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LIKE TO CROUSE PEOPLE[Earth Day HTX: Tree Equity Platform]
UP, GET 'EM BACK HERE.AND WE NEED PEOPLE IN THE ROOM BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO JUST IMPROVE YOUR COGNITIVE ABILITY.
THESE, THESE, WE, WE HAVE CERTAIN PEOPLE IN THE CITY THAT ARE JUST COMPLETE ROCK STARS OF WHICH KELLY HAS WON.
SO WE JUST NEED TO GO GET EVERYBODY ROUNDED UP HERE.
I'M GONNA GET MY LITTLE INTRODUCTION THING READY.
I'M NOT FACEBOOKING, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THE NOTE, THE LITTLE NOTE APP NOTES.
SO ON NOTES, I HAVE MY INTRO STUFF.
THAT MEANS THAT MEANS WE'RE NOT GOING BACKWARDS ON THE FORWARD, THE FORWARD WILL GO, BUT THE, IT'S NOT GOING BACKWARDS.
HOW DID THAT LAST SPEAKER GO BACKWARDS? BLANK BLANK.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO GO BACKWARDS.
SO, SEE, THIS ONE'S THE FORWARD BUTTON HERE.
SO TELL YOUR FRIENDS THEY SHOULD COME TOMORROW THAT, HEY, THESE SESSIONS ARE GOOD.
I AGAIN, WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING US AGAIN? YES,
THIS PLACE IS, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY GOOD.
THE MAYOR DECIDED TO DO IT RIGHT.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, EVERYONE PLEASE, IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE MAYOR AND CATHERINE HAYHOE, THAT IS TOTALLY WORTH YOUR VIEWING TIME.
I'VE BEEN SEEING CLIMATE TALKS FOR 15 YEARS.
I'VE EVEN HEARD CATHERINE HAYHOE BY HERSELF.
THE SYNERGY BETWEEN THE MAYOR AND HER WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS IS SIMPLY THE BEST THAT I'VE EVER SEEN, AND I'VE SEEN A LOT PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT THAT EXCEEDED ALL MY EXPECTATIONS, AND I'M A TOUGH CRITIC.
BUT THIS WAS REALLY GOOD TODAY.
HOW LONG DO YOU WANT ME TO WAIT? START ANYTIME.
SO, UM, I CAN AT LEAST DO THE INTRODUCTIONS AND SO IF ANYBODY COMES IN LATE, TOO BAD, THEY MISSED IT.
KELLY ANDRES, A NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER FOR THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, HAS OVER 17 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN HABITAT RESTORATION, WILDLIFE RESEARCH AND HABITAT MANAGEMENT.
HER WORK EXPERIENCE INCLUDES PRIVATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
FISH AND WILDLIFE, THERE YOU GO.
KELLY HOLDS A BS BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND BOTH AN MS. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND AN MS. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT.
CALI HAS BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING, RESTORING, AND MANAGING NATURAL RESOURCES
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AND NATURE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON PARKS, INCLUDING OVER 18,000 AREA ACRES OF NATURAL AREAS.SO DID EVERYBODY SEE THAT WHEN IT CAME OUT? ABOUT HOW AWESOMELY COOL THAT WAS OKAY.
UM, KELLY IS THE DEPARTMENTAL RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER FOR HPRD.
SHE AND HER TEAM DEVELOPED THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S NATURAL PRESERVE ORDINANCE, WHICH PRESERVES OVER 7,400 ACRES OF HABITAT WITHIN CITY PARKS.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SHE ALSO DEVELOPED H PARK'S RIPARIAN RESTORATION INITIATIVE, WHICH WAS JUST INCLUDED AS A TIER ONE PRIORITY PROJECT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS COASTAL RESILIENCE MASTER PLAN.
HOW'D YOU DO THAT? ANYWAY? SO NEXT, CASSIDY KEMP IS THE HABITAT RESTORATION MANAGER IN THE NATURAL RESOURCES SECTION OF THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
SHE HAS SEVEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH.
PRIOR TO HER THREE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, CASSIDY WORKED FOR THE HOUSTON ARBORETUM AND NATURE CENTER AND THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITIES, GALVESTON BAY ESTUARY PROGRAM.
OH, HOW IS THAT? YOU GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT AT ALL? NO.
UM, SHE HOLDS BOTH A BS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY.
AND A BA IN POLICY STUDIES FROM RICE UNIVERSITY.
IN HER CURRENT ROLE, SHE MANAGES PRAIRIE RESTORATION PROJECTS, RIPARIAN RESTORATION PROJECTS, AND THE NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISIONS, GEOSPATIAL INVENTORIES.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT A GEOSPATIAL INVENTORY IS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TALK LATER, I THINK.
WELL, WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADO, LET ME HAND IT OVER TO THESE TWO.
SO, WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S TREE PLANTING PORTAL.
UH, SO PART OF RESILIENT HOUSTON, UH, ONE OF THE TARGET GOALS IS TO PLANT 4.6 MILLION TREES BY 2030 AND ACTUALLY NA, NEW NATIVE TREES BY 2030.
UM, SO PART OF THIS GOAL WAS THAT THE CITY WOULD WORK WITH PARTNERS, UH, AND TO DEVELOP A TREE PLANTING STRATEGY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND IT WOULD FOCUS ON AREAS WITH HIGH HEAT.
IT WOULD FOCUS ON AREAS WITH POLLUTION ISSUES, ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE ISSUES, AND, UM, TRY TO FIND AREAS WITH LOW CANOPY COVER.
SO ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS, UH, IN MEETING THIS GOAL WAS TO DEVELOP A GROUP THAT WOULD COME UP WITH HOW, HOW TO REACH THESE GOALS AND, AND WHAT'S ALREADY HAPPENING IN HOUSTON.
SO THAT WAS CALLED THE TREE STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION GROUP, AND THAT WAS LED BY HOUSTON WILDERNESS.
AND SO THEY PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO TRYING TO FIND ALL OF THE BIG TREE PLANTERS IN HOUSTON AND, AND WHO WAS PLANTING TREES, WHERE WERE THEY PLANTING THEM, HOW WERE THEY PLANTING THEM? AND SO THIS IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND EVERYONE CAME TOGETHER AND, AND SHARED STORIES AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH TREE PLANTING IN HOUSTON.
