GBCC Continues Outreach to Utility Districts

The Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition staff, Manager of Volunteer Programs Candice Pauley and Executive Director Jill Boullion, traveled to San Antonio in July to attend the annual summer conference of the Association of Water Board Directors. This is the Coalition's third year to be part of this state wide conference that attracted more than 2,000 delegates in 2012. The Coalition welcomed directors to learn more about our initiatives and projects in the watershed at our booth in the exhibit hall. A map featuring the location of water districts in north Harris County is always an attention getter.... directors love to locate their district and talk about the issues and challenges they are working on.

We also welcomed about 70 at our late afternoon reception at the Grand Hyatt. Cocktails, conversation and classical music was the order of the day. To the sounds of a harpist we spent time just relaxing and getting to know one another.

Thank you to the organizations that sponsored our reception: Johnson Radcliffe Petrov and Bobbitt pllc, LJA Engineering, Edminster Hinshaw Russ & Associates, AECOM, AEI Engineering, Brown and Gay Engineers, Clark Condon Associates, CivilTech Engineering, Costello Engineering, Environmental Allies, Hays Utility South Corporation, KBR and Klotz Engineering. We'd also like to recognize our board member, Todd Burrer, who was re-elected as Gulf Coast Trustee for AWBD. Congrats, Todd!

Look for us in Corpus Christi at next summer's AWBD Conference! We'll be the ones wearing green!!

Grants from Union Pacific and Cigna Healthcare to Fund GBCC Initiatives

The Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition has recently received notification of two grant awards. The Union Pacific Foundation will grant The Coalition $5000 to be used for educational outreach programs. On May 9th the Coalition will welcome Candice Pauley as the Manager of Volunteer Programs. Part of her charge will be outreach to the seven school districts and two community college systems in the Greens Bayou watershed. A partnership with San Jacinto College-North Campus biology department is already underway.

A grant award of $5000 was received from Cigna Foundation. Cigna's grant will help fund community gardens at Ida Gaye Gardens in the Coalition's North Reach. During pre-construction meetings with residents of the nearby Langwick Senior Apartments we learned that the residents had an interest in growing some of their own herbs and vegetables. The gardens will be constructed as raised beds so that someone of limited mobility or in a wheel chair can access them.

We are grateful for the support of these two foundations and look forward to beginning these initiatives!

North Reach of Greens Bayou Gets First Clean-Up

Saturday, April 14th was a bright, sunny (but windy) day on Greens Bayou and the GBCC welcomed about 75 volunteers to hold the first clean-up of The Coalition's North Reach. The project tackled 1.5 miles of bayou beginning at Veterans Memorial Drive and ending at Greens Parkway. Staged at the New Light Christian Center Church on Greensmark the event unfolded perfectly after the targeted bayou segment was mowed for the event by Harris County Flood Control.

Church volunteers, National Honor Society students from Spring Westfield High, corporate teams and utility district directors all pitched in to pick up litter, tires and large trash from in and around the bayou. A special thanks to the following: East Aldine District, Greenspoint District, Waste Management, CDM Smith, Harris County Emergency Corps, and Montgomery & Barnes.

The volunteer planning committee of Ann-Toinette Johnson-Preston, Cherie Cross, Tom Gall, Carrie Patterson and Grace Cervin deserves a real pat on the back for making the day run like clockwork. Stay tuned... we'll be back in the North Reach cleaning the next segment before you know it!

KBR Announces $150,000 for Greens Bayou Paddle Trail Development

Greens Bayou’s first canoe launch park took a major step closer to reality last week, thanks to a grant from KBR to the Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition. The grant, which provides $150,000 over five years, will also fund other launch sites along a nine-mile stretch in the South Reach of Greens Bayou.

The southern section of Greens Bayou is the portion that retains its most natural features. Thomas Bell Foster Park at 12895 Greens Bayou Drive is already under development as the southern-most trail head of a planned paddle trail. Additional launch locations will be developed going north on the bayou, and the ultimate goal is to qualify as a designated Texas Paddle Trail, said Coalition Executive Director Jill Boullion.

“A site has also been suggested for an overlook across the bayou from an eagle’s nest where eaglets hatch annually,” Boullion added.

“We are pleased to provide a multi-year commitment in support of the nine-mile paddle trail on Greens Bayou,” said Zac Nagle, vice president, KBR Investor Relations and Communications. “KBR has a long and special relationship with Greens Bayou, helping to improve the quality of life for approximately 400,000 residents who live along the bayou, from Willowbrook to the Houston Ship Channel, through economic development, flood mitigation, and park and trail development. This effort supports our charitable contribution focus areas of environment, health and education.”

The grant presentation was made at the Coalition’s Annual Meeting by Suzanne Mayne, KBR’s director of Environment and Sustainable Development.

