Spring Creek Greenway Reconnects Houston to Nature
Coordinators at the 2011 Project Learning Tree (PLT) conference took a break from workshopping and strategic planning for a field trip on June 8.
We headed to the Spring Creek Greenway in Montgomery County, Texas, which runs for 33 miles along Spring Creek. Check out some photos from our adventure on www.facebook.com/projectlearningtree.
Together we spotted wildlife like a yellow-crowned night heron, learned about riverside forests in Texas and I narrowly avoided poison ivy on the newly-blazed trails. Some of us gasped when hearing that we stood just two miles north of Houston's Intercontinental Airport.
The natural area currently encompasses 8,500 acres, with plans to grow to a total of 1,200 acres on both sides of the creek. By way of land purchases, donations and conservation easements, the Greenway connects people in the Houston area to at least seven different gateway parks along Spring Creek.
Outside of the Nature Center in Spring, TX, we saw bluebird nest boxes and monarch monitoring stations, near to where the team conducts insect trappings for the U.S. Forest Service to monitor for invasives. The entire Nature Center staff went through PLT training in January, before celebrating the building's grand opening on April 9, 2011.
According to a video developed with support from a Texas Forest Service grant, there are four principles for the project:
Preservation
Restoration
Education
Recreation
These principles have guided the development (or, shall I say, undevelopment) of this ecotourism and recreation mecca since the project kicked off in 2004.
"Our mission [is] to help people understand about our many natural resources that are right here in our backyards...part of helping kids enjoy nature is about getting them acquainted with it," said Teri MacArthur of the Nature Center.
Want to learn more about liquidambar styraciflua, populus deltoides, pinus taeda and other tree species that live along the Spring Creek Greenway? Visit www.springcreekgreenway.org/trees.htm.
The next time you're in the Houston area, I recommend you check out the Spring Creek Nature Center and the surrounding Greenway. The combination of the spring-fed waterway, riverside forests and wildlife oasis provided for a fun, outdoors adventure during the 2011 PLT International Coordinators' Conference.
Photo credit Amanda Cooke