AND THEY, UH, HOUSTON WILDERNESS HAS THIS MANUAL ON THEIR WEBSITE NOW.
AND THIS WAS BASED ON THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND SO IT'S A, A GUIDANCE MANUAL THAT KIND OF PROVIDES THAT INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET THIS, UH, 4.6 MILLION TREE GOAL, UH, IMPLEMENTED IN HOUSTON.
AND SO NATIVE TREES IS A BIG THING FOR THIS GOAL.
AND, UM, THE NATURAL RESOURCES SECTION WITHIN THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, WE ONLY PLANT NATIVE TREES.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THAT IS THAT THEY'RE ADAPTED TO THIS AREA.
UM, THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE AND, UM, AND THEY'RE HIGHLY ADAPTED TO OUR CLIMATE.
SO, UM, IF YOU NOTICE IN THE FREEZE, YOU SAW SOME PLANTS THAT WERE DYING AND SOME TREES THAT WERE DYING AROUND HOUSTON.
A LOT OF THOSE WERE ACTUALLY NON-NATIVE.
AND SOME OF THE NATIVE STUFF THAT DIED WAS ACTUALLY PLANTED IN THE WRONG LOCATION.
SO SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR TREES IS TO PLANT NATIVE PLANT THINGS THAT ARE ADAPTED TO YOUR AREA AND PLANT THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
UM, NATIVE TREES ALSO PROVIDE HABITAT FOR NATIVE WILDLIFE.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF RESEARCH ON, UM, NATIVE TREES, THE INSECTS THAT UTILIZE THOSE TREES, AND THEN THE BIRDS THAT EAT THOSE INSECTS AND HOW THEY'RE ALL RELATED.
UM, AND THEN BRING IN NON-NATIVE TREES AND, AND, UM, SHOWING THE DIFFERENCES IN THOSE VALUES.
AND, AND NATIVE TREES ARE DEFINITELY THE WAY TO GO FOR WILDLIFE.
AND THEN ONE REALLY IMPORTANT THING AND AND SOMETHING THAT WE STRUGGLE WITH IN NATURAL RESOURCES IS, UM, PREVENTING INVASIVE SPECIES.
SO NATIVE SPECIES ARE HERE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BECOME INVASIVE.
THEY'VE BEEN HERE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
AND, UM, AND NEW SPECIES THAT ARE BROUGHT IN, EVEN IF, UM,
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ORIGINALLY IT SEEMS LIKE MAYBE THEY'RE NOT CAUSING AN ISSUE IN AN AREA, YOU KNOW, WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, THE, OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING.THE, THE PLANTS ALSO CHANGE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
SO SOMETHING THAT MAY NOT BE COMPETITIVE NOW COULD BE LATER, UM, AS, AS THE TEMPERATURE GETS WARMER AND MAYBE THERE'S NO FREEZES AND, AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES THAT NORMALLY CONTROL A SPECIES DON'T ANYMORE.
SO WE JUST HAVE TO BE, UM, VERY AWARE OF, UM, WHAT COULD HAPPEN.
AND, AND THE MOST, MOST OF THE MONEY THAT WE SPEND IN NATURAL RESOURCES IS REMOVING, UH, PLANTS THAT ARE NOT NATIVE TO THIS AREA AND THAT ACTUALLY BECOME INVASIVE.
AND SO WE DEVELOPED A NATIVE TREE LIST AND WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO DETERMINE NATIVE SPECIES TO HOUSTON.
SO WE LOOKED, OUR RANGE WAS HARRIS COUNTY AND TWO ADJACENT COUNTIES TO HARRIS.
UM, AND THEN WE LOOKED AT THE RECORDS, HISTORICAL RECORDS OF WHAT TREES WERE THERE PRIOR TO EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT.
AND WE CAME UP WITH A LIST OF 92 TREE SPECIES THAT ARE ON OUR LIST.
AND WE DIVIDED THAT LIST INTO DIFFERENT PLANTING AREAS.
SO WE HAVE A NATURAL AREA LIST, WHICH IS THE FULL 92 SPECIES.
'CAUSE THOSE ARE ALL SPECIES THAT WOULD NATURALLY GROW IN HABITAT IN HOUSTON.
UM, AND THEN WE PULLED OUT SPECIES THAT GROW WELL IN PARKS, JUST SINGLE TREES THAT YOU CAN PLANT ALONG THE TRAIL THAT DO WELL.
WE PULLED OUT SPECIES THAT DO WELL IN THE STREET, SO IT'S OUR RIGHT OF WAY LIST THAT, UH, CAN TAKE SOME HARSHER CONDITIONS.
AND THEN WE HAVE PARKING LOT TREES THAT ARE ALSO GOOD FOR HARSH CONDITIONS AND CAN TAKE SOME SMALLER PLANTING AREAS.
SO THOSE ARE ALL ON THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WEBSITE.
AND HOUSTON WILDERNESS ALSO HAS A LIST OF SUPER TREES, AND THOSE ARE TREES THAT, UM, SEQUESTER CARBON WELL.
AND UM, SO THEY HAVE THAT ON THEIR WEBSITE ALSO.
AND, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, UM, THE 4.6 MILLION TREES ARE BEING TRACKED RIGHT NOW.
SO IF YOU GO TO RICE UNIVERSITY'S WEBSITE, THEY'RE TRACKING ALL OF THE RESILIENT HOUSTON GOALS.
AND IT'S, UH, REALLY A GOOD SITE BECAUSE IT, IT LISTS EACH TARGET AND IT TELLS YOU THE PROGRESSION OF EACH OF THOSE GOALS.
AND, UH, THE TREES ARE ON THERE.
BUT WE WANTED TO, TO COME INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
SO RIGHT NOW PEOPLE SUBMIT THEIR TREE PLANTINGS, UM, AND EACH ORGANIZATION WILL SUBMIT A NUMBER OF TREES THAT THEY'VE PLANTED PER YEAR.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S TRACKED ON THAT SITE.
