Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones in partnership with Shell and the Energy Corridor District officially opened the gathering space and container art mural at Energy Hill at Terry Hershey Park. 

A collaboration between Precinct 4, Shell Energy and the Energy Corridor District, this unique community gathering space features a mural celebrating the story of the energy transition and the Energy Corridor community. Painted on a re-purposed shipping container, the 40-foot mural provides an anchor and way-finding space across from the main entrance to Terry Hershey Park.

“This has been an awesome public private partnership between our three entities that tells the story of the future of energy and adaptive reuse, creates a public space for citizens to learn about energy, and demonstrates what is possible when the public and private sectors work together,” commented Elijah Williams, Executive Director of the Energy Corridor District. 

As part of the community space, ten park benches, picnic tables, and planters constructed from upcycled wind farm turbine blades made by CanvUS were donated by Shell. These unique pieces of furniture, meant to inspire creative solutions, were constructed as the result of a project tasked to its Future Energy Leaders team to find sustainable solutions for blade disposal. Shell operates wind farms across the world and three in the US.  The expected service life of wind turbines is between 20-30 years and sustainable solutions are needed when equipment is decommissioned or upgraded over time.

“At Shell, partnering with local communities where we live and work is a core part of who we are as a company, and as people,” said Akilah LeBlanc, Shell GM Commercial Innovation Partnerships. “Delivering more and cleaner energy to the world requires innovation and the best creative thinkers. We hope these benches made from upcycled wind turbine blades give people in Houston a place to relax and let their imaginations spin.” 

“As a mother of three young girls, creating a more resilient and sustainable Harris County is a top priority for me. Energy Hill at Terry Hershey Park is a symbol of what that future should look like: innovation that improves the quality of life,” said Commissioner Lesley Briones.  “I’m grateful for our partners at the Energy Corridor District and Shell and look forward to working together as Harris County continues to be both the traditional energy capital of the world and the global leader of the energy transition.”