Paddling for a Cleaner Greens Bayou – December 13, 2025
by Tom Douglas
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Date
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Dec. 13, 2025
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Meet-up
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Thomas Bell Foster Park, 12895 Greens Bayou Street at 8:00 AM
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Put-in
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Thomas Bell Foster Park, 12895 Greens Bayou Street at 9:00 AM
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Take-out
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Thomas Bell Foster Park, 12895 Greens Bayou Street at 12:00 PM
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Paddling Miles
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3.5 Miles
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Fees or Permits
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None, though there were three sets of waivers
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Gage
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Because the gauge Greens Bayou at Ley Rd, Houston, TX - USGS-08076700 is located 7.4 river miles upstream from Thomas Bell Foster Park, the tidal cycle there is significantly delayed. Water Level at the gauge fell from 0.87 ft to 0.40 ft during the cleanup. High Tide was at 4:15 AM, Low Tide at 12:00 PM.
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Temperature
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66-77° F (William P Hobby Airport Station)
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Sky
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Cloudy to Mostly Cloudy
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Moon Phase
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Waning Crescent
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Sunrise/Sunset
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Sunrise 7:08 AM / Sunset 5:24 PM
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Precipitation
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One Very Brief Sprinkle
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Wind
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5-13 mph from the ESE to S
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Coordinator
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Tom Douglas
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Participants
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Tom Douglas, Constantin Platon, Fran Wilcox +13 non-HCC Members
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Shuttle
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None
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Craft
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1 Tandem Canoe, 4 Solo Kayaks, 5 Tandem Kayaks
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HCC Club Miles
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10.5 miles (3 HCC Members)
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Road Miles
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14 miles Each Way – From Home to Thomas Bell Foster Park
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Guide Book
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https://www.greensbayou.org/thomas-bell-foster-launch
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Photos
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Tom Douglas, Karen Gilligan, Constantin Platon
Photo Album: OAK Club GeoSciences
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Food
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Snacks and Water Provided by Greens Bayou Coalition at Thomas Bell Foster Park
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Water
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Individual Water Bottles Accessed During Several Breaks
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Our group of 16 paddlers met up at Thomas Bell Foster Park on the east side of Houston, near the intersection of I-10 and Normandy Street, at 8:00 AM. The weather was great, with temperatures of 66 to 77 degrees and mild winds of 5 to 13 mph out of the east southeast to south.
Some members of the group paddled their own boats, and other boats were provided by Kayaking Texas. In all, there were 5 tandem kayaks, 4 solo kayaks, and one tandem canoe.
Many thanks to the Greens Bayou Coalition, who handled the sign-in, provided onion sacks for collecting trash along the bayou, and a portable toilet on-site. Thanks, too, to Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR) for providing a safety boat with a crew of three. The Greens Bayou Coalition staff also helped with launching boats and unloading trash at the end of the event, which wound up just as planned at noon.
We also gained some scouting information about conditions at two small tributaries that enter Greens Bayou near Thomas Bell Foster Park. On the way upstream during the cleanup, Constantin Platon checked out the lower end of Jordan Gully (see the map below). Following the official cleanup, Tom Douglas and Fran Wilcox paddled down to Greens Bayou Park, where they had observed a great deal of floating trash several weeks earlier. Fortunately, conditions there had improved – Fran and Tom were able to paddle all of the way up to the culvert at Westmont Drive, even though the water level was quite low. (Getting the 16.5-foot canoe turned around in a narrow, incised channel did prove challenging, though.) Then, it was back upstream to Thomas Bell Foster Park to rejoin the group as gear was being loaded up.
All in all, it was a fine morning – good weather, excellent company, and the knowledge that we were providing a service to the community. Carol Revuelta, Project Manager for Greens Bayou Coalition, logged in 23 bags of trash collected, weighing in at almost 100 pounds.
This is not a one-time effort, though. The Houston Canoe Club is planning to return for a cleanup at Greens Bayou next May, in partnership with the Trash Free Gulf campaign.
Photos by Tom Douglas, Karen Gilligan, and Constantin Platon.
Staging the Boats by Constantin Platon
Getting Underway Accompanied by the TEXSAR Boat by Constantin Platon
Trash Grabbers at Work by Constantin Platon
The Turnaround at Maxey Park by Tom Douglas
Bringing in the Trash by Constantin Platon
Offloading Trash at Thomas Bell Foster Park by Tom Douglas
The Tributary at Greens Bayou Park by Tom Douglas
Pride in a Job Well Done! by Karen Gilligan
Our GPS Track for the Cleanup by Tom Douglas