BUT WE WERE REALLY INTERESTED AND TALKING TO PREA AND, AND, AND LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN, UM, MAKE MORE IMPACT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AS TO WHERE ARE THE TREES BEING PLANTED IN HOUSTON, ARE THEY BEING PLANTED IN THESE HOT AREAS? UM, AND WHAT SPECIES ARE BEING PLANTED? UM, ARE WE GETTING A GOOD DIVERSITY OF SPECIES IN HOUSTON? AND, AND REALLY WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION UNTIL NOW.
UH, AND ANOTHER REASON FOR THE PORTAL WAS, UM, SO THAT ANYONE COULD GET ONTO THE WEBSITE AND TRACK THEIR TREES.
YOU KNOW, THE 4.6 MILLION TREES, UH, THAT NUMBER WAS CREATED BASED ON TWO TREES PER HOUSTONIAN.
THERE'S 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE IN HOUSTON.
SO, UM, WE'RE EXPECTING PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO PLANT TREES IN THEIR YARD.
AND UM, THERE REALLY HASN'T BEEN A WAY TO TRACK THAT TO THIS POINT BECAUSE WE'VE JUST BEEN TAKING NUMBERS FROM THESE LARGE TREE PLANTERS.
SO ANYONE CAN GO ON THIS PORTAL AND THEY CAN ADD A TREE TO THE PORTAL AND SHOW THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY PLANTING TREES.
AND THEN THIS TOOL IS ALSO HELPFUL, UM, TO GUIDE OUR FUTURE PLANTING PROJECTS, UM, TO SHOW WHERE WE NEED TO PLANT AND TO SHOW WHAT SPECIES WE NEED TO INCREASE IN HOUSTON.
UH, SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THE PORTAL, UM, IT DOES SHOW THE HEAT MAPPING.
SO SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UM, SOME GROUPS, WHICH WAS THE HOUSTON HARRIS HEAT ACTION TEAM GOT TOGETHER AND UM, THEY SPENT ONE DAY A HOT DAY IN HOUSTON IN THE SUMMER.
AND, UM, IT WAS A LOT OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS AND THEY TOOK TEMPERATURES ALL OVER HOUSTON THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
AND IT CAME UP WITH THESE NUMBERS OF THE HOTTEST AREAS OF HOUSTON.
SO THE RED ARE THE AREAS OF HOUSTON THAT ARE REALLY HOT.
THE LIGHTER AREAS ARE COOLER AREAS.
SO THAT KIND OF HELPS US SHOW WHERE WE NEED MORE TREE CANOPY.
AND UM, SO THAT'S ON THE PORTAL.
THE TREES CAN BE OVERLAID ON TOP OF THAT.
IF YOU LOOK AT A PARK AREA IN GENERAL, IT'S USUALLY PRETTY, PRETTY COOL 'CAUSE IT HAS, HAS GRASS AND TREES ALREADY.
SO A LOT OF OUR STREETS ARE HOT.
A LOT OF OUR HIGHLY DEVELOPED AREAS ARE HOT AND THAT CAN HELP GUIDE THE TREE PLANTINGS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE THE TREE EQUITY SCORE, WHICH IS FROM AMERICAN FOREST.
SO YOU CAN CLICK ON THAT AND GET A TREE EQUITY, UM, TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR TREE PLANTING PROJECTS AND, AND GUIDE YOUR LOCATIONS.
AND THEN THIS PORTAL ALSO CALCULATES THE ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS AND IT FOCUSES ON CARBON, UH, HOW IT CAN IMPROVE AIR POLLUTION AND UH, STORMWATER BENEFITS OF YOUR TREE PLANTING.
AND THEN SOMETHING WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN IS SPECIES DIVERSITY.
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TYPE OR OVERALL, UM, AND YOU CAN LOOK TO SEE, UM, THE DIFFERENT SPECIES THAT ARE BEING PLANTED IN HOUSTON.WE CAN SORT BY PLANTING TYPES.
UM, SO MOST OF OUR PROJECTS ARE HABITAT RESTORATION SITES.
SO YOU CAN JUST LOOK UP HA HABITAT RESTORATION SITES, BUT YOU CAN LOOK AT RESIDENTIAL PLANTINGS, PARK TREE PLANTINGS AND STREET TREES.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE AN OPTION TO SORT BY SIZE.
AND THIS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE PROJECT.
WE RECENTLY PLANTED THIS, UM, AND WE WERE TRYING TO FIND A REALLY HOT AREA OF HOUSTON TO PLANT AND WE HAD A LOT OF PARTNERS ON THIS.
AND WE FOUND AN AREA IN CASHMERE GARDENS THAT WAS REALLY HOT IN AN INDUSTRIAL AREA, BUT NEIGHBORHOODS REALLY CLOSE TO THAT.
UM, AND SO WE PLANTED MEDIAN AND WE, WE DID 487 TREES.
THE HEAT MAP SHOW THAT, THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE HOTTEST AREAS OF HOUSTON.
UM, AND SO THIS HELPED GUIDE OUR, OUR PLANTING AND NOW IT'S OVERLAID AND FUTURE HEAT MAPPING OPERATIONS.
HOPEFULLY IN 10 YEARS IF WE DO A NEW HEAT MAPPING, IT'LL SHOW THAT THIS AREA IS COOLER THAN IT IS NOW.
AND WE'LL HAVE THAT ON THE PORTAL ALSO.
AND NOW CASSIDY'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THE TREE PLANTING PORTAL AND, AND WALK US THROUGH THAT.
IS THIS MY, OH YEAH, IT'S ON
SO, UM, JUST BEFORE I START, EVERYTHING THAT IS, UM, CURRENTLY IN THE PORTAL IS JUST FROM OUR NATURAL RESOURCES TEAM AT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
AND JUST SINCE RESILIENT HOUSTON CAME OUT, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE TO TRY TO GET MORE TREES PUT IN THE PORTAL.
SO THIS IS THE LANDING PAGE WHEN YOU FIRST GET ON THE WEBSITE AND ON THE LEFT THERE IS KIND OF THE INTRODUCTION AREA AND THERE'S SOME TEXT EXPLAINING WHY WE HAVE THIS TREE PORTAL AND WHAT RESILIENT HOUSTON IS.
THERE'S LINKS TO RESILIENT HOUSTON AND TO SOME OF THE MAP FEATURES.
AND THEN ALSO HAS THE OVERVIEW OF THE ECO BENEFITS.
