One of Rice University’s most notable features is its 4,000-plus trees, which, besides being a point of beauty, provide shade and cooler temperatures during the worst of the summer heat. But not every neighborhood or campus in Houston enjoys these benefits, as a 2024 H3AT mapping study conducted by the Houston Advanced Research Center found. Houston communities like Alief experience temperatures up to 14 degrees hotter than other areas of the city — in part due to the lack of trees.
The Rice Sustainability Institute has joined the effort to reduce heat in Alief with a focus on school environments. With funding from CITGO Petroleum Corporation, the Sustainability Institute planted 150 trees on the Alief Martinez Early Education School campus, including a small orchard.
“The Alief community’s transformation of its campuses and natural spaces has been inspiring,” said Carrie Masiello, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor of Biogeochemistry and director of the Sustainability Institute. “I’m honored to have the chance to support this work. Trees are incredibly beneficial to our environment and ourselves.”
Local educator and master gardener Janice Brown served as the organizer for the tree-planting event. Brown also developed a curriculum for the school’s teachers to use to teach their students about the trees and the changes they would bring to campus, including professional development training to help the instructors learn the new curriculum.
“Through this grant, the Alief community is not only changing the students’ environments, but they’re using the trees as a hands-on learning opportunity about ecology and nature for young learners,” said Brown, founder of Girl on the Grow.
The curriculum was ceremonially handed over during the Jan. 31 event, during which 70 people, including Alief parents, TeamCITGO volunteers, and Trees for Houston, planted all 150 trees in under two hours.
“Staff, students and families will benefit from the shade, flowers and fruit on our campus. This will also reduce the environmental impact of our buildings and give students the opportunity to learn more about nature with our new lessons, books and trees,” said Francisco Razo Anaya, principal at Alief Martinez Early Education School.
Tree-planting events supported by community members, CITGO and government funding have been held previously in Alief at Olle Middle School, Jefferson Early Learning Center and Alief Linear Forest. Trees for Houston, a nonprofit organization, is providing two years of tree care for all trees planted as part of Alief’s community efforts.
“Joining this event and seeing a community so highly motivated to grow was a real privilege,” Masiello said. “On a personal note, this community reflected so many of the values my immigrant grandparents modeled for me. We had volunteers who came not for their children but for other people’s children, truly embodying our shared values of education and community support.”