More Pictures of Park Opening & Water Sign Up Slots Still Open

Water Sign ups

There are still plenty of watering slots to sign up for in November and December this year. The job goes quickly and helps keep our trees alive. Please consider signing up!

Signup Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0C4AABAF2FABF94-wagner1 

Instructions: http://friendsofwagnergreenspace.blogspot.com/p/volunteer.html

More Park Opening Pictures

Credit goes to Rick Mapes for these amazing photographs of the Park opening last month. Thank you for capturing the spirit of the event Rick!

Tree Watering Schedule & Great Park Opening

Tree Watering Schedule

Now that the trees are planted we need to give them the best chance at thriving by watering them regularly the first year or two. We will send out a schedule to sign up for quarterly and see how that works.

Here is the sign up sheet to help get the trees watered. Let us know if you have questions!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0C4AABAF2FABF94-wagner1

During the rest of our 'warm' season we want to try and water them at least twice a week. Fortunately September has been wet, so the trees are very happy right now. Once we get into our 'cool' season we can move to watering once a week, as we can expect more rain during this period.

Wagner Park Opening Recap

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the renovations to Wagner Park! We had a great turn out and got all of the trees planted. It looks great! Here are some pictures and links to media posts about Wagner Park.

Media

ABC 13: click here

HPARD Website: click here

Pictures

Meet Me At the Park to Celebrate Wagner Park's Grand Opening - September 6, 2018 @ 6:30 PM

Final Stretch and Celebrating Wagner Park Opening

Hi Neighbors,

We are in the final stretch! Thanks to everyone who voted back in April. Your hard work at the keyboards are coming to fruition and it is looking awesome.

Please join your neighbors to celebrate the upgrades on September 6 @ 6:30 PM. 

Healthy snacks will be provided to commemorate our new "Healthy Living Park"

Come see for yourself the improvements HPARD is able to accomplish through the grant!

Before - Unkempt Houses and Gnarly Fence

After - Trees, Benches, Trashcans & Split Rail Fence

Wagner Park Wins $20,000 from NRPA via Meet Me At The Park Grant

Neighbors - You Did It! We Did It!

Wagner Park won the NRPA "Meet Me At The Park" Grant worth $20,000.

We will let you know when the grant plan is to be implemented. In the meantime, let's celebrate that this 'rough' urban space is going to get a make over and improve our neighborhood.

NRPA Grant Vote to help Wagner Park win $20,000 - #LittleParkBigDreamsWagner Park

Vote Every Day in April to Help Wagner Park win $20,000

Text PARK to 31279* for Instructions

Add a reminder to vote to your calendar by clicking on this link: Add to my calendar.

Wagner Park is one of three parks in Houston up for a chance to receive $20,000 

Ask your friends and family to vote!

#LitteParkBigDreamsWagnerPark

#30DaysinWagnerPark

#MeetMeAtThePark 

#Parkies

#Celebrate Earth

Wagner Park is one of three parks in Houston up for a chance to receive $20,000 as park of  #MeetMeAtThePark campaign by the National Recreation and Parks Association. If we win, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) will use the funds to revitalize Wagner Park into a Healthy Living Forest complete with benches, trashcans, interpretive signs, and an open grassy area.

Now, we need YOU to vote for WAGNER PARK and help it receive a grant!  http://nrpa.org/DisneyMeetMeAtThePark

*standard data and message rates may apply

Campaign Voting Rules and Contest Rules 

Both promotions (defined below) begin at 12 a.m. ET on April 1, 2018 and conclude at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 30, 2018. For each vote/nomination submitted, voters will earn an entry into the NRPA Meet Me at the Park Voter’s Sweepstakes. No Purchase Necessary to participate. The NRPA Meet Me at the Park Promotion and Voter’s Sweepstakes (collectively, “promotions”) are open to legal residents of the 50 US & DC, who are 18 years of age or older. For complete details and Official Rules for both promotions, visit www.meetmeatthepark.org. Sponsored by the National Recreation and Park Association.

Doggie Waste Stands

Have you noticed? 

We have two Doggie Waste Stands out in the park now. They are of the DIY variety, but they get the job done.

If you forget your doggie waste bags, please use one of the ones provided in the stand to help keep our park clean. Black trashcans are available on the border of the park and we make sure they get rolled out for pickup when they get full.

Children and dogs share the park and we can promise you its not fun when anyone, especially small children, steps in the dog poop left on the grass.

But seriously....

Pet waste is a major contaminate of water because it does not magically disappear into the ground. It gets washed into the rain water and flows into the bayou and our waterways. Parasites and nasty bacteria can cause illnesses in humans such as giardia, coli and salmonella.  This is not a small issue- dog waste is one of the major bacterial pollutants to urban watersheds.

And then there are the other unsavory pests that poop brings. The obvious one is flies. They love to lay eggs in the poop, creating more flies who will be zooming into all of our houses potentially spreading disease.

These are not new ideas. But here are some whammies. Guess who eats dog poop? Rats. Yes... RATS. In fact, dog waste is one of the top food sources for rats in developed areas.  Rats spread their own kind of awful diseases

So...Please remember to scoop the poop and if you have extra grocery bags, please consider using them to restock the doggie waste stands! Thanks!

The Difference a Year Makes & an Update

The Difference a Year Makes

We are about 6 months post Harvey and it's time to take some time to look back on the park progress and give an update.

First, check out these before and after pictures so you can be reminded how far we've come!

Before (January 2016)

Notice the trash all over the ground, the overgrown hurricane fence and the dangerous trees...

After (August 2017)

Notice no more ugly fence, trimmed trees, nicer grass & a park sign!

Opportunity to win a $20 K National Recreation and Park Association  Grant

Wagner Greenspace has been selected to compete for a $20,000 grant from the NRPA. This is HUGE and if we will will improve the Wagner Greenspace MUCH faster than we could have ever anticipated.

Basically, we will compete with two other Houston Area parks for votes. The park that generates the most votes wins the money and construction is supposed to be done by August 2018.

The design Houston Parks and Recreation submitted the application for the Wagner Greenspace is called "A Bird Friendly Community". The design includes improved ground, new trees, birdhouses, benches and trashcans.

We will keep you posted on how to vote when voting starts in April. Be sure to keep an eye out - we really want to win this

Click here to see the parks that were up for the same grant in 2017.

Fundraising & How You can Donate

While the grant we are hoping to receive is 20K, every dollar of donated money helps make the Wagner Greenspace better as well as raise our profile to HPARD.

So, please consider making a donation to help develop the Wagner Greenspace into "forever park".

• Donations can be made to Houston Park Board and directed for the "Wagner Greenspace" via our web page with the Parks Board
• Click here and choose Wagner Greenspace from dropdown list to make an online donation.
• You can also always navigate or direct others to our Donate Page

Why Donate?

You're donation will:

• Help establish funds to improve the park and add features we desire as a community.
• Raise our 'profile" to the Houston Parks and Recreation Board so that when grants or monies become available they recognize that our group is active and engaged