September 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 58

Common Ground
How the City of Houston and an energy company are growing Houston together
By Amy Kapp
Sometimes, all it takes is a little common
ground to spark a powerful connection.
And for the Houston Parks and Recreation
Department (HPARD) and the Apache Corporation, that common ground is trees.
" Their goal is to plant trees. Our goal is
to plant trees. It's a perfect relationship, "
says HPARD Director Joe Turner. He adds
with a laugh, " I don't really have a tree
budget. I just write in the word 'Apache.' "
Over the past eight years, the Houston-based oil and natural gas producer has donated an estimated 130,000
trees to HPARD through the Apache
Corporation Tree Grant Program, a foundation-based initiative that seeks to
improve wildlife habitats, restore storm
damage and enhance cities and neighborhoods in Apache-active states. After
a small donation to HPARD in 2006, the
partnership grew, and today, 20,000
Apache trees are planted annually in
Houston's park system.
" They are one of our biggest partnerships, and we've been able to do some
amazing projects, " Turner affirms.
As vice president of governmental, regulatory and community affairs for Apache,
Obie O'Brien is responsible for day-to-day
oversight of the grant program, which he
launched in 2005. According to O'Brien,
the program began like many others -
with passion and an idea.
" Our founder, Raymond Plank,
was a tree nut, " says O'Brien. " It was
something that had been part of his
upbringing. I think it was in 2004 or
2005 that he and I were talking, and he
looked at me and said, 'I've got a new

Parks & Recreation

Apache Corporation's 3-millionth donated tree was planted in Houston's Memorial Park on Arbor Day 2013.
job for you. I want to plant a million
trees through the Apache Foundation.' "
And so they did. The 1-millionth tree
was planted in 2009 outside Apache headquarters in Houston, and on Arbor Day
in January 2013, the foundation saw its
3-millionth tree planted in Memorial Park.
" We have plans to plant our 4-millionth,
5-millionth, and 6-millionth trees in the
same place, " O'Brien adds.
HPARD notes Apache's significant presence since 2008 in Houston's Arbor Day
celebrations, where each year, thousands
of donated trees have been planted in
various green spaces throughout the city.
But the partnership would take on increased significance in 2011 when Texas
suffered the worst drought in the state's
history and thousands of trees were lost
in Houston's parks - including an estimated 20,043 in Memorial Park.

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In response to the disaster, HPARD embarked on a multiyear campaign, RE-Plant
Houston, the goals of which are to raise
money and rebuild Houston's urban forests in conjunction with nonprofits, businesses, citizen groups and volunteers.
On Houston's Arbor Day, January 26,
2012, upwards of 2,000 volunteers planted 25,000 trees in four city parks adversely affected by the drought. Apache
donated 20,000 trees to the effort, which
also included contributions from Trees
for Houston, the Memorial Park Conservancy, the Hermann Park Conservancy,
the Houston Parks Board and DRC Emergency Services.
Apache donated 2,000 five-gallon
trees and two large oak trees to support
similar activities on Arbor Day 2013, and
for the past few years has helped raise
hundreds of thousands of dollars for
reforestation efforts by sponsoring two
of the city's annual sporting events, the
Bayou City Classic Run for the Trees and
Tour de Houston.
O'Brien says working with partners
like HPARD makes sense, of course, because of the benefits municipal trees
provide cities in terms of green space,
shade, the amelioration of the heat-island effect and pollution control. But it's
also the understanding park agencies
have of smart native-plant use, and their
ability to maintain the trees long term,
that make them a good fit.
He adds, " We know when we give the
City of Houston Parks and Recreation
Department trees, they'll take care of
them. And three or four years later when
we go to look in on them, they'll be there
and thriving. "

September 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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