THIS IS, UM, A GREAT TOOL THAT IS RUN THROUGH IRE.
SO IT'S CALCULATING THE ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS OF ALL THE TREES THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PORTAL.
AND YOU CAN GET RID OF THAT LANDING PAGE BY CLICKING THE ARROW THAT HAS THE CIRCLE.
SO NOW THIS IS THE, THE HOME VIEW OF TREEPORT.
AND UM, SO WE'LL KIND OF START WALKING THROUGH EACH SECTION.
IT HAS THE MENU UP AT THE TOP LEFT AND THE LEGEND ON THE RIGHT, SO THAT ON THE TOP LEFT AND THE ORANGE CIRCLE, YOU CAN ZOOM IN AND OUT AND YOU CAN GO TO THE HOME EXTENT, WHICH IT CURRENTLY IS, WHICH SHOWS ALL OF HOUSTON.
AND THEN WITH THIS THE MAP ICON THERE, YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR BASE MAP.
SO THE BASE MAP THAT'S ON THERE RIGHT NOW IS GOOGLE HYBRID, WHICH SHOWS THE AERIAL IMAGERY.
AND THEN IT ALSO HAS LABELS FOR PLACE NAMES.
AND IF YOU WANT IT TO NOT HAVE THOSE LABELS, YOU CAN GO TO THE ESRI WORLD IMAGERY OR GOOGLE SATELLITE.
AND THEN IT'S JUST THE AERIAL IMAGERY.
YOU CAN ALSO CHOOSE, UM, THIS ONE THAT IS A PLAIN BACKGROUND WITHOUT IMAGERY IF YOU WANT IT TO BE A LITTLE LESS BUSY, BUT YOU DO HAVE OPTIONS FOR YOUR BASE MAP.
AND THEN WE'LL GO OVER TO THE LEGEND.
THE LEGEND IS REALLY INTERACTIVE.
YOU CAN CHOOSE BY WHAT IS DISPLAYING BY.
SO RIGHT NOW IT'S DISPLAYING BY SPECIES.
SO IN THE LEGEND, ALL OF THE DOTS ARE DIFFERENT COLORS AND EACH COLOR IS REPRESENTING A DIFFERENT SPECIES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL OVER THE MAP.
BUT YOU CAN TOGGLE THAT TO DISPLAY BY THE PLANTING TYPE INSTEAD.
THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO THAT.
SO THAT JUST CHANGES THE COLOR CODING OF ALL OF YOUR TREES.
SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THE PLANTING TYPES THAT WE HAVE DONE, BUT THERE'S MORE OPTIONS THAN THAT.
BUT OUR MAIN ONE YOU CAN SEE THE ORANGE ALL OVER, IS FOR RIPARIAN HABITAT RESTORATION.
SO WE, MOST OF OUR TREES ARE PLANTED UNDER OUR RIPARIAN RESTORATION INITIATIVE, BUT YOU CAN COLOR CODE IT BASED ON THAT.
AND YOU CAN ALSO TURN ON AND OFF ANY OF THE LEGEND FEATURES.
SO IF YOU CHECKED EVERYTHING OTHER THAN PARK TREE, IT WOULD ONLY BE SHOWING YOU THOSE.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN DO THAT WITH ANYTHING THAT THE LEGEND IS DISPLAYING BY.
AND THEN THIS LAYERS SECTION IS WHERE YOU CAN ADD SOME OF THE FEATURES THAT KELLY WAS TALKING ABOUT.
THESE REALLY HELP YOU WITH PROJECT PLANNING, IF YOU'RE WANTING TO GO ABOUT GOING, FINDING A PLACE TO PLANT TREES.
SO THIS IS THE TREE EQUITY SCORE LAYER AND IT JUST SHOWS UP AS A BUNCH OF PURPLE POLYGONS, BUT YOU CAN CLICK ON ONE OF THOSE AND IT HAS YOUR TREE EQUITY SCORE THERE.
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AMERICAN FOREST TREE EQUITY SCORE.AND IT'S A SCALE OF ZERO TO A HUNDRED.
SO THE HIGHER THE TREE EQUITY SCORE, THE BETTER TREE EQUITY IS IN THAT ZONE.
BUT YOU CAN CLICK ALL AROUND AND GET THE TREE EQUITY SCORE FOR THE AREA THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN THIS IS WHERE YOU WOULD TOGGLE ON AND OFF THE HEAT MAP.
SO YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM THE AFTERNOON TEMPERATURE, MORNING TEMPERATURE, AND THE AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX.
AND IT'S NOT ALL OVER HOUSTON, BUT HOPEFULLY IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT PLANTING, IT'S THIS CAN HELP YOU AND IT'S IN YOUR AREA.
THIS IS THE FILTER SECTION THAT'S CIRCLED AND THE FILTER IS REALLY ADVANCED AND CAN HELP YOU IN A LOT OF WAYS.
SO IF YOU CLICK THAT, YOU CAN FILTER THE DATA TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.
SO YOU CAN FILTER IT BY THE LANDOWNER, THE DATE THAT IT WAS PLANTED.
SO ANOTHER THING YOU CAN DO WITH TREE PLOTTER IS INPUT TREES THAT YOU'RE PLANNING ON PLANTING.
SO YOU COULD PUT A WHOLE PLANTING IN AND HAVE THE STATUS BE A FUTURE PLANTING SITE.
SO HERE YOU COULD FILTER, IF YOU ONLY WANNA SEE COMPLETED PLANTINGS, YOU COULD FILTER FOR THAT.
UM, AND THE PROJECT LEADERS A VARIETY OF THINGS.
AND THEN DOWN AT THE BOTTOM YOU COULD, THERE'S MORE OPTIONS FOR WHAT YOU CAN FILTER BY.
SO THIS IS SELECTING THE COMMON NAME.
AND THEN I'VE SELECTED AMERICAN SYCAMORE.
SO NOW THE FILTER IS APPLIED AND THE FILTER BUTTON HAS TURNED YELLOW AND IT SAYS FILTERS APPLIED.
AND OVER ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THAT AMERICAN SYCAMORE IS THE ONLY SPECIES BEING SHOWN.
SO WE'VE PLANTED 1,600 OF THAT SPECIES ALL THROUGHOUT.
