Rice University to plant 100 trees at Hermann Park Nov. 16

MEDIA ADVISORY

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Rice University to plant 100 trees at Hermann Park Nov. 16

HOUSTON – (Nov. 15, 2012) – Rice University and Hermann Park Conservancy will plant the Rice Centennial Grove in Hermann Park Nov. 16 in recognition of the shared centennials of Rice (2012) and Hermann Park (2014).

Volunteers will plant 100 oak, bald cypress and other native trees in a reforestation area close to the park’s boathouse and picnic areas on the east side of McGovern Lake between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Who: Rice student, staff and faculty volunteers. Ceremony speakers include:

Rice President David Leebron and his wife, University Representative Y. Ping Sun, Harris County Judge and Rice alumnus Ed Emmett, City of Houston Parks and Recreation Director Joe Turner, Hermann Park Conservancy Board Chair Ann Kenned and Hermann Park Conservancy Executive Director Doreen Stoller.

What: Planting of 100 trees at Hermann Park.

When: Between 11 and a.m. and 3 p.m. Following an introductory ceremony at 11 a.m., the first planting will take place from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. A picnic lunch will be served from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. A second planting session is scheduled for 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Where: Hermann Park picnic area between the cul de sac of Miller Outdoor Theatre Parking Lot D and the boat house on McGovern Lake. Media can park in nearby lots E and F. For a map of Hermann Park, see http://www.hermannpark.org/map.php.

Rice’s Community Involvement Center and Office of Public affairs are coordinating the Rice Centennial Grove project.

“Hermann Park is enjoyed by many in central Houston and is a gathering point for recreation, fitness, the arts, and culture,” said Mac Griswold, director of the Community Involvement Center. “The park has also long been a quiet sanctuary for many Rice University students and residents from adjoining neighborhoods.”

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Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 4 for “best value” among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to www.rice.edu/nationalmedia/Rice.pdf.