* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:22] YOU KNOW, I FORGOT, FORGOT. HELLO? MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION? PLEASE CLAP ONE TIME RIGHT OVER HERE. CLAP TWO TIMES. YEAH, CLAP THREE TIMES. ALL RIGHT. WE USE THAT OLD TRICK FOR KIDS IN OUR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON, YOU GUYS. HAPPY EARTH DAY, AND WELCOME TO TONGA PARK. I'M KENNETH ALLEN. I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE. THE PRIVILEGE. THANK YOU, . I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE AND THE HONOR OF BEING THE PARKS DIRECTOR OF ONE OF THE GREATEST CITIES IN THESE GREAT UNITED STATES. LET'S GIVE, LET'S GIVE HOUSTON A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. NO, WE STAND HERE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL 30 ACRE GREENWAY, ALONG THE EDGE OF WHITE OAK BIO. IT'S 20 MILES THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED WITH OUR PARTNER, HOUSTON PARKS BOARD, WHICH IS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL PARK, YOU KNOW, EARTH DAY. AGAIN. EARTH DAY. WE'RE HERE TO CELEBRATE. AND THERE'S A CALL TO ACTION FOR THIS DAY AROUND THE WORLD. MAYOR, I WANT TO THANK YOU, MAYOR, JUST FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. THIS CALL HAS BROUGHT OVER 350 VOLUNTEERS HERE, AND IT'S ALL TO SUPPORT THE CONCEPT OF EARTH DAY AND TAKING CARE OF OUR EARTH. UH, I JUST WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND FOR BEING HERE. YOU KNOW, AS WE CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH THIS PARK, AND WE PLANT OVER 200, 2,500 TREES HERE TODAY, IT'S REALLY A MOMENTOUS DAY, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF EARTH DAY, IN TERMS OF CELEBRATING AND IN TERMS OF CALLING TO ORDER A BRIGHTER FUTURE IN TERMS OF TAKING CARE OF OUR EARTH. YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GONNA SIT HERE AND TALK TO YOU GUYS ALL DAY. I WANT TO INVITE OUR HONORABLE MAYOR, JOHN WHITMEYER, OUR LEADER, TO, UH, HAVE A FEW WORDS. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR ALLEN, AND THANK EVERYONE THAT IS HERE. AN EVENT LIKE THIS DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN. I KNOW THE HARD WORK, THE ORGANIZATION, THE COLLABORATION, AND FOR CERTAIN, UH, IT'S OUTSTANDING THAT WE HAVE TWO OF OUR FINEST STATE COUNCIL. SEE, I'M SO USED TO SAYING STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND STATE SENATORS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, CAYMAN, WHO WERE IN HER DISTRICT, SHE'S VERY RESPONSIVE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS. AND THEN OUR VICE MAYOR PROTE, AMY PECK, AND I WISH WE HAD TIME FOR EVERYONE. YEAH, LET'S GIVE IT UP A HAND. THEY'RE, THEY'RE GREAT PUBLIC SERVANT. I WISH WE HAD TIME TO HAVE EVERYONE INTRODUCE THEMSELF, WHETHER IT'S THE PARKS BOARD OR SOUTHWEST AIRLINE, OR YOU NAME IT. IT'S, IT'S GREAT DAY IN HOUSTON. WE HAVE A GREAT CITY, GREAT PEOPLE, AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY. BUT JUST THINK HOW WE'RE COMING TOGETHER IN UNITY TODAY. WE NEED DAYS LIKE THIS. I'LL LEAVE HERE BETTER MAYOR THAN THE ONE THAT ARRIVED BECAUSE OF THE ENERGY AND THE COMMITMENT THAT Y'ALL HAVE MADE. BUT I REALIZED THAT WE WOULDN'T BE HERE IN PLANTING THE NUMBER OF TREES WE'RE PLANTING WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF CORPORATE HOUSTON SPECIFIC PA, APACHE CORPORATION AND JU AND THEIR CEO. CAN YOU IMAGINE? IT'S, WE HAVE A CEO OF APACHE HERE TODAY. THEY SPONSORED THE TOUR DAY HOUSTON, WHICH RAISED MONEY, LARGEST ONE WE'VE EVER HAD, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT PARTNERSHIP. AND, UH, I JUST, I'M JUST SO POSITIVE ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. IF WE TAKE CARE OF OUR CHALLENGES, WHICH WE'RE ADDRESSING AT THE CITY, BUT ALSO REACH OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY AND IN, IN TERMS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND EARTH DATE. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING THROUGH MY MIND WHEN I ARRIVED, BUT MY MOTHER USED TO TELL ME, AND WE ALL ARE WHAT WE ARE DUE TO THE GREAT UPBRINGING OR OUR MENTORS. WHEN I WAS ON MY WAY HERE, I WAS THINKING EARTH DAY, HOW SPECIAL IT IS. BUT WHEN I WOULD MISS A SPECIAL DAY, LIKE MAYBE MOTHER'S DAY, I WAS RUNNING LATE, I WOULD APOLOGIZE AND SAY, I KNOW IT'S MOTHER'S DAY, BUT I WAS IN AUSTIN. SHE'LL SAY, DON'T WORRY, EVERY DAY IS MOTHER'S DAY IN MY LIFE. SO JUST THINK ABOUT THAT CONCEPT [00:05:01] AND THAT LIFESTYLE IN THE PRACTICE. EVERY DAY OUGHT TO BE EARTH DAY IN OUR LIVES. WE HAVE THAT RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN ACTUALLY AROUND THE WORLD. EVERY DAY SHOULD BE EARTH DAY. BUT IT'S REWARDING THAT WE PAUSE TODAY. WE RECOGNIZE THE STAKEHOLDERS YOUNG AND 92 YEARS OLD. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. 92 YEARS OLD. THIS IS, THIS IS OUR GOAL, OUR MENTOR, SHE LIVES ACROSS THE STREET FOR 50 YEARS. SHE'S HAD A GREAT STATE REPRESENTATIVE, AND THEN SHE HAD A GREAT SENATOR. , NOW A GREAT MAYOR. SO WELCOME TO OAK FOREST, THE TONGA PARK. I WORE MY TREE PLANTING CLOTHES. I'VE ALREADY BEEN TO A COUPLE OF EVENTS AS MAYOR OF THE CITY. I COULD HAVE BEEN AT A HUNDRED LOCATIONS RIGHT NOW. I CHOSE THIS BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH JOHN AND APACHE AND BECAUSE I KNEW THE DIVERSITY THAT WOULD BE REPRESENTED HERE TODAY. SO LET'S GO TO WORK. THANK Y'ALL. WELL, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR WHITMEYER, AND, UH, IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE. BUT, UH, ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE PARTNERSHIP, UH, AND THE SUPPORT THROUGH TOWARD THE HOUSTON, UH, BIKE RIDE. WE RAISED THE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO PLANT THESE TREES, AND AS THE MAYOR SAID, WE'RE GONNA BE PLANTING 2,500 TREES TODAY. SO TODAY IS, UH, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY. WE GOT A GREAT DAY. I MEAN, THE WEEKEND WAS A LITTLE TOUGH, BUT IT'S GREAT. BUT BEAUTIFUL DAY AND WE GET TO PLANT TREES, BUT IT IS REALLY ABOUT WHAT A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, CORPORATE AND AMERICA AND, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE, UH, PARTNERSHIPS CAN DO. AND WE'RE THRILLED TO BE HERE. UM, AT APACHE, WE'RE A CORPORATION THAT, UH, IS A GLOBAL COMPANY. WE'RE HEADQUARTERED IN HOUSTON. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, UH, VOLUNTEERS HERE TODAY. WE'RE GONNA BE CELEBRATING OUR 70TH ANNIVERSARY, UH, LATER THIS YEAR. SO WE'RE EXCITED TO BE HERE. YEAH, WE'RE EXCITED TO CALL HOUSTON OUR HOME. AND WE ALSO THINK THAT, UH, YOU CAN DEVELOP RESOURCES AND PROTECT AND CONSERVE OUR RESOURCES, UH, CONCURRENTLY. AND SO IT'S ALL ABOUT RESPONSIBLY DEVELOPING AND RESPONSIBLY, YOU KNOW, BUILDING CITIES IN THE ENVIRONMENT LIKE WE'RE DOING TODAY BY PLANTING THESE TREES. WE STARTED A, UM, A TREE FOUNDATION BACK IN 2005, AND SINCE THEN WE'VE PLANTED OVER 5 MILLION TREES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, AND MORE THAN 450,000 OF THOSE HAVE BEEN PLANTED IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA. SO WE'RE THRILLED TO BE ADDING TO THAT TODAY. UM, IT'S EXCITING TIME, BUT I KNOW EVERYBODY'S GOT SHOVEL AND READY TO GET GOING. SO I WANT TO THANK Y'ALL ALL FOR BEING HERE. I WANNA THANK THE MAYOR FOR THE PARTNERSHIP. YOU, I WANT TO THANK THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECS DEPARTMENT AND, UH, LET'S GET BUSY PLANTING SOME TREES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, JOHN. LET'S GIVE APACHE ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE. SO, NOT ONLY WITH THIS INITIATIVE, BUT APACHE HAS STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND DELIVERED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, SO I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN. YEAH, THANK YOU. IT TAKES, UH, PARTNERSHIPS, IT TAKES WORKING TOGETHER, AND WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO HALF THE THINGS WE DO HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR OUR GREAT COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN AND COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. ABBY CAYMAN, COULD YOU HAVE A FEW WORDS, PLEASE? I'LL, I'LL BE SUPER QUICK, BUT AMY HAS TO COME UP WITH ME. . ALRIGHT, SO THE REASON I JUST WANNA SAY A FEW QUICK WORDS. ONE IS TO THANK EVERY SINGLE VOLUNTEER MAYOR TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND OTHERS. MY VERY FIRST EVENT EVER AS A COUNCIL MEMBER WAS A TREE PLANTING AT TC JESTER PARK. YEAH. AND EVER SINCE THAT TIME, THIS CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL THINGS THAT WE DO AS A CITY. UH, IT'S THE 54TH ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY, AND THIS IS PART OF A LARGER EFFORT WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, TO PLANT 4.6 MILLION NEW NATIVE TREES IN OUR CITY BY 2030. BUT THE REASON TODAY IS SO SPECIAL, AND JOHN, WE REALLY OWE A GREAT DEBT TO YOU AND APACHE FOR THIS, UH, IN THIS PARK. IT WAS ACTUALLY SCHEDULED, THIS RESTORATION EFFORT WAS SCHEDULED WITHIN THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS. BUT THANKS TO APACHE'S GENEROSITY, WE ARE GOING TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT TODAY. YEAH. UH, IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT BEAUTIFICATION, IT'S ABOUT PROTECTING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS FROM FLOODING. IT'S ABOUT CLEANING OUR AIR, IT'S ABOUT FLOOD PROTECTION, AND IT'S ALSO ABOUT, UH, PREVENTING FURTHER EROSION IN THE PARK. THERE'S SO MANY THINGS, AND BETH, I SEE YOU AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT THE PARKS BOARD DOES. AND THERE'S SO MANY PARTNERS, BUT THE RIPARIAN INITIATIVE THAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS [00:10:01] LAUNCHED IS DOING THIS ACROSS WHAT, UH, THE GOAL IS A THOUSAND ACRES ACROSS 70 CITY PARKS, 200,000 NATIVE TREES, SPECIFICALLY FOR RIPARIAN RESTORATION EFFORTS. SO AGAIN, WE ARE TAKING TODAY ANOTHER STEP FORWARD TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE PLANET, AND WE'RE EMBRACING THE CHALLENGES THAT CLI COME WITH CLIMATE CHANGE. WE'RE BEING HONEST ABOUT THOSE, BUT WE KNOW WE CAN MEET THOSE CHALLENGES HEAD ON. AND AGAIN, TO APACHE AND ALL OF OUR PARTNERS AND MY PARTNERS ON COUNCIL, UH, I SAY THANK YOU AND MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR BEING OUT HERE, UH, IN YOUR DISTRICT, BUT ALSO DISTRICT C UH, IT'S A GORGEOUS DAY TO BE OUT HERE. AND WHO, WHAT STUDENTS DO WE HAVE HERE? I KNOW WE HAVE A FEW STUDENTS TO ALL THE TEXANS ACADEMY THAT WE HAVE. THE TEXANS CAN ACADEMY