OKAY, SO BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE.
IF YOU GO UP TO THE TOP AND GO TO THE HUB, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GET THE DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS THAT KELLY WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SO THERE'S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT CHARTS AND GRAPHS YOU CAN LOOK AT.
THIS IS THE MOST COMMON SPECIES, OUR TOP 10 OF ALL OF OUR PLANTINGS BECAUSE THERE'S NO FILTER APPLIED RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S JUST APPLYING TO EVERYTHING.
AND THIS IS THE MOST COMMON SPECIES THAT WE PLANT BY PLANTING TYPES.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE LOB LOLLY PINES THAT WE'RE PLANTING IN RIPARIAN AREAS VERSUS WOODLAND AREAS VERSUS UM, ROAD MEDIANS.
SO ANOTHER WAY THAT YOU CAN FILTER IS BY PROJECT AND BY DRAWING A POLYGON.
SO IF YOU GO TO THE FILTER AND CLICK TREE MAP FILTER, YOU CAN GO IN AND DRAW A POLYGON.
SO THIS WAS OUR RIPARIAN RESTORATION AT CHARLTON PARK.
WE PLANTED ABOUT 500 TREES, 538.
SO I DREW A POLYGON AROUND THAT PROJECT.
SO NOW EVERYTHING IN TREE PLOTTER IS ONLY THINKING ABOUT THIS AREA.
SO ALL OF THE NUMBERS ON THE RIGHT, IT SAYS SEVEN CHERRY BARK OAKS, 21 CEDAR ELMS, THAT'S ONLY APPLYING TO WHAT'S IN THIS POLYGON.
AND THEN THE CHARTS AND GRAPHS ARE ALSO RESPONSIVE TO THAT.
SO THIS IS THE TOP 10 MOST COMMON SPECIES JUST FOR THIS PLANTING SITE.
SO TO TURN A FILTER OFF, YOU JUST GO BACK UP TO THE FILTER AND PRESS CLEAR ALL FILTERS, AND THEN IT'S NOT YELLOW ANYMORE, IT'S BACK TO WHITE AND IT SAYS NO FILTER APPLY.
SO SOME OTHER TOOLS, IF YOU GO BACK TO THE HUB AND PRESS MAP TOOLS, IT HAS A MEASURING FEATURE SO YOU CAN DETERMINE THE ACREAGE OF YOUR PLANTING SITE, OF YOUR PROPOSED PLANTING SITE.
HERE I MEASURED, LET'S SEE, I PUT IN THAT ORANGE LINE.
SO I WANTED TO KNOW THE STREAM DISTANCE THAT WE WERE IMPACTING ALONG THIS TRIBUTARY TO SIMS BAYOU.
SO I GOT THE LENGTH OF THAT USING THE MAP FEATURE.
AND THAT'S MOST OF THE KIND OF DATA ANALYSIS TOOL.
SO WE'LL JUST GO THROUGH HOW TO ADD A TREE.
SO IF YOU'RE PLANTING A TREE IN YOUR YARD OR WITH AN ORGANIZATION, UM, ANYONE CAN GO IN HERE AND ADD THEIR TREE.
SO ONCE YOU LOG IN, WHICH IT WILL TELL YOU FROM THE LANDING PAGE HOW TO DO THAT, YOU JUST PRESS THE ADD BUTTON IN THE TOP RIGHT PRESS TREE, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO ADD THE IT BY A MAP OR BY GPS IF YOU HAVE THE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE.
SO YOU'LL CLICK ON THE MAP TO ADD YOUR TREE AND THIS KIND OF QUESTIONNAIRE WILL POP UP.
SO HOPEFULLY YOU CAN JUST ANSWER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS
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YOU HAVE.IT ASKS A LOT, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALL REQUIRED FIELDS.
BUT THE MORE INFORMATION THAT WE GET IN THIS KIND OF QUESTIONNAIRE, THE BETTER THE ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS CAN CALCULATE.
SO YOU CAN ADD IN YOUR PROJECT LEADERS, YOUR LANDOWNERS, THE PLANTING STATUS, THE PLANTING TYPE, AND THE SPECIES OF YOUR TREE.
SO IT HAS OUR MOST COMMON SPECIES AT THE TOP, BUT IF IT'S NOT ONE OF THOSE, YOU CAN SCROLL THROUGH AND FIND YOUR SPECIES.
AND ONCE YOU INPUT YOUR COMMON NAME, THEN IT'LL AUTO-POPULATE THE SCIENTIFIC NAME, THE GENUS AND THE ORIGIN.
SO IT'LL AUTOMATICALLY LABEL YOUR TREE IF IT'S NATIVE AS NATIVE SO THAT WE CAN COUNT IT TOWARDS THE 4.6 NATIVE TREE GOAL.
AND YOU CAN, THE, THE LOCATION ACTUALLY AUTO-POPULATES IF YOU ADD IT BY A MAP.
SO THE ADDRESS WILL AUTOMATICALLY COME UP AND YOU'LL ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR TREE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALL REQUIRED.
AND THEN YOU PRESS CLOSE WHEN YOU'RE DONE AND YOUR TREE WILL BECOME PART OF THE PORTAL.
YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY TREE IN THE PORTAL AND THIS BOX WILL POP UP.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE SPECIES WHEN IT WAS PLANTED, WHY IT WAS PLANTED, AND WHO PLANTED IT, AND ALSO WHAT SIZE.
SO THIS TREE WAS A THREE TO FIVE GALLON SIZED TREE.
OH, AND THE LAST FEATURE OF THIS IS THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY PRINT A PDF MAP FOR IF YOU'RE CREATING A PROJECT WITH THIS TOOL.
SO THERE'S THIS PRINT BUTTON UNDER MAP TOOLS AND YOU CAN FILL IN WHAT YOU WANT TO BE ON THE MAP AND IT CREATES IT WITH A NICE HEADING AND A LEGEND WITH ALL OF YOUR SPECIES.
SO THAT'S THE DEMO OF THE WEBSITE.
KELLY, DO YOU WANNA COME BACK UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS? AND THIS IS THE LINK TO THE TOP.
