Phuong Le
Staff Writer
A wetland habitat is being constructed in Sam Houston Park, and one of the University of Houston's own students has a hand in its progress.
Jay Bush, a 24-year-old graduate architect student focusing on environmental design, was chosen by the Enron corporation to design the landscaping for the habitat. Bush was offered a grant to pay for his design efforts as part of an undergraduate assistantship.
"They gave me a basic idea of what they wanted and the sizes of the channels that are going to be cut in the ground. They left it to me on how to shape (the habitat). They gave me design constraints," Bush said.
The habitat, visualized as a balanced ecological system that will naturally filter excess nutrients from the park's soil, should attract bats, martins and butterflies to a stable home in Houston.
"With the sufficient food, water and shelter, the habitat will provide shelter for the wildlife," said Jim Lester, director of the Environmental Institute of Houston in Clear Lake.
The construction project, which is hoped to be finished by April, consists of solar pumps designed to move the water and a walkway made of plastic lumber (molded from recycled plastic). The flora of the area will include native plants, Lester said.
Over time there will be an increased density of plant life, along with modifications for the removal and addition of some plants based on whether they thrive in the crafted wetlands, Lester added.
The main problem of the present condition of Sam Houston Park is that the natural slopes allow soil fertilizer to collect in the pond, which allows for an over-abundance of nutrients and creates an unbalanced ecosystem, said Joe Kolb, an environmental specialist for Enron.
Another goal of the wetlands endeavor is the education of the public about the habitat, Kolb said.
Consequently, volunteers will be provided by Enron employees to teach the public about the habitat.
"(People) can landscape with native (plant) species which are hospitable to native animals and insects that are going to require less water and fertilizer, and that's the kind of a revolutionary idea that is an important part of this project: the teaching (of the use) of these native plants for landscaping," said Jeff Muir, senior event specialist in community outreach for Enron, providing a picture of how the park can encourage visitors to use similar techniques in more populous settings.
The majority of funding for the habitat will be provided by Enron, a private corporation devoted to renewable energy solutions worldwide. The remaining costs will be paid for with a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The Conservation Education Initiative, a program within the NFWF, offers grants to projects such as the habitat that are designed to promote environmental and educational awareness. CEI is granting money to cover one-third of the costs of the habitat, on the contingency that the organization find a private corporation, Enron in this case, to donate the other two-thirds.
In addition, the Wildlife Habitat Council, a non-profit organization, invites companies like Enron to use their land to educate the public in forming these certified natural habitats, Kolb said. WHC provides recognition for "industry leadership and employee involvement," as outlined by the program description written by William Howard, president of WHC.
In summary, the group provides corporations with certified accreditation for their work on wildlife habitats both in the United States and internationally.
"Our goal is to have a certified habitat, either having a habitat with (a refuge for) one particular species or a multitude of species, and then move towards an educational aspect," said Kolb when describing the process of accreditation of the habitat with WHC.
Enron hopes that other corporations will be encouraged to build similar habitats and promote educational outreach as well as employee involvement, Muir said.