Beautification

 

What We Do

The Beautification Committee is charged with keeping our neighborhood clean and green and working on projects that will improve this special corner of Houston for generations to come.

The Board is always talking about projects that we may want the neighborhood to tackle.  If you have one that you would like discussed or a spot in our neighborhood that needs special attention, feel free to bring it to our attention. If you’d like to volunteer with the Beautification team, please let us know!


Norhill Esplanade

This park serves as the gathering spot for our community for most special events, such as Lights in the Heights, National Night Out and July 4th. While the city owns this park, we cut and water the grass. During our Centennial Year 2007, a Brick Terrace was approved for the south end of the esplanade. We hope you will stop by and see it!


Watson Esplanade

The entrance to our neighborhood from I-10 is the first impression many visitors have of Woodland Heights. It is important that it stays clean and green! We have a wonderful group of volunteers from the neighborhood that have taken it upon themselves to help with that effort. They have chosen plants that are drought resistant (though there is a sprinkler) and easy to care for, yet a few that add color all year round and only need minor maintenance.


Ley Plaza Park

The Beautification Committee is charged with keeping our neighborhood clean and green and working on projects that will improve it for generations to come. They are the ones who do the upkeep on the Norhill Esplanade, the Watson Esplanade, and Ley Plaza Park’s Butterfly Garden.

Their next volunteer project will take place on September 21, 2024, from beginnng at 8:30 a.m., as they refresh the Butterfly Garden at Ley Park Plaza, 1900 White Oak, 77009 (at the intersection of White Oak Dr & Gladys Street). Work to be done includes cleaning of the Butterfly Garden, cleaning underbrush in park, and picking up trash in area. All ages are welcome, parents of anyone under 18 should determine if the work is appropriate for their child. A volunteer waiver form is required to participate.

Want to meet your neighbors by helping with beautification projects? Come join us!.


Congratulations to Patricia German and James Muhl they are the homeowners of the August 2024 Yard of the Month!

Yard of the Month

Pat & James have lived in the Woodland Heights since 1978. The three lots on Reagan and Gladys streets were the former parsonage of a neighborhood Lutheran church. In the past 46 years, the house has been raised, restored, and remodeled, and the three lots brought back together to create a garden that is a habitat for wildlife. Patricia is both a Master Gardener and a Master Naturalist. She and James have built crushed granite and brick paths that wind around flower beds, two wildscapes, a vegetable garden, and a large pond.

Do you or a neighbor have a nice yard?


Woodland Heights Trees

 

In 1907, William A. Wilson, with foresight and a vision for community development, planted live oak trees in rows along Bayland Avenue and other streets of his newest development, the Woodland Heights. This deliberate act aimed to “shape a sense of community space” that would endure for generations. Over 100 years later, the trees that line Bayland are a unique, living green personification of the neighborhood and a fitting tribute to the developer's vision.

Today, we are the beneficiaries of his foresight and our collective efforts in preserving the beautiful urban canopy that lines our neighborhoods' streets. Besides the aesthetic beauty and shade trees provide, especially in the hot Houston summers, trees provide a number of other benefits, including energy conservation, an increase in property values, improved air quality, stormwater reduction, and wildlife habitat.

If you would like to increase the urban tree canopy there are a number of resources you may want to consider first.

 

Tree Resources To consider

The Houston Parks & Recreation Department's Urban Forestry section is responsible for the stewardship and oversight of the COH's urban forest. This includes diverse trees on city-owned property, including parks, esplanades, and rights-of-ways (ROW). Urban Forestry, plants, trims, and removes trees on COH property. In addition, Urban Forestry reviews permit requests that could impact any tree on the City of Houston property. Additionally, a permit is required for the removal of any tree on the City of Houston property, including the ROW area between the sidewalk and the street curb in front of the homeowner's property. COH Urban Foresters or their representatives are only authorized to work on City of Houston property. Citizens should contact a professional arborist or tree service regarding trees on their private property, except for city rights of way. To report illegal or unpermitted street easement tree Removal that is currently in-progress, call the Parks Dispatch office at 832.395.7100. The phone line is operated 24 hours a day. For all other street tree Service requests, call 3.1.1 or 713.837.0311.

Trees for Houston (TFH) is a non-profit organization founded in 1983. Their mission is to plant, protect, and promote trees throughout the Houston area. Their scope of work includes a wide variety of planting projects done in conjunction with numerous organizations and individuals. Homeowners may be interested in TFH’s  tree giveaway programs. For information regarding these programs visit https://www.treesforhouston.org/requests . Note: if your trees are not being planted on private property you will need approval from the correct authorities. 

The Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) was created in 1915 by the State of Texas to “promote forests interest in the state.” Their mission is to provide “statewide leadership and technical assistance to ensure trees, forests and related natural resources are sustained for the benefit of all.”  TFS provides educational resources for residents and local governments. In addition, they work with the National Arbor Day Foundation in The Tree City USA program. For additional information regarding the Texas A&M Forest Service visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/abouturbanandcommunityforestry.