We started this program because we had been hearing stories from families about how our largest park in Gulfton, Burnett Bayland Park, wasn’t clean or safe. We knew we had to do something. This is our home. We can take ownership of it. So we went through a leadership training with the BakerRipley Community Engineers program, gathered volunteers, and started cleaning up the park. We contacted Keep Houston Beautiful and they helped us with materials. Our work caught the attention of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and they added some lights to make the park safer and more visible. 

As we were working, we noticed an unused community garden right at the entrance to the park. We had a vision of turning it into a butterfly garden, but we didn’t know exactly how to make it happen. I had been involved in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Complete Communities meetings, and that’s where I met Lisa from Houston Parks Board. I told her about our idea, and she helped us make it happen by connecting us with the staff at Houston Parks Board, and through them, a garden designer.  

Now, whenever we go out and tend the garden, we ask people what they think of the changes. They say, “It’s looking cleaner and beautiful. We feel safer now.” And that’s really what we wanted. Kids will come up to us with their parents and ask what we’re doing. They’ll say, “I want to pick up trash, too. I want to water the plants.” And for the last 3 months, we’ve noticed our recycling cans are being used. It wasn’t easy at first. Gulfton is a diverse community with different cultures from all over. When you’re not from here, it’s hard to understand why recycling is important. I learned about it when I came here. 

Thank you to Maria for sharing her story!

This story is a part of a new initiative by Houston Parks Board to share stories about Houstonians' most meaningful park moments across our city. Because parks are a place for all of us. Parks are where we celebrate the things that matter. This is just the start—we will be showcasing the experiences of as many people in as many neighborhoods through as many winding pathways as possible. 

This effort is in celebration of Bayou Greenways 2020 which is bringing together neighborhoods like never before–connecting 150 miles of trails and 3,000 acres of green space. Houston Parks Board is proud to share the experiences of individuals in neighborhoods across our city. These are #ParksByYou. 

Our park in Gulfton, Burnett Bayland Park, wasn't clean or safe. Now with help from the city and volunteers, we've cleaned it up, planted a garden, and started recycling.

Keeping Our Parks Clean

At first, I led short distances. I didn’t think we’d make it through that first mile. But gradually we built up and finished a half marathon, and then a full marathon. It was my first view of what parks could be. Now we train all the time. 

We have free 5Ks every first and last Sunday of the month, hosted by the Houston Wellness Center. We train for Chevron and runs across the nation, like Big Sur. We run White Oak Bayou, George Bush Park, Memorial Park, Buffalo Bayou. We go downtown, by the aquarium. We run all summer, hot or cold. In a city like Houston, it’s possible to do that. I feel like we are blessed in Houston. We have so much space. I can’t believe all of this is available to us, right in the middle of the city. 

Running together has changed us. One of our runners is a young man who was in the navy. During his exit physical, he discovered a family history of high blood pressure. Even though he was only 22 at the time, he had the option of taking pills or making changes in his life. He chose running. Now his health is under control. And he’s not the only one. Four or five of our runners have actually gone med-free because of running. One of our most elite runners has arthritis and lupus. Running has kept her pain manageable.

We do everything and anything that promotes a positive lifestyle and helping one another. We visit nursing homes. We volunteer during the holidays. When one of the ladies in our group was diagnosed with breast cancer last Fall, we took turns bringing weekly meals. It’s all about giving back to each other. It lifts us up and keeps us going.

Thank you to Oanh K. for sharing her story!

Once I signed up to coach running, my short distances turned into half marathons then full marathons. The Houston Wellness Center hosts free 5Ks and we run everywhere.

Becoming a Marathon Runner

Before the pandemic, my bike didn’t really get that much use. I bought it years ago and rode quite a bit at first, then it sat in the garage for a long while. The pandemic has changed that. I’ve put more miles on my bike in the past six months than ever before. I am outside so much more right now and I’m really enjoying that. My family is, too—I take my wife, who is currently pregnant with our fourth child, and my three boys to explore new parks.

I work for City Council Member Robert Gallegos as the Director of Public Affairs, so it’s my job to know the ins and outs of the community. But it’s also my passion. I live here, too, and I want to see thriving, vibrant parks in my neighborhood. So do my neighbors. Because I’m part of this community, I get to hear all their ideas and help them get involved to make them a reality. Like the bridge at Mason Park.

