15 Projects for 15 Years Launched!

In March 2025, Friends of Woodland Park successfully launched the “15 for 15” campaign to celebrate our 15th Anniversary with a series of engaging events. This initiative aims to fund 15 vital projects that will enhance the natural beauty and community engagement in Woodland Park. Donate and learn more more at: https://www.friendsofwoodlandpark.org/15for15

We started with the inaugural “Picnic in the Park” on March 22nd. Families and friends gathered to enjoy a day of outdoor fun, complete with games, FWP picnic blankets, free ice cream donated by Southern Treats and picnic basket raffle! Participants had the opportunity to learn about the “15 for 15” campaign and how they can contribute to its goals.

On March 26th, we hosted a Members Happy Hour at H-Town Brewery. This event allowed members and supporters to connect in a relaxed atmosphere while discussing upcoming projects and initiatives. Attendees were inspired by the vision for Woodland Park's future and encouraged to share their ideas on how to make our park even better.

The month culminated in a presentation at the March WHCA meeting, where we detailed the “15 for 15” projects. Among these initiatives are plans for improved walking trails and a bayou viewing platform, planting native trees, creating educational signage, enhancing playground facilities, and organizing community events, all designed to foster a deeper connection between the park and its users.

To sustain momentum in our efforts, we invite community members to donate and volunteer for the “15 for 15” campaign. Your contributions, whether through financial support or by volunteering your time, are crucial to the success of these projects.

For more information on how you can help, please visit our webpage and get involved in making Woodland Park a treasured space for everyone. Together, we can ensure that this beautiful park continues to thrive for generations to come.

https://www.friendsofwoodlandpark.org/15for15

Members 15-for-15 Happy Hour

Calling all Annual, Lifetime, and Corporate Members!

Join us at H-Town Brewing to kick off our “15 Projects for 15 Years” Campaign on March 26th, from 5:30-7pm.

H-Town Brewing will provide food and drink specials, and the first drink is on FWP!

Not a member? Join today!

PICNIC in the PARK! 3/22

Join FWP in celebration of our 15th Anniversary! Picnic in the Park will feature family friendly games on the lawn, picnic baskets for raffle, ice cream treats and drinks. Plus, we will have information and displays about our “15 for 15” projects campaign!

Lunch pre-orders have closed, but you can bring your own picnic and join the fun! Donate $30 for a limited edition FWP picnic blanket and purchase raffle tickets for one of 5 unique picnic baskets!

Preorder a limited-editon FWP blanket and enter the raffle HERE.

Come have fun, meet your neighbors and learn about the 15 projects we’ll focus on in the coming year!

You can also sign up to volunteer!

SECTION 1 SOLD-OUT! Show Your Support for the Nature Preserve! Purchase and Personalize a Gateway Section!

PHASE 1 COMPLETE! PHASE 2 SECTIONS STILL AVAILABLE!

Help us give Woodland Park’s nature trails the entrance they deserve!  

Many park-goers and neighbors don’t even realize that there are beautiful, hospitable, and friendly nature trails along Hollywood Bayou (AKA Little White Oak Bayou) in Woodland Park.   One critical reason: there’s no visible “gateway” or trailhead. 

Now is your chance to donate and name one or more 10-foot section(S) of rail with engraved placard for $300 per section! Recognize a loved one, your dog who loves the trails, a scout or school group, or your favorite volunteer!

We are working with HPARD and their fencing contractor to establish a natural-wood, split-rail fence with an two openings offering a “gateway” into Woodland Park’s beautiful Nature Preserve.   It would line the border between the wooded nature preserve and the more developed park (picnic lawn, tennis courts, etc.), with a prominent opening inviting parkgoers to use the trails.  Similar railings exist in Memorial Park Eastern Glades area and in other CoH nature preserves. This project also kicks off our “15 for 15” projects commemorating the 15th year of FWP!

We want all our neighbors and parkgoers to experience the pleasures of the nature trail: herons, egrets, turtles, lizards - and over 170 species of birds in the preserve.  We also want to make sure that the space feels welcoming and secure; the rail will show that these are well maintained and publicly frequented trails.  

– ~$7K gets us 300 feet (from Community Center to Tennis Court) 

– ~$30K gets us 1000 feet (from Community Center all the way to “the Grove” / southwest corner of park on Houston ave

Woodland Park Legacy Fountain Public Art Request

Calling all Artists! The Friends of Woodland Park (FWP) is pleased to offer a grant of $2,500 to beautify a remnant piece of infrastructure—the 11-foot concrete bowl left from a century-old fountain!

Friends of Woodland Park seeks a mosaic (or other sculpture) artist to create a new piece of art using that bowl as its base.  Proposals should be submitted by 11:59 PM April 20th. For more info and to apply, click here!

As necessary, FWP members can also help secure materials (e.g., ceramics and stoneware collected from the neighborhood) Note that HPARD has already approved this process (and the specifications in this RFP), and will only require final sign-off on the approved design to ensure it is not offensive or problematic. 

Monthly Bird Survey/Bird of the Month!

Four intrepid birders set out on February 15th for the monthly Audubon Bird Survey! Although it was overcast, they did manage to find some birds - 28 species in all! Check out the list below and join them on the next Survey, March 15, 2025 at 7:30am.

BIRD OF THE MONTH:

The newest member of the Bird-of-the-Month Club is…..the Belted Kingfisher! What a cutie!

Learn more here!

February 15, 2025 Bird Survey

White-winged Dove  3
Neotropic Cormorant  3
Double-crested/Neotropic Cormorant  1
Great Egret  2
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
Blue Jay  4
Carolina Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  1
Red-vented Bulbul  3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Northern House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  4
European Starling  6
Northern Mockingbird  2
American Robin  17
Cedar Waxwing  2
American Goldfinch  5
Great-tailed Grackle  12
Orange-crowned Warbler  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
Northern Cardinal  6

February Work Day Delivers LUV!

What a day of LUV for Woodland Park! Over 50 volunteers from all over Houston showed up on a rainy day to WORK! Together, they pulled out over 2500 pounds of trash, built a new trail spur connecting Woodland Park and Freed Park, and weeded the Butterfly Garden and Firefly Field. That’s A LOT OF LUV!!!!

Special shout out to Brownie Troop 122245 who brought 10 volunteers to the bayou! Also thanks to students and scouts from BSA Troop 55 and Troop 30, The Regis School, St Agnes High School, St John’s School, St Thomas High School, Duchesne Academy, KIPP, and the University of St Thomas!

Sign up now for our March Work Day: TRASH BASH! Yes, it looks like Moody Park on the website, but Woodland Park is a Satellite location of the Moody Park site this year! We will still have all the fun, food, and music that you expect from TRASH BASH! We are grateful to our sister organization, Friends of Moody Park, for organizing “Trash Bash 2025 - "Clean It Like You Mean It" with H-GAC!