White Oak Bayou Greenway spans 16 miles. Starting at the bayou’s confluence with Buffalo Bayou at Allen’s Landing, the greenway heads upstream past UH Downtown, the Lionel Castillo Community Center, Stude Park, historic Olivewood Cemetery, TC Jester Park, and out to the Hollister Detention Basin at the city limits. It was the first Bayou Greenway trail to start and to ultimately be completed, in part because nearly 10 miles of existing trail by other entities had already helped set the Bayou Greenways precedent. To complete the greenway, the Houston Parks Board constructed the additional 6 miles of new trails – as well as 2 new bridges including a bridge over White Oak Bayou that connects the existing Heights Hike & Bike Trail to the Greenway. Funding for that bridge and part of the greenway was provided by the Memorial Heights Tax Incremental Zone. Major contributors to White Oak Bayou Greenway also included the Houston Endowment, Brown Foundation, Wortham Foundaton, Fondren Foundation, and a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant. Continue reading “Building the Bayou Greenways: White Oak Bayou”→
2019 Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award winners. Top row from left to right: Marla Trujillo, Minhtam Trinh, Kristal Watson, Sarah Tredway, Chae Ray, Kristina Jenkins, Ryan Beeler; bottom row from left to right: Caitlin Wales, Tracy Sanchez, Elvira Marquez, Jonathan Martinez, Greg Adragna, Nancy and Rich Kinder
Over the weekend, twelve Houston-area school teachers received the prestigious Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award (KETA) and a gift of $25,000 each in recognition of their outstanding work as educators.
Teachers from KIPP Texas Public Schools – Houston, YES Prep Public Schools, Teach for America Houston and Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Galveston – Houston were inducted into the KETA Hall of Fame alongside more than 250 other area educators. To date, Kinder Foundation has gifted over $3.7 million in grants since the program was established in 2001.
In a series of blog posts throughout the year, we will highlight the progress made along each of Houston’s Bayou Greenways as part of the Houston Parks Board’s Kinder Foundation-supported Bayou Greenways 2020 project. This is the third in the series.
To date, more than one-and-a-half miles of Hunting Bayou Greenway have been completed. Portions of the greenway, which is located along Hunting Bayou in northeast Houston, will touch Hutcheson Park, Herman Brown Park, and Mickey Leland Memorial Park
Last month’s completion includes the replacement of an asphalt trail with a new 10-foot wide multi-use concrete trail north along West Hunting Street. Amenities including pocket parks, landscaping, benches, signage, trash and recycling receptacles, and native landscaping and tree plantings were added, as was a new bike/pedestrian bridge with overlook plazas connecting to the existing Hunting Bayou Greenway. Gateways along this new segment include the Pine Tree Trailhead at Mickey Leland Park and the Oak Hill Pocket Park near the new bridge. Continue reading “Building the Bayou Greenways: Hunting Bayou”→
