State filings and permit records show Lawrence Park in the Heights may get a roughly $1.5M overhaul under Mayor Whitmire’s Let's Play Houston program, with phased work already permitted.

A new Kinder Trail segment along Buffalo Bayou East opened in January 2026, extending the lighted trail and adding safety upgrades and restored public spaces.

State and federal crews finished a months-long renourishment of Galveston’s Hershey Beach, placing roughly 378,000 cubic yards of sand to rebuild the west-end shoreline.

A planned downtown connector would link Jose Campos Torres Plaza to the Heights trail and is slated to finish before the 2026 World Cup. City Council will consider an interlocal agreement this week.

Conroe set aside roughly 40 acres of the Deison Technology Park to create a Discovery Green‑style public park after its biotech tenant left and the campus fell into disrepair.

The Houston Zoo has begun multi‑year upgrades to its African habitats, adding shade, a renovated rhino yard, giraffe improvements and a refreshed Shani Market. Phased openings are expected through 2026 and into early 2027.

A $7.5M gift from the Jerold B. Katz Foundation boosts funding for Memorial Groves and pushes the project's budget to about $50.5M. The 100‑acre redesign will add thousands of trees and a visitors' center.

Texas Game Wardens highlight enforcement of shark‑fin bans and a 2023 rule requiring fins be denatured and disposed to curb an illegal market.

The Houston Zoo euthanized a 53-year-old chimpanzee, Charlie, due to arthritis and age-related issues. Charlie was known for his "old-man play" and had been with the zoo since 2010.

The new 7.7-mile paddling trail along Greens Bayou in Houston, now part of the Texas Paddling Trails Program, offers outdoor recreation and connects residents to nature.

Marina, a 21-year-old white Bengal tiger at Houston's Downtown Aquarium, passed away. She was the oldest Bengal tiger in an AZA-accredited facility. The Aquarium donated $2,100 to the Tiger Conservation Campaign in her memory.

Chief Peter Davis of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol was terminated following investigations into the Park Board's operations and allegations of resource misuse. Interim Chief Austin Kirwin takes over as policy and procedure reviews are underway.

Two young Cincinnati Zoo elephants survived EEHV after receiving a groundbreaking mRNA vaccine developed with Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Zoo.