Happy holidays from your friends at the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition!

As you know, the CEC is dedicated to protecting the fragile environment of our Houston/Gulf Coast region. But to continue our important work, we need the assistance of generous people like you.

CEC carries out a variety of crucial initiatives, such as producing our weekly e-newsletter, Houston Environmental News Update; providing our friends with a continuous listing of environmental jobs in the Houston/Gulf Coast region; hosting unique events like the Houston Green Film Series & Wild About Houston Green Film Festival, the Greater Houston Environmental Summit, and–with our partners–Earth Day Houston.

Without the generous donations of friends like you, the CEC would not be able to continue these vital efforts. That’s why, as we near the end of 2018, I’m asking you to consider making a holiday gift to the CEC. To make a donation in any amount, please click here.

Let’s redouble our efforts in the new year to preserve our water, air, land, and wildlife.

Sincerely,

Rachel Powers
Executive Director

CEC NOTES

Environmental Year in Review: 2018 Survey

As we approach the end of 2018, we’d again like to ask you, our readers, for some feedback. What do you believe have been the most significant environmental accomplishments, controversies, issues, news, and events over the past year in the greater Houston region?

Here’s what people have suggested so far:

• Houston’s selection as the 101st city in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Global Network
• Flood management
• Harvey
• Flooding
• Sustainability
• Mayor Turner’s announcement of a Climate Action Plan at Earth Day
• The decline in the population of monarch butterflies
• The rise in the population of the lesser prairie-chicken
• The Galveston Bay Record Card overall score of C
• President Trump’s proposed border wall which would run through the National Butterfly Center along the Rio Grande

Of course, these are just a few. Please share the ones most important to you at our three-minute “2018 Houston Environment in Review” survey. We’ll report back to you soon.

Supporting CEC

Did you know your purchases can make a  difference?  AmazonSmile donates to Citizens’ Environmental Coalition when you do your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/74-1692204.

We have endeavored to confirm the events listed below. Please consider confirming directly with the hosts.

