G r eat A m er ica n Cle a nu p // 201 2 Re p ort
houston, TX
Keep Houston Beautiful Day featured two major projects coordinated by the Greater East End Management District. Volunteers participated in the cleanup of Japhet Creek Green Finger Park, a natural stream that is the last tributary to Buffalo Bayou on the east side of downtown Houston. In addition, volunteers cleaned up historic Dawson-Lunnon Cemetery, situated in a 100-year-old African-American neighborhood for which a plaque is being sought from the Texas Historical Commission. Keep Houston Beautiful Day also featured a cleanup of the historic College Park Cemetery and a cleanup sponsored by the Woodcrest Neighborhood Civic Association near I-10 and Washington Avenue. Moreover, Worthing High School students and the City of Houston’s Department of Neighborhoods worked on curb painting as part of the Sunnyside project. Volunteers from Houston City Council District B and the Southwest Coalition of Neighborhoods conducted cleanups the following week, and Keep Houston Beautiful led a wide array of projects on Keep America Beautiful’s National Day of Action. Volunteers for the Hermann Park Conservancy planted trees, spanning an eight-acre area.
Keep Houston Beautiful Leads an Array of Cleaning, Greening Initiatives The Great American Cleanup’s spring program period offers community leaders a chance to take on a wide variety of projects over a prolonged period of time—often times, a month or more—in an effort to create more vibrant neighborhoods and build long-lasting bonds among neighbors. During the month of April, the City of Houston, through the leadership of Keep Houston Beautiful (KHB), did just that. And thanks to this collective effort, Houston is now greener and cleaner. Keep Houston Beautiful coordinated a number of projects, including two significant citywide efforts— Keep Houston Beautiful Day on April 14 and the first-ever National Day of Action on April 28. “Volunteers contributed many hours of work to make Houston the beautiful city it is,” said Robin Blut, executive director of Keep Houston Beautiful. “We could not have done this without the support of the individuals, community organizations and businesses that donate their time, expertise and money to this effort.”
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“The Hermann Park Conservancy was the grateful recipient of almost 200 trees, which were much needed to replace trees lost to the 2011 summer drought,” said Barbara Jo Harwell, conservation director of HPC. “(It’s) an urban forest in the making!” The Museum Park Super Neighborhood cleaned up that area and mulched trees on the esplanades. And the Houston Museum of Natural Science Conservation Energy Club celebrated Earth Day by inviting organizations to host booths in its Grand Hall with activities to support learning about resource conservation and keeping Houston clean. Also on April 28, the Carverdale Civic Club with Waste Management sponsored a cleanup of R.L. and Cora Johnson Park.
houston, TX