I’ve been going to Mason Park since I was a kid and I love taking my kids there now. It has everything a park should have—trails, running paths, and a new pedestrian bridge that connects one side of the park to the other. Prior to this new addition, you had to walk along the narrow sidewalk of a busy road and it felt a bit dangerous. I’ve done it a few times while pushing a stroller and it was scary. Now, you can walk, run, or cycle across the bayou without missing a beat.

When I talk to my neighbors about getting involved to improve our local parks, I ask them, “What role can you play in making your community better?” There are so many ways to be part of a greener vision of Houston’s future. For me, that means talking to the people around me and advocating for positive change wherever there’s a need. 

The leader of the running club invited me to join and said, “Just walk with us.” I went from walking to running and now I’m doing marathons. Our group started by running around the neighborhood, then we branched out to parks. It was a breath of fresh air.

There’s this one place over at White Oak Bayou on the top of the bridge, where downtown is behind you. When we go out there early in the morning, with the color of the sky and the way the buildings look, it’s really beautiful. When I run on Sundays, my 13-year-old son follows us on his bike. Running isn’t cool to him because mom does it, you know? But he loves his bike and the trails. He was having challenges with his weight and now he’s healthier and happier. We have a great time out there. We train all over—White Oak Bayou, Memorial Park, Buffalo Bayou, and others. Terry Hershey. That one is home to me. 

If you want to run, you can run. If you want to walk, you can walk. It’s not like any other running club. It’s really like a family. We get together all the time.

We have a GroupMe and someone will mention they’re going out and someone else will respond. We’re never alone. I don’t know if it’s because we’re all different ages and from different parts of the world, but we encourage each other and that’s something you don’t often find these days. After Chevron, our running leader came up with our current challenge: to partner up with someone and hit 2019 miles collectively. And we’re doing that. We’re showing up for each other.

Thank you to Aisha for sharing her story!

Walking, running, marathons—our group does it all. We've been exploring each of the Houston bayous and we, kids and adults included, are much happier and healthier.

Finding My Houston Running Group and Showing Up

You don’t want to hear, “This used to be here.” You want to enjoy it while you have it. You want to take your shoes off and walk around and absorb that energy out there. Nature puts life into us every time we take a breath. It’s a moment of meditation, peace, and solitude. And fellowship in the midst of good company.

We enjoy doing things together. We combine the best of what he does with the best of what I do in a joint effort, but we’re each involved in different things.

You want to enjoy it while you have it. You want to take your shoes off and walk around and absorb that energy out there.

Fellowship in Good Company

It was where we could have our own little place with no rules, no guidelines. It was therapeutic for us. We had found a place where we could feel grounded and free at the same time. My kids, in a sense, found home. 

We explored as many new parks as we could and discovered so many we loved. Now the kids decide each week whether they want to try a new park or visit one of their favorites, like “Slide Park,” “Hill Park,” “Castle Park,” or “Sand Park.” Those are their names for them. Slide Park (Josey Lake Park) has a turf grass hill where they like to slide down on cardboard boxes. Hill Park (Hockley Recreational Complex) is where they like to skateboard. My boys love watching the trains and climbing trees there. “Castle Park” is Donovan Park in The Heights and “Sand Park” is the Nature Play Area in Buffalo Bayou Park.

 The place is wide open for them to explore and create their own reality. It’s their home.

We forget that kids take in everything we share with them. My kids are so curious about plants, animals, and flowers now. It’s amazing to see that cultivation in their minds, how they soak it all up. Now my daughter has a favorite flower—sunflowers. Once you start something for a child, they’re automatically interested and you don’t have to teach them to be curious. Their sense of wonder guides them.

Thank you to Rachel for sharing her story!

My kids found a sense of home in Houston parks. Josey Lake Park and Donovan Park are some of their favorites. Splash pads, shade, sunflowers, wildlife, there's everything.

Finding Parks for Our Kids

I did some digging and found out that the Houston Parks Department owned it, and that they had this goal of green spaces in the area. So some parents and I rallied around the idea of having our own park. We met with the Houston Parks Department and Houston Parks Board, let them know our interest and had a few events in the community to raise awareness. 

I was surprised by how many people showed up. It takes 1 or 2 people to take initiative, but a lot of people will volunteer and support you once you’ve got something started. And Colleen, Alex, Grant, Ellie, and I didn’t reinvent the wheel. We talked to other organizers from Friends of River Oaks Park and Woodland Park. Houston Parks Board was a partner to us in fundraising, and the Houston Parks Department funded us through a National Parks and Recreation Association Disney Grant. 

