Trees For Houston to hold ribbon cutting/grand opening of new $9M Kinder Campus permanent home

Includes the Kyle & John Kirksey Center, the Bauer Education Center and Chevron Tree Nursery at 1911 W. 34^th Street Trees For Houston will unveil its new permanent home, called the Kinder Campus, in a ribbon cutting/grand opening ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 1911 W 34^th Street in the Oak Forest neighborhood. The new home was made possible by the $9 million Taking Root campaign with the lead gift of $3 million provided by the Kinder Foundation, followed by three other major gifts, including $1 million from Kyle and John Kirksey, Sr.; $750,000 from Chevron; and $500,000 from the Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation and the C.T. Bauer Foundation. The 7,350 square-foot office building bears the names of Kyle and John Kirksey, while the indoor/outdoor education center is called the Bauer Education Center. The tree nursery, located onsite, is named after Chevron, a longstanding supporter of Trees For Houston. Following the program, a ceremonial “Flip the Switch” will take place with the Sun Club which provided the building’s solar panels and cistern and is a program of Green Mountain Energy. WHEN: Tuesday, October 3, 2023 from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. WHERE: 1911 W. 34th St., Houston, 77018 WHO: Speakers for the ceremony include:

• Barry Ward, Executive Director of Trees For Houston
• Rich Kinder, Chairman of Kinder Foundation and major donor
• Larry Nettles and Sheila Condon, Taking RootCapital Campaign Co-chairs
• Troy Finner, Chief of Police, City of Houston

VISUALS:

• New building
• Green features (cistern, solar panels)
• Tree nursery

PARKING: Valet parking is available [gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="387555,387556,387557"] Photos of campus and building. Credit: Tom Koenig [gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="387559,387560,387561"] Credit: Kirksey Architecture