March Scenic Citizen: Jackson Guyre
Scenic Houston is excited to name Jackson Guyre as its April 2022 Scenic Citizen.
The 17-year-old St. Thomas High School junior recently partnered with the Houston Parks Board to support their work creating and improving Houston area parks and trails. Jackson’s volunteer efforts—the focus of his Eagle Scout Project—centered on the Houston Parks Board’s six-phase forest restoration of Coolgreen Park near Green’s Bayou.
On February 19 and 20, Jackson rallied over 80 volunteers to plant 3,100 native trees and shrubs across the park’s seven acres. The workdays were a Guyre family affair. Jackson’s parents, sister, and grandparents all joined in to help. In tandem with the volunteer planting days, Jackson launched a digital fundraising campaign in support of the Houston Parks Board. The campaign garnered donations from a lengthy list of community members and Jackson’s personal contacts and was remarkably successful—Jackson raised $7,500 for the Houston Parks Board, far surpassing his official goal of $1,500.
“We’re super excited…this young man is motivated!” said Marissa Llosa, Conservation Manager for the Houston Parks Board.
The Eagle Scout Project is the culmination of Boy Scout leadership training and must be completed for scouts to attain the Eagle Scout rank. Jackson, a member of the Boy Scouts Troop 30 based at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Woodland Heights, reports that he learned some important lessons about leadership through his project. “Leadership is not as easy as it looks,” he said. “It’s difficult to lead people your age. It didn’t feel ‘right’ telling them what to do.” But Jackson managed to overcome this challenge and Coolgreen Park is greener because of the group’s hard work.
Jackson adores Houston—he loves its cultural diversity and vibrancy—and we have a hunch that Jackson’s Houston Parks Board project is the first of many endeavors he’ll pursue to make the city more livable for all Houstonians. In addition to helping younger scouts on their Eagle Scout Projects, he wants to address other environmental issues. Jackson is specifically interested in working on Houstonian’s notorious flooding challenges. Having witnessed the destruction that flooding can cause and how this impacts his fellow Houstonians, Jackson hopes to help strategize flood mitigation solutions, especially in low-income areas.
We’re grateful to Jackson for his ambitious and successful efforts to enhance Houston’s green spaces. It’s because of the courage and commitment of volunteers like Jackson that Houston’s visual environment continues to thrive and improve for the benefit of all Houstonians now and for years to come.