Thank you to Sarah for sharing her story!

With the help of these organizations, we were able to give Wagner Park a picnic table, barbecue pit, bike rack fence, and a chimney swift tower for birds.

Creating Our Neighborhood Park

He had a pickup truck, and we wore that thing out pulling the water trailer around. If it hadn’t been for him, we never could have done it, but we did. We’ve planted trees in all four Alief parks. And well, we’ve planted about six thousand trees, all through volunteering and little, if any, money. The whole park has changed—we’ve added picnic tables, barbecue pits, and even softball bleachers.

When I first started planting, there was a kid whose parents would bring him to the park every day for fresh air. He had cerebral palsy. I remember him looking at what I was doing and saying to me, “Hurry up with those trees because it’s too hot out here!” Now he’s graduated from high school and still goes to the park. When I see him now, we joke with each other. I say, “How do you like those trees?” And we just laugh because now so many areas of the park are completely shaded. I know it sounds like a small thing, but when you’re not able to get around quickly, and it gets to a hundred degrees, it’s nice to have some shade. It makes the experience something everyone can enjoy. 

The thing is, this is our home and we can take care of it. We can take a handful of milkweed seeds and toss them onto the ground and grow something beautiful. We can meet people and our lives can change before we know it. In the next 18 months, we’ll have trails here. I couldn’t be more excited. Somehow we went from nothing to all of this. 

Thank you to Barbara for sharing her story!

I wanted trees for our Alief parks to have some shade. So the volunteers and I reached out to the city and now we've planted about 6,000 trees.

Planting Trees with A Handful of Milkweed Seeds

I’m 80: the oldest by only 2 weeks. The youngest is 72. When we started out, some of us weren’t in the best health and we could go little more than half a mile. Now we’ve worked up to 2 miles a day. It’s nice to know there’s a world out there that can be enjoyed and you don’t just have to sit at home in your rocking chair. It has been one of the best things that has happened to us. We have the greatest time on the trails at Herman Brown Park. We laugh so much. 

Walking in the park has really opened up a whole world for all us. We’ve made so many friends along the way that if we have to skip a day, people say, “Where have y’all been? We miss you!” One day when we were walking, we discovered a community garden maintained by the City of Houston and Furr High School. They needed volunteers so we adopted 3 plant beds. We’ve gotten to know the instructors and the students. It’s been a joy to grow vegetables and share a fresh harvest with the community.

That can be nothing but good for you. Once you start doing it, you’ll never regret it. Life is good.

Walking in the gardens has opened up a new world for us. Even in the Houston heat, we go out and walk. We've grown fresh vegetables and shared them with the communities.

Walking and Gardening with the Girls

It’s encouraging those who don’t frequent the park to see how nice it is and enjoying the amenities that are available to the entire community.  

When I first heard about Houston Parks Board’s plan to create miles of continuous bayou pathways, my first thought was, “How will that impact my community, and will my community get their share of those dollars and trails?” When Lisa of Houston Parks Board came to our civic association, she showed us a grand plan that was inclusive of our community, and we still weren’t sure if it would happen. But they followed through. They delivered. There were places where trails were put years ago that were in disrepair, and they put maintenance on it to make sure that, 6 months later, there aren’t overgrown weeds and a trail no one will use again. It gave everybody in the community a sense that they were serious about connecting citizens to the Bayou Greenways projects.

We’ve seen a big difference since the trails were put in. My grandkids are 7 and 9. These trails are clean, safe and wide—there’s so much space for them to ride around in. Our community has gotten the sense that this is a project that is inclusive of everyone. They said what they were gonna do, they did it, they delivered it, and it was as good as they said it was going to be. And they’re going to continue with that work with this new resting area at Martin Luther King Boulevard. It’s going to be a nook park with trees and benches. They bought the land there and took the initiative to enhance the trail and put this little park in. We’re really excited about it. 

Thank you to Charles for sharing his story!

The trails and parks with new trees and benches are impacting our Houston communily. My grandkids are able to ride these clean and safe green spaces nearby.

Get Closer with Each Other Stories

The Earth Is for all of us

Running at Sunrise

What a Ride

Showing Up

Fellowship in Good Company

Finding Our Own Place

Creating our own neighborhood park

A Handful of Milkweed Seeds

Sassy Silver Steppers

Trails For Everyone