TO ALL THE STUDENTS, THE YOUTH THAT ARE OUT HERE. THANK YOU. BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR FUTURE. THIS IS YOUR CITY. AMY, DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING? THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE A COUPLE OF PARTNERS THAT HAVE TABLES SET UP TODAY. HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT, FOUR ROUND OF APPLAUSE. GREAT PARTNERS, OF COURSE, HOUSTON PARKS BOARD, NOT JUST THIS PROJECT, BUT WITH A WHITE OAK BIO, BUT THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THANK YOU, BETH AND YOUR TEAM. WE HAVE THE, THE, UH, TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT. OF COURSE, WE HAVE EVOL, WE HAVE THAT, THAT GREAT TRUCK THAT THEY'RE GIVING AWAY TODAY. . AND OF COURSE, ALL KIDDING ASIDE, , OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR PARKS TEAM, THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT. WOULD YOU PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS? ALL THE STAFF JUST WANNA, TO PERSONALLY THANK THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE HOUSTON PARKS FOR YOUR DAY-TO-DAY EFFORT. OFTEN UNSEEN BUT HEARD, SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING ON THE GRIND WITH BOOTS ON THE GROUND, ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THEM. AGAIN, PLEASE. A RANGER CREW WHO DIRECTED TRAFFIC. I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE STILL OUT THERE. THANK YOU AS WELL. AND SPEAKING OF OUR PARKS TEAM, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE KELLY ANDREZA, OUR NATURAL NA NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGER. IT'S TIME FOR ME TO EAT MAYOR, UM, OUR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGER WHO'S LEADING ALL THE RIPERION PROJECTS, AS WELL AS KEEPING OUR PARKS, UM, SAFE IN TERMS OF OUR GREEN SPACES, IN TERMS OF OUR ECOSYSTEM. KELLY, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. UM, FOR OUR GREEN SPACE TEAM, WHICH IS HEADED UP BY CHRIS CARROLL. CHRIS, RAISE YOUR HAND, PLEASE. YEP. WELL, KELLY, COULD YOU PLEASE HAVE A FEW WORDS? KELLY , , YOU COULD TELL WHERE MY TEAM IS, . UM, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. UM, SO WE'RE THRILLED BY THE COMMUNITY TURNOUT TODAY TO PLANT TREES ALONG WHITE OAK BAYOU IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY. UH, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CAME AND SAID, THIS IS PART OF A, A MUCH LARGER INITIATIVE TO REFOREST ALL OF HOUSTON'S WATERWAYS. SO WE'RE GONNA REACH 70 PARKS BY THE END OF THE DECADE. UH, HISTORICALLY, HOUSTON'S NATURAL HABITAT WAS A, A LOT OF PRAIRIE HABITAT ACTUALLY. AND, BUT OUR WATERWAYS WERE LINED WITH RIPARIAN FORESTS. AND SO OUR INITIATIVE IS TO GO BACK IN INTO THE PARKS THAT HAVE BAYOU AND TRIBUTARIES THAT RUN ALONG THEM AND TO REFOREST THOSE. AND THIS IS ONE OF 70, WE'VE DONE 25 SO FAR. WE HAVE A LOT SCHEDULED FOR NEXT YEAR. SO I HOPE YOU ALL CAN JOIN US AT SOME OF OUR OTHER PROJECTS NEXT YEAR. I JUST WANTED TO ALSO RECOGNIZE, UH, MISS KATHY MURDOCH, WHO, UM, CAME OUT TODAY. SHE SAW US OUT HERE. SHE LIVES ACROSS THE STREET. SHE SAID SHE'S GONNA PLANT A TREE, AND SHE DOES NOT NEED HELP PLANTING THAT TREE. SHE'S GONNA PLANT ALL AND THEN SHE'S GONNA WATCH IT GROW. UM, SO I'M GONNA CALL ANIQUE UP HERE AND SHE'S GONNA GIVE THE VOLUNTEER ASSIGNMENTS. BUT THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR HELPING US TO PLANT THESE TREES. WE HAVE A LOT OF 'EM. IT'S, IT'S TOUGH WORK. SO WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.