AUDUBON BIRD Survey
Saturday, May 11 at 7:30a.m. Jason Bonilla will be conducting another bird
watching adventure in Woodland Park. Meet us in front of
the community building, bring your
binoculars and join us for some birding fun!
Please join
us at any or all of these events and enjoy the natural
beauty of Woodland Park! Woodland
Park...Naturally Beautiful!
Our Mission
The
Friends of Woodland Park, Inc. (FWP) is
dedicated to preserving the park's natural
habitat along with its unique historical
significance to the city of Houston, and to
providing for the enjoyment and education of all
those who visit.
Our
mailing address is
P.O. Box 71,
Houston, TX 77001
We had a
great Tires
and Trash
Clean-up
last
Saturday
(April 13).
Tom's Posse
took 60
tires out of
the final
1/4 mile of
Little White
Oak Bayou
within the
park
boundaries.
We also
tackled a
lot of the
ragweed, and
removed many
bags of
trash from
the bayou
banks.
Thanks to
all of the
two dozen
volunteers
who showed
up!
On Saturday, January 19th
a wonderful group of about 20
friends and neighbors descended
on Woodland Park with
wheelbarrows and pitchforks in
hand. It was a beautiful
morning to haul and spread
mulch! We had a very successful
morning and were able to cover
many of the established trails
with bark mulch provided to us
by the city of Houston.
Although, there is much more
work to do, our efforts have
helped to define trails along
the north and south sides of the
bayou. We have much more to do
to improve the trails and get
visitors into the park to use
them. Many thanks to all those
who came out to help.
Friends of Woodland Park (FWP)
& Bridgestone Americas
Teamed Up and Cleaned Up”
Woodland Park by Felicia Zbranek
Although the day was overcast
and drizzly, it did not dampen
the determination of
approximately 130 volunteers who
descended upon Woodland Park and
Little White Oak Bayou to
accomplish something that can
only be described as “True
Grit.”
Not afraid of getting dirty,
volunteers representing Woodland
Heights’ residents, neighbors,
family and friends along with
Bridgestone Americas’ employee
volunteers and vendors CARQUEST
and NAPA came together to clean
up Woodland Park. And clean up
they did! The official count of
484 tires (the oldest dated back
to 1983) and approximately 200
bags of garbage and debris were
collected from Woodland Park.
At a special program, Mayor
Pro-Tem Ed Gonzalez formally
thanked Bridgestone Americas for
adopting Woodland Park as a part
of their national initiative
“One Team One Planet” and
presented City Proclamations to
both the Friends of Woodland
Park and Bridgestone Americas.
The Mayor Pro-Tem congratulated
all the volunteers on their
efforts to help clean up one of
Houston’s oldest parks.
FWP and Bridgestone Americas are
planning another clean up event
for the spring. Many, many
thanks to all of the volunteers
who came out to help. We hope
to see you again in the spring!
WOODLAND PARK HISTORY
Public parks were a rarity at the turn of the
last century. So when the Houston Electric
Company announced in 1903 that they would build
a grand new park there was considerable interest
from the citizens of Houston. Highland
Park, the park's original name, was to be built
on 30 acres of the Beauchamp Springs tract
between Houston Ave. and Little White Oak Bayou
at 212 Parkview. (more)
Highland Park "Lake"
WOODLAND PARK TODAY
The
Friends of Woodland Park, Inc., was created in
2007 and since then has sponsored several very
successful community events and activities.
Recently, the
Harris County Flood Control District has
completed a large project which included
removing invasive floral species from the banks
of Little White Oak Bayou and debris from within
the channel of the bayou. This significant
project was initiated by FWP and support by
former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia.
In addition, the Bayou Preservation Association
and Eric Ruckstuhl, have cleared a canoe path
under the Wrightwood Street bridge which now
almost completely connects this section of
Little White Oak Bayou to the Buffalo Bayou
State Paddling Trail. Also, Jason Bonilla a
Houston Audubon Society member, has initiated
monthly bird watching events in the park. The
FWP continues to sponsor movie nights and clean
up days in the spring and the fall, and is
currently organizing its first significant fund
raising event. Look for more information as
plans get finalized!
Please consider a donation of your time or a
financial contribution to the FWP. Please
contact us as
info@friendsofwoodlandpark.org.