SO IF YOU WANNA GET TO THE PORTAL, YOU CAN FOLLOW THAT LINK.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE IT ON OUR, UM, HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT WEBSITE AND POTENTIALLY MAYBE THE RESILIENT HOUSTON WEBSITE.
DOES THIS, UM, DOES IT ONLY COVER THE CITY OF HOUSTON? WORD COVERS THE WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS FOR CERTAIN AREAS BECAUSE THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION.
YEAH, SO THE 4.6 MILLION TREE GOAL WAS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THAT'S THE DATA WE WOULD TAKE FROM THIS, BUT YOU CAN PUT IT IN OTHER AREAS, IT JUST WOULDN'T COUNT TOWARD THAT GOAL.
UM, WHO ONCE A PERSON PUTS THEIR TREE AND SAY SOMETHING, IT'S A PRIVATE RESIDENCE, UH, WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO GO BACK IN AND EDIT AND IS THERE A SAFETY FEATURE TO KEEP SOMEONE ELSE FROM GOING IN OR, YES.
SO IF YOU HAVE CREATED AN ACCOUNT AND ADDED YOUR OWN TREE, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE PERMISSION TO EDIT THE TREE THAT YOU ADDED.
UM, BUT YOU CAN'T EDIT OTHER PEOPLE'S TREES THAT THEY ADD.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION, CAN YOU EXPLAIN, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE AMERICAN FOREST, UM, IT WAS TREE TREE EQUITY SCORE.
CAN YOU KIND OF EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS? YEAH, SO IT, THEIR CALCULATION OF THAT WAS PRETTY COMPLICATED, BUT THEY WERE LOOKING AT CANOPY COVERAGE AND THEN DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND SOME HEALTH DATA AND EVERYTHING, AND THEY CAME TO AN INDEX.
SO, UM, YOU CAN GO ON THE WEBSITE AND READ, THEY HAVE THEIR METHODOLOGY ON THERE.
IT'S STILL PRETTY COMPLICATED.
UM, BUT OVERALL IT WAS, THAT'S THE FACTORS THAT IT WAS LOOKING AT.
IT WAS LOOKING AT CANOPY VERSUS DEMOGRAPHICS.
UM, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT, UH, TREE AND GO BACK TO SAY, WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE AMERICA NOW, EVERYTHING CHANGES, CLIMATE CHANGES, TREES THAT TREES, THOSE CAME FROM TREES, TREES, 50 YEARS, 50 BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO AS MUCH AS WE'RE ABOUT TRYING TO REFOREST TREES, WHAT AMOUNT OF,
[00:30:01]
YOU KNOW, ADAPTATION, YOU KNOW, CHANGES, UH, INFLUENCES YOUR DECISION POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY? UH, SO I'LL SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT OUR TREE SPECIES AND FORTUNATELY HOUSTON HAS A LONG LIST OF NATIVE TREES AND THERE ARE SPECIES THAT HAVE BEEN PLANTED HERE THAT, THAT ARE NOT FROM HOUSTON, THAT APPEAR TO BE LIKE THEY'RE ADAPTED TO THE AREA AND THEY'RE NOT, THEY HAVE NOT YET BECOME INVASIVE.UM, FOR US, WE FEEL THAT THERE'S A LONG ENOUGH AND DIVERSE ENOUGH SPECIES LIST, UM, THAT IS NATIVE TO HOUSTON, WHICH SOME OF THOSE SPECIES ALSO OVERLAP.
WEST TEXAS, SOUTH TEXAS, WHICH IS HOTTER AND DRIER.
SO IN CLIMATE CHANGE, IF IT BECOMES HOTTER AND DRIER IN HOUSTON, THOSE SPECIES WOULD INCREASE RIGHT AT IN A SLOW RATE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
THOSE, YOU WOULD SEE THOSE SPECIES INCREASING IN THE HOUSTON AREA AND MAYBE SOME OF THE SPECIES THAT WE'RE USING NOW STARTING TO GO AWAY.
LIKE WE SAW IN, WE, WE SEE WATER OAK STRUGGLING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU PLANT THEM IN SOME OF THESE MORE DEVELOPED AREAS.
THEY STRUGGLED IN THE FREEZE, THEY STRUGGLE IN DROUGHT, UM, THEY DO PRETTY WELL IN OUR FORESTS.
UH, BUT WHEN YOU SEE 'EM PLANTED IN MORE DEVELOPED AREAS, THEY STRUGGLE.
SO WE CHOOSE NOT TO PLANT THEM IN A A SINGLE TREE SITUATION ANYMORE, RIGHT? SO WE PLANT THEM IN FOREST BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN THAT HAPPEN OVER TIME.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'M NOT SAYING WE'LL NEVER CHANGE THE, THE, YOU KNOW, SPECIES WE USE, BUT AT THIS POINT, OUR SPECIES THAT THAT WE HAVE SEEN, UM, BASED ON OUR RESEARCH THAT WE'RE HERE, THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE HOUSTON AREA FOR A LONG TIME, WE HAVE A LONG LIST OF THEM AND THEY DO REALLY WELL HERE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PLANTING UP QUESTION.
I THINK THE CITY IS DOING A GREAT JOB IN, UH, TRYING TO BRING, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN, SEE THE NEW PARTS.
AND I THINK THAT MOST OF RELATED CONCRETE'S CONCRETE PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WHAT PROBLEM IS THIS? SO I PLANT TREES WHERE WE, YEAH.
SO I THINK AS FAR AS FLOODING GOES IN CONCRETE, I MEAN THAT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS, RIGHT? AND, AND WE, WE HAVE A STREET TREE ORDINANCE AND, AND TREES ARE REQUIRED TO BE PLANTED ALONG THE STREET.
AND I THINK IN THAT SITUATION, THE TREES HELP WITH HEAT, RIGHT? THEY'RE, THEY'RE SHADING THE CONCRETE AND, AND THEY'RE REDUCING HEAT AND THAT TREE THAT'S PLANTED NEXT TO THE STREET ISN'T NECESSARILY DOING MUCH FOR FLOODING UNLESS MAYBE THEY'RE PUTTING IT IN A BIO SWELL AND IT WAS DESIGNED TO HAVE WATER RUN INTO IT AND THEN THE TREE IS SUPPORTING THAT BIO SWELL.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S DIFFERENT FEATURES AND IN GENERAL, TREES PLANTED IN, YOU KNOW, THE HEART OF THE CITY WHERE THERE'S TONS OF CONCRETE AND STREETS AND BUILDINGS.