1. Audubon Christmas Bird Count
   The Audubon Christmas Bird Count continues through Jan. 5, 2019. Organized each year by the National Audubon Society, this global, all-volunteer effort collects data on local bird populations. Individual counts are open to birders of all levels, and there is no fee to participate. Several events are scheduled across the region. For details and dates for each count, visit houstonaudubon.org.
   • Bolivar Peninsula (TXBP): 12/20
   • Turkey Creek (TXTC): 12/22
   • Sea Rim State Park (TXSR): 12/27
   • Trinity River (TXTN): 12/27
   • Beech Creek (TXBE): 12/29
   • Old River (TXOR): 12/29
   • Buffalo Bayou [west Houston] (TXBF): 12/30
   • San Jacinto Wilderness (TXSJ): 1/1
   • Cypress Creek – Katy Prairie (TXCY): 1/1
   • Brazoria-Columbia Bottomlands (TXBR): 1/5
   • Huntsville [Walker Co.] (TXHU): 1/5
2. Hurricane Harvey Registry seeking public input
   Since early this year, Rice University, the Houston Health Department, and the Environmental Defense Fund have been working on the Hurricane Harvey Registry, a project to understand Hurricane Harvey’s toll on people’s physical and mental health. The registry collects information about health, housing and exposures from Houston-area residents and those who came to the city during the storm. The responses will help researchers and public officials to identify health trends and to develop plans to reduce risk with future storms. The Registry’s report is due in early 2019, but members of the public still are encouraged to enroll at harveyregistry.rice.edu.
3. Christmas tree recycling
   The City of Pearland will begin recycling Christmas trees beginning Dec. 26, 2018 and continuing through Jan. 12, 2019. Recycling will be 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Stella Roberts Recycling Center, 5800 Magnolia, Pearland. For more information, visit keeppearlandbeautiful.org. The City of Houston has not yet announced tree recycling details, but be prepared for curbside pickup AND dropoff opportunities. Don’t forget: The trees must have all decorations, ornaments, tinsel, lights and stands removed. Flocked trees cannot be recycled.
4. Scenic City Certification Program application period begins January 1
   The mission of the Scenic City Certification Program is to support and recognize Texas municipalities that implement high-quality scenic standards for public roadways and public spaces. The Scenic City Certification Program provides a proven, highly-regarded tool to Texas cities for assessment, evaluation and recognition of infrastructure standards.  Any Texas city may apply to the Scenic City Certification Program for an objective, points based review of existing municipal infrastructure ordinances. The application period begins Jan. 1, 2019 and continues through March 31. For more information, visit sceniccitycertification.org.
5. Artist Boat Holiday Break Eco-Day Camps
   Artist Boat is offering Holiday Day Break Eco-Day Camps for children age 5-12 beginning Jan. 1, 2019. Campers will experience true science and art enrichment with the creation of Eco-Art. Each camper will receive Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) enrichment and create high quality art projects which illustrate all that they have learned throughout the camp. For more information and to register, visit artistboat.org.
6. Baytown Wetlands Center Winter Camp
   From Jan. 2-4, 2019, the Baytown Wetlands Center will offer its annual Winter Camp for students grades 3-5. Students will discover how animals in the Arctic adapt to living in the cold and how we all impact their habitat from right here in Texas. For more information, visit baytown.org.
7. Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston 2019 Kick-Off
   On Jan. 6, 2019, from 2-4 p.m., the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston will hold its 2019 Kick-Off at First Congregational Church, 10840 Beinhorn Road. Faith leaders of a variety of faiths will discuss the ethics of eating from their faith perspective, and there will be a presentation on the top ten actions houses of worship and steps their members can take now to preserve the environment. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com.
8. Nominations open for Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award
   Each year, the prestigious Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award recognizes community members who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to aiding in the conservation, preservation, restoration and/or advocacy of Houston’s waterways. Nominees can be from the nonprofit, public or private sectors. The recipients will be honored at Bayou Preservation Association’s 2019 Luncheon on May 21, 2019. The deadline for nominations is Jan.9, 2019. For more information, visit bayoupreservation.org.
9. 12th Annual Texas STEM Conference
   From Jan. 9-11, 2019, the 12th Annual Texas STEM Conference, hosted by the Texas STEM Council, will be held at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio. More than 1,000 STEM colleagues will learn cutting-edge technologies, STEM best practices, innovative approaches to teaching and learning, how to implement more effective partnership strategies, and more. For more information and to register, visit txstem.org.
10. Houston Botanic Garden Call for Volunteers
    The Houston Botanic Garden, soon to officially open in Houston’s East End, is calling for volunteers to help with administrative work, host site walks, support family and adult education programs, serve as HBG ambassador, provide event support, and generally get their hands dirty. Two Volunteer Orientations will be held on Jan. 12 and Feb. 12. 2019. Click here for more information and to sign up, or send an email to volunteers@hbg.org.
11. Gulf of Mexico Climate and Resilience Community of Practice grants
    The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, in collaboration with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and the Gulf of Mexico Climate and Resilience Community of Practice, is seeking coastal communities to participate in climate adaptation projects that will serve as local examples for other Gulf communities. This collaborative project will involve financial assistance through a small grant award. Interested communities should submit a Letter of Intent detailing the need for incorporating climate considerations into their existing planning frameworks and their interest in implementing a project to reduce risk to coastal climate stressors and/or extreme weather events. The deadline for LOI submissions is Jan. 15, 2018. For more information, visit masgc.org.
12. Call for submissions for Gulf Coast Green 2019
    The 2019 Gulf Coast Symposium and Expo, the leading green building conference in the region. will be held May 17, 2019 at Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts. Submissions are now being sought from presenters from the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, interior design, government, education, the arts, contracting, energy analysis, and other building-related professions relevant to the conference theme, “CROSSROADS: Inclusive Exchange.” The deadline for submissions is Jan 21, 2019. For more information, visit aiahouston.org.
13. Registration, call for presentations open for “New Horizons in STEM” conference
    The University of Houston-Clear Lake’s College of Education will hold its greater Houston Area STEM conference, “New Horizons and Innovations in STEM” on March 2, 2019. This conference will bring together leading experts and researchers from around the region to focus on topics that impact K–12 STEM education. Participants will attend break-out sessions and tour some of the research facilities located at UH-Clear Lake, along with earning 7 CPEs for attendance. Registration is now open, and the call for presentations is open through Jan. 31, 2019. For more information, visit uhcl.edu.
14. TV: Texas Parks & Wildlife
    Broadcast on KUHT Channel 8 at 3 p.m. each Saturday and on municipal access cable channels in Baytown, Deer Park, Houston, Texas City, Galveston, Nassau Bay, Pasadena, Seabrook, Sugar Land, and on HCC TV. More info on the TPWD website (* indicates a segment about the Houston area). For a preview, visit TPWD’s YouTube Page.
    • A leisurely float down the Goliad Paddling Trail
    • Protecting Texas’ deer population as a job and passion
    • East Texas parks slowly recover from hurricanes
15. Additional Upcoming Events
    • 1/1/19: Society for the Advancement of Volunteer Youth at Moody Gardens application period opens (through 3/22)
    • 1/10/19: BirdCast: Perspectives on Bird Migration
    • 1/10/19: Urban Harvest Classes begin
    • 1/14/19: Blackwood Farm School Winter Session begins
    • 1/16/19: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council hearing on Recreational Red Snapper (League City)
    • 1/24/19: 2045 Regional Transportation Plan public meetings begin
    • 2/1/19: Registration begins for 2019 North American Prairie Conference
    • 2/2/19: Moody Gardens Educator Open House
    • 2/4-7/19: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference (New Orleans)
    • 2/8/19: H-GAC Parks and Natural Areas Summit and Awards Ceremony
    • 2/8/19: “The Human Element” film and panel discussion
    • 2/9/19: Urban Harvest 19th Annual Fruit Tree Sale
    • 2/9/19:  Citizens’ Climate Lobby Third Coast Conference
    • 2/17-19/19: â€œBringing Environmental Justice to Campus” conference (Austin)
    • 2/23/19: Conservation, Ecology, and Environmental Career Fair 2019
    • 2/28-3/2/19: Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis
    • Baytown Nature Center’s Nurture Nature Festival
    • 6/25/2019: 2019 North American Prairie Conference (in Clear Lake)

http://cechouston.org/category/green-jobs/