A New Future For Houston's Parks?
Oct. 18, 2011 - Activists for Occupy Houston relax in the morning sun at their encampment in Tranquility Park while across Walker St. in Hermann Square preparations were underway for the annual Houston Parks Board luncheon.
A young man with Occupy Houston receives a box of red worms requested per their website
for their encampment's compost pile, Oct. 18, 2011
The Occupy Houston encampment was tucked in the north, or lower part of Tranquility Park between Walker and Rusk streets. Across Walker Street to the west and right in front of Houston City Hall were many neatly arranged round tables under an enormous white canopy. Walker St. was a short traffic jam of caterers and police cars. Two police cars were parked on the east side, at the entrance to lower Tranquility Park and two more were parked on the west, at the entrance to Hermann Square. Right behind the police cars on the Hermann Square side, was a line of valets awaiting luncheon guests.
"We hope you will join us on the plaza of Hermann Square in front of City Hall on October 18, 2011 for the Houston Parks Board third annual luncheon – Gaining Ground. We expect another wonderful crowd will gather as we celebrate the work of the Parks Board and the green spaces in our city that allow Houstonians to walk, picnic, relax, exercise, and enjoy time outdoors." From the Houston Parks Board website http://www.houstonparksboard.org/get_involved/luncheon.php
Along Memorial Dr. Houston TX Oct. 18, 2011
"You're going to look at a natural site that will appear to have been devastated. The canopy loss here in Memorial Park will approach 50-percent. Some people think as much as 80-percent so to say that it will look differently is a profound understatement." From Oct. 03, 2011, KUHF report: Drought Killing At Least Half Of Memorial Park Trees.
Memorial Park, Houston TX Oct. 18, 2011
"There's a very interesting analog between people and trees in that when we have pathogens zoom through the population or stresses, it's the very young and the very old that tend to be the hardest hit. Trees and people are very much the same in that sense. So right now, what we're seeing is that our youngest trees and our oldest trees are under the direst threat and the ones in the middle are doing a little bit better so that's what we're basing our triage on..." From Oct. 03, 2011, KUHF report: Drought Killing At Least Half Of Memorial Park Trees.
Messages along the wall behind Occupy Houston's encampment in Tranquillity Park, Oct. 18, 2011.
A young woman sits facing the morning light in Tranquility Park, Oct. 18, 2011.