THOSE TREES ARE MAINLY HELPING WITH HEAT.
NANCY, UM, I'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT TOTALS.
UM, IS THERE SOME PLACE WHERE THERE'S A GRAPH THAT'S SHOWING WE'VE GOTTEN THIS FAR TOWARD OUR TOTAL OF, UM, 4.6 MILLION TREES AND MAYBE BUYING MONTHS SO THAT, UM, THOSE UP SIGNIFICANTLY THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE IT LEADING HOUSTONIANS, UH, THAT ARE INTERESTED IN TREES? YEAH, SO THAT'S THE, THE RICE WEBSITE SHOWS THE TOTALS FOR TREES AT THIS POINT.
UM, IT SHOWS THE TOTAL NUMBER THAT HAVE BEEN PLANTED TOWARD THE 4.6 MILLION GOAL.
AND THIS PORTAL, SINCE WE'VE JUST LAUNCHED IT HAS ALL OF OUR TREE PLANTING DATA ON IT AND WE'RE WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO GET THEIR DATA INPUT INTO IT.
IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TIME BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS LOCATED AT A SPECIFIC LOCATION AND A SPECIFIC SPECIES.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET A LOT OF THAT PASS DATA UPLOADED INTO THE PORTAL.
WE JUST DON'T HAVE IT ALL ON THERE NOW.
UM, AND THEN AT FROM THIS POINT ON, PEOPLE CAN INPUT THEIR TREES DIRECTLY INTO THE PORTAL OR IF IT'S A GROUP THAT HAS LARGE TREE PLANTINGS, THEY CAN SEND US THEIR INFORMATION AND WE CAN UPLOAD IT, UH, THROUGH GIS.
BUT UM, WE'RE CATCHING UP WITH THE PORTAL, BUT THE ACTUAL NUMBER, UM, IS ON THAT RICE UNIVERSITY WEBSITE.
WELL, IN THE FUTURE IS THERE SOME PLACE WHERE THERE'S A, A GRAPH THAT WE CAN SEE OR, UM, SHOWING WE'RE UP TO 2.2 MILLION, WE'RE UP TO 2.25 MILLION, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, GETTING UP LIKE THAT.
[00:35:02]
AND PARTICULARLY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE PLANTING INDIVIDUAL TREES AND PLANTING AT HOME AND WHATNOT, EVEN THOUGH THAT'S NOT GONNA BE A BIG PART OF THE TOTAL, I THINK IT COULD BE A VERY SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE TOTAL BECAUSE IT'LL BE VIA THE HOUSES AND WE HAVE MORE EFFECT ON THE HEAT THAT PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING AS OPPOSED TO OVERALL HEAT.I HOPE PEOPLE DO UPLOAD THEIR DATA TO THE PORTAL AND IT DOES SHOW ON THE RICE WEBSITE, IT SHOWS THE PERCENT OF THE GOALS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND THEN IT SHOWS THE NUMBER, UM, OF TREES THAT HAVE BEEN PLANTED SO FAR.
AND THEN THE TOTAL GOAL, I GOT A FACTOID, UH, FROM THAT, UM, HEAT MAPPING.
SO THE DAY THAT WE DID THAT, UM, THE HIGH WAS 96 AT THE AIRPORTS.
THE, UH, EXTREME HOT AREA WAS DALTON AND IT WAS SEVEN DEGREES HOTTER AND THE EXTREME COOLER WAS PERHAPS FIX IT.
UH, LET ME, UH, 50 I'M STILL, UM, CONCERNED MAYBE YOUR RESEARCH HAS SOME INSIGHTS AND TREES ON THEIR OWN, UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE DISTANCE THAT THEY PLANTED WILL COMPETE SUNLIGHT AND ROAD AND ISSUES MAY BE AFFECTED.
MY POINT IS, AS FAR AS WALKING PLANT, ALL OF THE HIGH NUMBER OF TREES WHERE WE SEE THAT TREES HAVE BEEN, WE CANNOT GO TO SOME OF THOSE PLACES BECAUSE THEY INTO HOUSES, YOU KNOW? SO MY HERE IS IF YOU NOW BEGIN TO PLANT ALL OF THESE TREES, YOU HAVE LIMITED SPACE WHERE YOU WANT PLANT THAT AREA AND HAVE A VERY SMALL SPACE TO PLANT ALL THE TREES, WANNA PLANT FOR THE BENEFITS.
LIKE WANT, ARE WE GONNA GET THE ARY WANT IN DEPTH OF FARMERS SPACE AFFECT HOW THE TREES, YOU KNOW? YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
SO WE'RE LOSING SPACE FOR OUR TREE PLANTINGS AND UM, A LOT OF THESE TREES, YOU KNOW, WE, WE JUST PASSED OUR NATURE PRESERVE ORDINANCE.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT HOUSTON, AND WE DID SOME DATA COLLECTION ON THIS, UM, WE DID PLOTS WHERE WE SURVEYED THE, THE SPECIES IN OUR PLOTS, RANDOM PLOTS, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR PARKS.
AND ON AVERAGE, ESPECIALLY IN OUR RIPARIAN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE OUR BIG PLANTING INITIATIVE, 40% OF THE SPECIES WERE INVASIVE, NOT JUST, NOT NATIVE, BUT INVASIVE SPECIES FROM OUR INVASIVE SPECIES LIST.
SO WE'RE HAVING TO GO INTO THOSE AREAS AND REMOVE THOSE SPECIES.
AND THEN WE'RE COMING BACK IN WITH NATIVE SPECIES.
AND THEN WHAT WE DO FROM A REFORESTATION PERSPECTIVE, UM, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN SINGLE TREE PLANTINGS, IS WE DO, WE PLANT CANOPY TREES AND THEN WE PLANT MID-STORY TREES AND WE PLANT UNDERSTORY AND SHRUBS.
SO WE HAVE LAYERS THROUGHOUT OUR FOREST AND YOU.
AND SO SOME OF THAT IS OVERLAPPING AND, AND THAT IS SHOWN IN OUR SPECIES LIST.