The paddle trail is part of the Coalition’s Parks and Trails Master Plan, recently completed with assistance from the National Park Service. The plan’s three-fold objectives include:

•Expanding recreation and tourism opportunities beyond the March canoe race and occasional paddle events organized by the Houston Canoe Club each year – even without constructed launches.

•Preserving and restoring the natural areas and habitats along the bayou, a particularly important goal for the South Reach, which is seeing new development with the completion of Beltway 8 and is anticipating significantly more as Houston Ship Channel businesses prepare for the increased cargo expected from the widening of the Panama Canal, set to open in 2014.

•Providing environmental education programs for the three school districts along the planned trail. A partnership with San Jacinto Community College is already under way, and students are assisting with site clean-up, removal of invasive species and replanting of wetlands.

KBR continues support of Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition. Previous grant awards include $10,000 for Ida Gaye Gardens, a park for seniors in the Greenspoint area, and $10,000 for bayou clean-up in the West Reach of Greens Bayou.

“KBR has been a wonderful community partner with the Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition since our inception,” said Boullion. “KBR has not only provided funding for key projects that improve our community, but their employees have provided volunteer assistance and filled key leadership roles with our organization. We are excited because we know that these funds for the paddle trail will attract more resources and also have a huge impact on not only the local community around the bayou but on the Houston region as well. We are grateful for KBR’s continued trust in us.”

GBCC Annual Meeting A BIG Success

Greens Bayou stakeholders received an update on four aspects of the Coalition's activities of the last year: Master Plan development, community engagement, advocacy and finances. Chair of the Board, Bill Franks, welcomed about 170 attendees to the Coalition's 3rd Annual Meeting with a quote from Hellen Keller "Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much". That theme fit well for the luncheon event as key volunteers were recognized, the board of directors was sworn in, and a keynote address from USACE Disrict Commander Colonel Christopher Sallese was heard.

Jill Boullion, Executive Director, reported on the process that brought the Parks and Trails Master Plan to life and welcomed involvement as the Coalition Reach Committees begin to prioritize projects for development.

Awards were presented to the following:

Leap of Faith Award to Johnson Radcliffe Petrov & Bobbitt pllc

Founders Award to Regina Lindsey, Greenspoint District

Bayou Buddy Award to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints- Houston, North Stake

Volunteer of the Year Award to Bart Baker, Greenspoint District
Above and Beyond to Terry Finley of CenterPoint Energy

Sustaining Member award to Harris County MUD 33

We are appreciative of all event sponsors especially our Environmentalist Level: East Aldine District, Greenspoint District, KBR and Lone Star College-North Harris.

San Jacinto Community College Biology Students Tackle the Trash

On Friday, March 2, the Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition partnered with San Jacinto Community College North Campus Biology Staff and Students as well as the campus Green Team for a project in the South Reach. The project was a site clean-up at Thomas Bell Foster Park, located near Normandy and Interstate 10. The park will eventually become the southern-most trailhead of a planned paddle trail.

With assistance from Bayou Preservation Association the students learned about invasive species, worked on plant removal and also began replanting the wetlands on the park site. A large pile of tires and other trash was also removed and hauled away later by Harris County Flood Control.

Everyone left sweaty and dirty but excited about how much progress was made. A special thanks to Northshore Rotary for providing drinks and snacks.

St. Arnold Brewery hosts "Sneak Peak" of the GBCC Parks & Trails Master Plan

A great crowd gathered at St. Arnold Brewery on Thursday, February 16th to see a sneak peak of the Greens Bayou Parks & Trails Master Plan. The plan, created through a technical services grant with the National Park Service, has been in development for more than 2 years. Each of the four reach committees began making assessments in 2010. In Feburary 2011 a series of public input meetings were held throughout the watershed. More than 200 projects were suggested at those meetings so the reach committees went back to work doing on-line and on-the-ground assessments to gather more data. The highest ranking projects were reviewed by a regional committee consisting of Houston Parks Board, Bayou Preservation Association, Houston-Galveston Area Council and City of Houston Parks and Rec Department. The top 40 projects, spread evenly across the reaches, were mapped and included in the Executive Summary released last week.

A HUGE thank you to the staff at North Houston Association for the role they played in putting the event together. Also, thank you to Alan Potok from Harris County Flood Control for kicking off the evening with his comments & opinions about partnerships in the community. About 100 people attended the event and enjoyed some great St. Arnold beer and cheese provided by local cheesemaker Dairy Maids.

The GBCC will hold it's annual meeting on Tuesday, March 27th at the Hyatt North Houston. The full master plan will be distributed to all attendees. Sponsorships are available. For information email jboullion@greensbayou.org.