About Exploration Green
In Southeast Houston, dedicated groups of volunteers are transforming a defunct golf course into an innovative stormwater detention center and green space.
Exploration Green provides an integrated, natural solution for catastrophic seasonal flooding holding up to 500-million-gallons of stormwater while also serving as a nature preserve and recreation area. Located near NASA's Johnson Space Center, this 200-acre urban green space provides the community with countless opportunities to explore, offering 40 acres of both wetlands and permanent detention lakes, home to over 1,000 native species.
Questions about Exploration Green Construction?
The Clear Lake City Water Authority (CLCWA) manages the construction (excavation) phase of the Exploration Green stormwater detention lakes. Please visit the Clear Lake City Water Authority's Exploration Green Detention Facility web page for announcements and the the most current updates on construction activities and progress.
If you cannot find the information you need on the CLCWA's web page, please contact them at (281) 488-1164
Exploration Green Remains Open, Please Exercise Caution due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
The Clear Lake City Water Authority will follow orders of Harris County and the City of Houston concerning the public access to county and city parks during the current coronavirus outbreak. Exploration Green will remain open to the public as long as county and city parks are open but will close on the same schedule as Harris County and Houston parks in the future.
Upcoming Events
Save the Dates for Exploration Green Fall 2022/ Winter 2023 Tree Planting on Phase 4!
Please join other Exploration Green volunteers for fall tree planting on Phase 4 (the phase between between Reseda Dr. and Neptune Ln. - The nearest street address is: 1718 Neptune Ln, Houston, TX 77062).
There will be three Phase 4 Fall tree planting dates:
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Saturday, 12/03/2022 (rescheduled from Saturday, 11/19/2022 due to weather)
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Saturday, 12/10/2022
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Saturday, 01/21/2023
Each tree planting event will begin at 8:00 AM and end at noon.
Please wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring your own work gloves, refillable water bottle. Tools, cold water for refills, and snacks will be provided.
No previous tree planting experience required - we will train you! Tasks range from heavy to light; there is a job for everybody!
Please RSVP to explorationgreen@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
Exploration green Featured in US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Study
Excerpt of Summary:
"PURPOSE: This technical note is part of a series collaboratively produced by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)–Institute for Water Resources (IWR) and the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). It describes the funding process for Exploration Green, a large- scale community initiative that transformed a former golf course into a multipurpose green space with flood detention, habitat, and recreation benefits. It is one in a series of technical notes that document successful examples of funding natural infrastructure projects."
To read the full technical note, please click here or the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) logo at left.
Exploration Green Relaxes COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Restrictions for Tree Nursery Work Days
The Exploration Green tree nursery holds volunteer work days to "up-pot" (transplant growing trees to larger pots and unbind the roots), weed the tree pots, clear other weeds from the mats, and check the irrigation system). These work days are scheduled as needed, depending on what work needs to be done. They are not scheduled months in advance as in the past. When they are scheduled, they are held on Saturday mornings, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM (noon).
Please e-mail explorationgreen@gmail.com if you are interested or to confirm a specific work day.
Exploration Green has relaxed COVID-19 limits on the number of tree nursery volunteers per event, and no long requires volunteers to wear masks. Volunteers are encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distancing while volunteering.
Volunteers should continue to bring their own water and snacks.
Exploration Green in the News
Flood control goes green: How Houston is using nature to combat flooding
KATIE WATKINS | POSTED ON AUGUST 16, 2022, 8:30 AM
On a muggy Monday morning at Exploration Green in Clear Lake, walkers are on trails that meander along natural-looking ponds. Red-winged Blackbirds chirp in the distance and rabbits hide in the tall grasses and reeds.
It’s a public greenspace and nature preserve — it’s also a massive flood detention project.
Click the image at left to read the full article.
Clear Lake's newest flood control is Exploration Green — a park to hold 500 million gallons of stormwater
Houston Chronicle, DIANE COWEN, STAFF WRITER
Aug. 1, 2022
A tern sailed gracefully across the shallow lake at Exploration Green, swooping in to snatch a wiggling fish from the water, while a hawk on a branch of a nearby loblolly pine scanned the land for its own next meal.
Not long ago, neither bird would have been at Clear Lake’s newest park, etched from a defunct 200-acre golf course and the product of nearly two decades of effort.
Click the image at left to read the full article.
Harris County Precinct 2 Proclamation
Harris County Precinct 2, Adrian Garcia, Commissioner, recognized Exploration Green by issuing a proclamation “to celebrate the awesome success and approaching completion of the five large detention lakes able to detain 500,000,000 gallons of storm water, surrounded by trails, vast green space, and happy, protected residents.”
Click the image at left to view the full proclamation.
Exploration Green Named Finalist for 2022 Governor’s Texas Environmental Excellence Award
The State of Texas' Environmental regulatory agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has named the Exploration Green Conservancy as a finalist for the 2022 Governor’s Texas Environmental Excellence Award in the Civic/Community category.
Click Finalist Award Certificate at left to see a larger image.
Exploration Green Featured as GBEP Success Stories on State of The Bay Interactive Website
Exploration Green was recently featured on the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP) State of the Bay: A Spotlight on GBEP Success website.
Once on the website, click the Exploration Green tab at the top for the full story. The web page features an interactive aerial photograph that allows the viewer to swipe across what the former Clear Lake Golf Course looked like before and the completed phases of Exploration Green look like now.