Media Release                                            

East Downtown Management District to Plant Grass, Trees
at East End Park as Part of Keep Houston Beautiful Day

[Houston , TX] [April 11, 2007 ] – Houston’s East End is on the move, and a key element to its revitalization will move a step closer to completion this weekend with the planting of 64 trees and 300 yards of grass along a five-block area of green space on Bastrop St. that was once a weeded, trash-ridden railroad right-of-way.

The project is part of Keep Houston Beautiful Day, held in association with Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest annual community improvement program. The East Downtown Management District is coordinating the event and will be joined by Republic Services, Inc., HLS Enterprises of Texas, Inc., M2L Associates, Inc., Stockyard Photography, Beneficial HSBC, J. P. Industries, Barespot Solutions, CJM-The Soil Supermart, and citizen volunteers to beautify the space. The event will be held on Saturday, April 14^th starting at 8:00 a.m. The check-in location for volunteers is 1410 Hutchins St.  

The park project originated four years ago when a five-block long right-of-way along Bastrop St. between Bell and McKinney Streets was abandoned. The East Downtown Management District, in partnership with the East Downtown Redevelopment Authority and TIRZ 15, saw the need for a community park in the once industrial area that had begun to see rapid residential growth and immediately knew the site had potential. “Four years ago the weeds on the property were eight feet tall and it was littered with broken glass and all kinds of trash,” said Jim Olive, Chairman of the East Downtown Management District’s Clean and Green Committee. “The difference between how it looked then and how it looks now is amazing. It’s like a little jewel of green in the midst of all this construction. This park is vital to the neighborhood.”

A delegation from Shenzhen, China, Houston’s first Sister City established more than 20 years ago, will soon get a first hand look at the site when they make an official visit in conjunction with the 2007 Houston International Festival, which will celebrate China. That visit will have special meaning because three years ago on the 20^th anniversary of Houston’s Sister City relationship with Shenzhen, an international garden was planted there to honor cultural exchange between the two cities. A future international garden will be planted on the south end of Houston’s park to reciprocate that honor.

C.F. Lin, AICP, of M2L Associates, Inc., who designed the Shenzhen garden as part of an international garden expo four years ago, has played a key role in both park projects. “The garden in Shenzhen was designed with a solar system theme in celebration of Houston’s global recognition as the Space City,” Lin said. “The theme for our east end park is based on the Promenade in Santa Monica, CA, which served as the catalyst for the revitalization of that city. I call it the ‘Promenade Where East Meets West,’ and it will celebrate how our two cultures come together.” This weekend’s planting project will include 16 each of Live Oak, Bald Cypress, Pine, and Crepe Myrtle trees. “Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture, so the total number of trees being divisible by eight was chosen for that reason,” Lin said.

Bill Linthicum, Area President for Republic Services, Inc. and Chairman of Keep Houston Beautiful, takes great pride in the project. “As lead corporate sponsor for Keep Houston Beautiful Day, Republic Services is proud to be a part of this citywide initiative and to give back to the community,” he said. “Our employees will be volunteering to help plant the Shenzhen Garden and top soil, crushed granite and mulch for the park have been donated by one of our sister companies, CJM, The Soil Supermarket, A Living Earth Technology Company.”

Keep Houston Beautiful Day is the largest annual one-day neighborhood cleanup in Houston, with 22 city-wide cleanup locations. More than 600 volunteers will plant trees, pick up trash, paint over graffiti and perform other cleanup activities to improve the appearance of Houston neighborhoods. Additional events will take place throughout April and May, and registered participants receive materials and resources to help make the cleanup efforts a success.

Houston’s Great American Cleanup activities are part of a larger national effort that is expected to involve close to 2.5 million people volunteering more than 8 million hours to clean, beautify and improve 15,000 communities during 30,000 events in all 50 states. For the fifth consecutive year, President George W. Bush will be serving as Honorary Chair of the Great American Cleanup, and First Lady Laura Bush will also be joining him for the third consecutive year as Honorary Co-Chair.  

The 2006 Great American Cleanup produced phenomenal results with over 228 million pounds of litter and debris collected; more than 2.5 million scrap tires and 37 million plastic (PET) bottles removed from the waste stream; 10,000 illegal dump sites cleaned; 38.5 million pounds of aluminum and steel recycled; more than 5.5 million trees, flowers and bulbs planted and more than 6,000 miles of rivers, lakes and shorelines cleaned by the strength of over 2 million volunteers.

Many of America’s leading companies are dedicated to supporting and sponsoring the efforts for the 2007 Great American Cleanup.  The National Sponsors are: American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Firestone Complete Auto Care™ and TiresPlus™, GLAD® ForceFlex® Trash Bags, Pepsi-Cola Company, Sam’s Club®, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Sparkle® Paper Towels from Georgia-Pacific, Sprint Foundation, Troy-Bilt®, Waste Management, Inc., and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company; Educational Partners: Rubber Manufacturers Association and The Wireless Alliance.  The Texas Department of Transportation supports events across Texas.

Keep Houston Beautiful Day is supported locally by Republic Waste Services, Moody-Rambin Interests, Halliburton, Houston Parks & Recreation Department, Marathon Oil Company, and Houston Pepsi Cola Bottling.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. The Great American Cleanup™ is the organization’s signature program that mobilizes millions of volunteers to improve their communities through hands-on participation. For more information, visit www.kab.org.

About Keep Houston Beautiful

As a national award-winning Keep America Beautiful affiliate, Keep Houston Beautiful has worked with all segments of the community for more than 30 years to educate and empower individuals to take greater responsibility for beautifying and enhancing Houston’s environment. Each year’s successes have created a cleaner and healthier city for all Houstonians.  For more information, visit www.houstonbeautiful.org.

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