WE HAVE, UH, A VARIETY OF SPECIES.
SO CAN YOU ALSO TRACK TREES THAT ARE REMOVED? UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE WHEN TREES, WHEN YOU, YOUR HOUSE, APPARENTLY NOW YOU HAVE THE DRIVEWAY OVER AND SO 50-YEAR-OLD PINE TREES HAVE TO BE REMOVED THE DRIVEWAY.
I MEAN IT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST DUNNO THE VALUE TREES TO BE ABLE TO QUICKLY GO TO A CALCULATOR AND TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, HEY, YOU GET OF THAT TREE THAT'S THIS MUCH SHADE AND HABITAT, WHATEVER, AND Y'ALL, IS IT REALLY IMPORTANT TO MOVE A DRIVEWAY TO BRING THE TREE
UM, SO THEY HAVE A RECORD OF THAT THAT'S NOT TRACKED AS PART OF THIS.
IT DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR TREE LOSS.
WE'VE TRIED TO, YOU KNOW, SOMEHOW ACCOUNT FOR THE LOSS OF TREES, RIGHT? WE PASSED THE NATURE PRESERVE ORDINANCE SO THAT WE COULD PROTECT TREES FROM BEING REMOVED AND DEVELOPED.
UM, THE CITY'S TREE ORDINANCE TRIES TO PROTECT AND THERE THERE'S MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH TREE REMOVALS IN THE CITY'S TREE ORDINANCE.
UM, SO, AND THEN, UM, AS FAR AS THIS GOAL, IT'S JUST PLANTING.
[00:40:01]
BUT YEAH, IT, IT'S INTERESTING, THERE'S A LOT OF TREE.ALL THESE QUESTIONS ARE REALLY GOOD.
THERE IS A LOT OF TREE LOSS AND IT TAKES A LONG TIME FOR A NEWLY PLANTED TREE TO REPLACE THE BENEFITS OF A MATURE TREE.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S A GREAT POINT AND I WISH WE COULD DO MORE FOR TREE LOSS ALSO.
CAN Y'ALL TELL US SOME OF THE COOL PLANTING THAT Y'ALL HAD DONE, BUT SOME OF THE GROUPS AND THINGS, JUST SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW YOU FOUND SOME TREES PLANTED? SURE.
YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? UM, SURE.
YEAH, WE JUST DID, THE ONE THAT KELLY HIGHLIGHTED WAS ON HOMESTEAD ROAD AND WE WERE REALLY PROUD OF THAT ONE BECAUSE WE WORKED WITH SO MANY PARTNERS.
WE WORKED WITH THE NORTHEAST HOUSTON REDEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, WHICH WAS PEOPLE WITHIN THAT COMMUNITY OF CASHMERE GARDENS WORKED WITH US AND HELPED US CHOOSE THE PLANTING LOCATION AND WE'RE A CRITICAL PARTNER IN ACTUALLY MAKING IT HAPPEN.
AND THAT WAS THROUGH THE TEXAS A AND M FOREST SERVICE.
THEY HAVE A PROGRAM WHERE THEY HAVE PRIVATE COMPANIES FUNDING TREE PLANTINGS, SO IT WAS ALL PRIVATELY FUNDED BY REPSOL AND, UM, THE, WE HAD, IT WAS ALL PLANTED BY VOLUNTEERS AND HGAC WAS A PARTNER.
AND SO THAT WAS KIND OF A DIFFERENT ONE FOR US BECAUSE A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS ARE GRANT FUNDED.
SO A LOT OF THE RIPARIAN, UM, PARKS THAT I WAS SHOWING, LIKE CHARLTON PARK, THAT WAS FUNDED BY THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AS A WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
UM, SO A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS ARE FROM A GRANT FUNDER AND WE COME IN AND, AND DO THE PLANTING WITH VOLUNTEERS, BUT THAT WAS A, A COOL ONE RECENTLY.
THAT WAS KIND OF A DIFFERENT METHOD.
WHAT ABOUT THE WATERING OF THESE TREES? I KNOW SOME OF ORGANIZATIONS ARE SET UP TO DO THAT AND OTHERS ARE NOT.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING ABOUT A TREE PLANTING AND THE MOST TIME CONSUMING IS, IS GOING BACK TO WATER THEM.
SO WE DON'T PUT IN IRRIGATION FOR OUR RIPARIAN PROJECTS BECAUSE USUALLY WE PLANT HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF TREES.
WE HAVE WATER TRUCKS IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
AND SO, UH, WE HAVE STAFF THAT GO OUT WITH WATER TRUCKS AND WATER THEM FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS.
AND THEN, UM, THIS PAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A DROUGHT SITUATION AND WE WERE HAVING TO GO BACK TO THREE AND FOUR YEAR PLANTINGS TO, TO ACTUALLY WATER THOSE TREES BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET RAIN FOR A LONG TIME.
AND NANCY IS ONE OF OUR VOL, ONE OF OUR BEST VOLUNTEERS,
ALSO, IT'S A ISN'T THERE A BETTER TIMES IN THE YEAR TO PLANT TREES AND THEN LIKE, NOT SUCH GOOD TIMES.
SO WE STARTED OUT AND WE WERE STARTING TO PLANT IN OCTOBER AND THEN IT DIDN'T RAIN FOR A LONG TIME.
AND SO NOW WE, WE START IN NOVEMBER, UM, KIND OF TOWARD THE END OF NOVEMBER NOW, AND WE, WE TRY TO FINISH BY THE END OF FEBRUARY.
UM, SOMETIMES, WE'LL WE'LL GO INTO MARCH A LITTLE BIT, BUT THAT'S THE BEST TIME FOR PLANTING.
AND IF THE EARLIER WE CAN PLANT NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, THE, THE BETTER START THOSE TREES HAVE BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE WINTER WITH RAIN AND THEY'RE GETTING CONSTANT WATERING THAN IF WE PLANTED IN MARCH.
AND THEN WE'RE KIND OF STRUGGLING TO, TO GET THEM ESTABLISHED.
BUT WE USUALLY SEE, START SEEING GROWTH IN YEAR FOUR OR FIVE IS WHEN YOU NOTICE LIKE, OH, THESE, THESE TREES ARE STARTING TO GROW NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING PRETTY WELL.