Some places shape who you become. For the Couch family, the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center is exactly that kind of place — a 155-acre wilderness tucked into the heart of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area, and a sanctuary that has welcomed three generations of our family through its trails.
Growing up in Houston, the Arboretum — or simply "the HANC," as we always called it — was where I first learned to love the outdoors. My grandfather spent countless hours there as a board member, volunteering his time and shaping its future. He honored my grandmother's passion for birding by dedicating the Couch Birding Trail, ensuring that visitors for years to come could share in the quiet joy she found among the trees. I still remember the pride on his face the day the Discovery Room opened, and the way he lit up watching children explore it for the first time.
A Sanctuary Under Threat
The Arboretum welcomes nearly 200,000 visitors a year and provides hands-on nature education to more than 10,000 children annually. It is, by every measure, a treasure — one of the first nature education facilities for children in the state of Texas, and a rare pocket of true wilderness inside a sprawling city.
But in recent years, that sanctuary has been tested. A punishing drought, followed by a brutal hurricane season, stripped the property of nearly 50% of its trees and damaged habitats critical to native species. At the same time, the original building — constructed in 1967 — had simply been outgrown by the educational programs it was built to house. The Arboretum needed help, and it needed a vision big enough to meet the moment.
Where the Wild Things Grow
That vision became the Where the Wild Things Grow Campaign. In 2017, the J.W. Couch Foundation was honored to support this ambitious restoration and reimagining of the Arboretum. The campaign is funding:
- New trail experiences that reintroduce native ecosystems lost to storms and drought
- Renovations to the existing building to expand educational programming
- A state-of-the-art playscape designed to spark curiosity in the next generation of nature lovers
- Habitat restoration to protect the native plants and animals that call the property home
Today, the transformation is already visible. New paths wind through recovering landscapes. Buildings rise to welcome the thousands of schoolchildren who will pass through each year. And the wild — the real, untamed Texas wild — is returning.
The arboretum was always our sanctuary to find peace in the middle of the city and convene as a family. To help usher in its next era is one of the great honors of our work.Sean Couch, President & Co-Trustee, J.W. Couch Foundation
A Legacy That Keeps Growing
The Couch family has been involved with the Arboretum since its earliest days, and supporting this campaign felt less like a grant and more like a homecoming. My children now follow the same trails my grandparents once walked — chasing dragonflies, spotting cardinals, learning the names of trees. That continuity, that quiet passing-down of wonder, is exactly what the Houston Arboretum protects.
If you live in Houston, or you're simply passing through, the Arboretum is a must-see. You'll leave feeling detoxed from the hustle of the city and reminded of something essential: that nature, even in the middle of a metropolis, will flourish when we choose to protect it.
