Community Roots Run Deep
UH’s recent tree planting effort reflects a deeper commitment to Houston’s Third Ward.
Community Roots Run Deep
UH’s recent tree planting effort reflects a deeper commitment to Houston’s Third Ward.
Overcast and comfortable, that day in early February was perfect for rolling up sleeves and making magic with mulch. The site: the Columbia Tap Trail. The goal: to plant more than 500 trees that will eventually offer pedestrians, cyclists and residents of Third Ward a beautiful, verdant canopy.
The urban greening project is one part of turning the historic, four-mile trail into a linear park that runs through the neighborhood. Efforts for the park’s creation are being spearheaded by Friends of Columbia Tap in collaboration with the University of Houston’s Third Ward Initiative, led by Vice President of Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives Elwyn Lee.
“The trail really connects the community to downtown and also to the medical center area,” Lee says. “And the park, along with the sites along the trail where we planted the trees, will provide another outdoor venue where people can exercise, get together and get to know each other.”
He adds that preserving the cultural significance of the area and reclaiming its purpose cannot be lost. More than a respite designed to do what parks do — provide relief from Texas heat, improve air quality, harbor local wildlife — this park and the act of putting new roots into its ground represent something much loftier: a reclamation.
Once the site of oppression, the trail was part of a 50-mile rail line built by enslaved Black men who were forced to transport sugar and cotton from Brazoria County plantations to Houston’s port. According to Lee, they contributed to the largest cotton import/export line in the country. Historical markers will be installed to inform and educate people about the history of the trail to memorialize this legacy.
In his role, Lee collaborates with community organizations to make improvements to Third Ward and helps students advance in their academic pursuits and enhance their cultural IQ.
“They learn how to interact with people who may not look like them, whether it be age, other characteristics or economic status,” Lee says. “It gives them an opportunity, while working together on the project, to develop some cultural competence.”
Lee says students who participate in community improvement projects benefit from the experience just as much as their communities do.
Lee says students who participate in community improvement projects benefit from the experience just as much as their communities do.
The tree planting project was the perfect fit for doing just that. Working in tandem with FOCT and several local organizations, including Rotary, Fit Houston, ToolBank and Houston Wilderness, Lee recruited dozens of UH students and faculty members. In the end, more than 200 volunteers showed out to plant three varieties of native trees.
“Community engagement is a win-win,” Lee says of the project. “It benefits the community and volunteers as well. It’s a mutually beneficial activity, particularly when you approach the engagement with the appropriate respect for the culture and the history.”
Transforming the trail is just one way Lee and his department are empowering Third Ward. In addition to projects that benefit the community’s health, like tree planting, their broader work taps into education, economic empowerment and cultural heritage.
One of the department’s most successful programs, Stimulating Urban Renewal Through Entrepreneurship, or SURE, educates UH students about starting a business while also giving under-resourced Third Ward entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their existing businesses.
Another is keeping the iconic rivalry between Third Ward’s Jack Yates High School and Fifth Ward’s Phillis Wheatley High School alive, Lee says. A newly installed historical marker in TDECU Stadium tells the story.
“It was like the Rose Bowl,” Lee says. “There were parades and floats, and 20,000 to 30,000 people would come to the game.”
And he would know. He grew up in Third Ward, attending Blackshear Elementary and Yates before graduating from Yale and going on to Yale Law School. “I have a love affair with Third Ward,” he says. “It’s a great place to live.”
It should take about 30 years before the trees Lee and team planted reach their full potential, shading the streets of Houston and providing a picture-perfect backdrop for Third Ward. But ripples of the project’s impact are already spreading.
Events like the Third Ward on Tap Fest are sprouting up all over the park, with people doing exactly what Lee hoped they would do: get together, get to know each other and uplift this vibrant historic community.
Overcast and comfortable, that day in early February was perfect for rolling up sleeves and making magic with mulch. The site: the Columbia Tap Trail. The goal: to plant more than 500 trees that will eventually offer pedestrians, cyclists and residents of Third Ward a beautiful, verdant canopy.
The urban greening project is one part of turning the historic, four-mile trail into a linear park that runs through the neighborhood. Efforts for the park’s creation are being spearheaded by Friends of Columbia Tap in collaboration with the University of Houston’s Third Ward Initiative, led by Vice President of Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives Elwyn Lee.
“The trail really connects the community to downtown and also to the medical center area,” Lee says. “And the park, along with the sites along the trail where we planted the trees, will provide another outdoor venue where people can exercise, get together and get to know each other.”
He adds that preserving the cultural significance of the area and reclaiming its purpose cannot be lost. More than a respite designed to do what parks do — provide relief from Texas heat, improve air quality, harbor local wildlife — this park and the act of putting new roots into its ground represent something much loftier: a reclamation.
Once the site of oppression, the trail was part of a 50-mile rail line built by enslaved Black men who were forced to transport sugar and cotton from Brazoria County plantations to Houston’s port. According to Lee, they contributed to the largest cotton import/export line in the country. Historical markers will be installed to inform and educate people about the history of the trail to memorialize this legacy.
In his role, Lee collaborates with community organizations to make improvements to Third Ward and helps students advance in their academic pursuits and enhance their cultural IQ.
“They learn how to interact with people who may not look like them, whether it be age, other characteristics or economic status,” Lee says. “It gives them an opportunity, while working together on the project, to develop some cultural competence.”
Lee says students who participate in community improvement projects benefit from the experience just as much as their communities do.
Lee says students who participate in community improvement projects benefit from the experience just as much as their communities do.
The tree planting project was the perfect fit for doing just that. Working in tandem with FOCT and several local organizations, including Rotary, Fit Houston, ToolBank and Houston Wilderness, Lee recruited dozens of UH students and faculty members. In the end, more than 200 volunteers showed out to plant three varieties of native trees.
“Community engagement is a win-win,” Lee says of the project. “It benefits the community and volunteers as well. It’s a mutually beneficial activity, particularly when you approach the engagement with the appropriate respect for the culture and the history.”
Transforming the trail is just one way Lee and his department are empowering Third Ward. In addition to projects that benefit the community’s health, like tree planting, their broader work taps into education, economic empowerment and cultural heritage.
One of the department’s most successful programs, Stimulating Urban Renewal Through Entrepreneurship, or SURE, educates UH students about starting a business while also giving under-resourced Third Ward entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their existing businesses.
Another is keeping the iconic rivalry between Third Ward’s Jack Yates High School and Fifth Ward’s Phillis Wheatley High School alive, Lee says. A newly installed historical marker in TDECU Stadium tells the story.
“It was like the Rose Bowl,” Lee says. “There were parades and floats, and 20,000 to 30,000 people would come to the game.”
And he would know. He grew up in Third Ward, attending Blackshear Elementary and Yates before graduating from Yale and going on to Yale Law School. “I have a love affair with Third Ward,” he says. “It’s a great place to live.”
It should take about 30 years before the trees Lee and team planted reach their full potential, shading the streets of Houston and providing a picture-perfect backdrop for Third Ward. But ripples of the project’s impact are already spreading.
Events like the Third Ward on Tap Fest are sprouting up all over the park, with people doing exactly what Lee hoped they would do: get together, get to know each other and uplift this vibrant historic community.
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