Trees for Houston Takes Root With a New Permanent Garden Oaks Campus Thanks to a $3 Million Gift

Trees glorious trees! Houston’s verdant, if sporadic, canopy is getting a boost from one of the city’ most generous foundations with a $3 million grant toward Trees for Houston’s new 1.5-acre campus in the Garden Oaks neighborhood. With an on-site tree nursery and a new facility, the nonprofit will be able to expand its capacity to distribute more trees to constituents and to provide educational programming for both children and adults.

The Kinder Foundation, under the auspices of Nancy and Rich Kinder, has provided the lead gift in the nonprofit’s Taking Root capital campaign. Thus, the site at 2001 W. 34th Street will be named the Kinder Campus. Groundbreaking is expected in the later part of the year.

In the meantime, Trees for Houston is hosting tree giveaways at the site, the next up are scheduled from 10 am to 1 pm on May 15 and May 29. So far this planting season, more than 7,000 trees have been given away at this location.

“The establishment of a new community campus will be transformational for Trees for Houston as it continues to increase tree distribution across the greater Houston area for years to come,” Nancy Kinder, president and CEO of the Kinder Foundation, says in a statement. “The Kinder Foundation is proud to support Trees for Houston as they continue their commitment to greening the region through the planting, protecting and promoting of trees.”

Trees for Houston executive director Barry Ward says that the tree nursery on the Kinder Campus will be “a game changer in increasing our growing capacity to meet the needs of those we serve, including local municipalities, parks, schools, nonprofits, community partners and individuals.”

Last year, Trees for Houston distributed close to 20,000 trees with a goal of reaching 100,000 trees planted within the coming five years. Notable plantings in 2020 include 5,524 trees with community partners such as the City of Houston, Memorial Park Conservancy, Spark Park, Houston Arboretum and the Houston Zoo, in addition to 3,473 trees at 22 volunteer plantings in parks, schools, along streets, esplanades, bayous and trails and in tribute groves. Volunteers, numbering 1,000, have contributed more than 2,500 hours in tree plantings throughout the region.

Kirksey Architecture and Lauren Griffith Associates are designing the campus, which will include notable green features including a cistern to catch rainwater for irrigation and a permeable surface area rather than concrete.

Sheila Condon and Larry Nettles are chairing the capital campaign which, now that $6.5 million has already been raised, is entering the public phase. Major contributors include Kyle and John Kirksey Sr. at $1 million, longtime Trees for Houston partner Chevron with a $750,000 contribution, and the Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation and C.T. Bauer Foundation committing $500,000.

John Kirksey was part of the group that founded Trees for Houston in 1983. Since that time, more than 600,000 trees have been planted. The City of Houston’s Resilient Houston strategy and Houston Climate Action Plan, which carries a goal of planting 4.6 million trees over 10 years, is moving full speed ahead. “The trees provided by Trees for Houston will help restore, protect and enhance our ability to capture and store carbon and help reduce flooding,” according to a release.