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  • info@cechouston.org
March 27, 2012

Community Notes 03-26-2012

  1. Film Festival: Mountainfilm on Tour- Houston! A new film festival comes to town this year: Mountainfilm in Telluride on Tour in Houston, which is a compilation of several short, inspiring documentaries on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 from 7-11:30pm both nights at the Rice University Media Center (Corner of University Blvd and Stockton Entrance 8). Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring , environments worth preserving, and conversations worth sustaining. Learn more at http://www.mountainfilm.org/houston.
  2. Sea Turtle Restoration Project. Join the Sea Turtle Restoration Project on March 30th for a chance to get an inside look at Galveston National Marine Fisheries Service sea turtle laboratory and view 350 sea turtles raised as part of conservation efforts to reduce fishing impacts on sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. The event will take place at NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Galveston Texas on March 30th. RSVP to info@seaturtles.org by Wednesday, March 28, 5 pm. Learn more about the Sea Turtle Restoration Project at http://seaturtles.org/.
  3. Texas A&M Spring Break Program at Trinity River Refuge. Trinity River Wildlife Refuge held its fourth annual Spring Break Internship program. Eight students, all from Texas A&M, were selected this year. From March 12-16, these students volunteered on the refuge by building 300 feet of barbed wire fence, surveying cavity-nesting boxes of wood ducks and songbirds, surveying bats, cleaning one acre of the Liberty City Park pond and a bit of Gaylor Lake of invasive water hyacinth, moving equipment out of the old maintenance facility, catching critters for Liberty Jubilee (2 snakes, 2 frogs, crawfish, and raising some domestic ducklings), clearing barb wire and vegetation from the old fence line at the new office site, and planting 50 native eastern red cedar trees. Not only did they each work nearly 60 hours during the week for free, but they enjoyed it! At least they were given one hour of college credit for all their fantastic effort.
  4. Exhibitors Needed for 2012 WaterWeek Event. The City of Houston WaterWorks Education Center is seeking environmental exhibitors for the upcoming 2012 WaterWeek event April 30-May 4. Formerly the City of Houston Water Festival, the event in its 19th year, will be held at the WaterWorks Education Center adjacent to the City’s Northeast Water Purification Plant. The address is 12121 North Sam Houston Parkway East, Humble, Texas 77396. The WaterWorks Education Center is one of the few facilities in the U.S. devoted to the fascinating subject of water. Organizations may exhibit one to five days, on a space-available basis. Exhibitors are encouraged to provide hands-on activities for the more than 300 students 2nd – 8th grade students attending each day. Visit www.houstonwaterweek.org to see photos from last year’s event. Please email Brenda.Templeton@houstontx.gov for a registration form. The deadline to register as an exhibitor will be April 13, 2012.
  5. Free Electronics Recycling Collection. San Jacinto College is teaming up with 5R Processors, Ltd. of Ladysmith, WI to help Houston and the surrounding communities properly dispose of their household electronics at no cost. 5R Processors will be set up in the San Jacinto College, South Campus P-7 parking lot at 13735 Beamer Road in Houston on Saturday, March 31st from 10:00am-2:00pm where they will be accepting old or obsolete electronics equipment. The event is open to the public. 5R Processors will be accepting most consumer electronics and home office equipment including: computers, monitors, laptops, printers, keyboards, TVs, stereo equipment, cell phones, microwaves, and more. For more information and a complete list of acceptable items visit the 5R Recycling Events page at www.5Rprocessors.com or call (800) 689-5366.
  6. TogetherGreen Innovation Grants. Applications are now being accepted for the TogetherGreen Innovation Grants, which support conservation partnerships that engage diverse communities and find innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The deadline for application is April 2. Learn more at http://www.togethergreen.org/grants/.
  7. TV: Texas Parks & Wildlife. Broadcast on KUHT Channel 8 at 3:00 PM each Saturday and on cable channels in Baytown, Deer Park, Seabrook, and on HCC. More info on the TPWD website (* indicates a segment about the Houston area). This week’s broadcast will include:
    • The Crappie Guys – Crappie Fishing
    • Outdoor Info: Cooking Crappie
    • TPWD People: Fleet & Radio Team
    • Phantom Felines of the Rio Grande
  8. Air Quality Forecast. http://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/monops/forecast_today.html
    • March 27: Yellow–Moderate–If incoming background levels are high enough, winds may be light enough and afternoon temperatures warm enough for ozone to reach “Moderate” or possibly higher levels on the north and northwest side of the Houston area, with highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
    • March 28: Yellow–Moderate–If incoming background levels are high enough, winds may be light enough and afternoon temperatures warm enough for ozone to reach “Moderate” levels on the north and northwest side of the Houston area.
    • March 29: Yellow–Moderate–If incoming background levels are high enough, winds may be light enough and afternoon temperatures warm enough for ozone to reach “Moderate” levels on the north and northwest side of the Houston area.
    • On March 24 and 26, TCEQ issued  Air Pollution Warnings – Level Red for unhealthy levels of ozone in the Houston-Galveston Brazoria areas. During a Level Red warning, everyone, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. People with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion. TCEQ also issued Air Pollution Warnings – Level Orange for unhealthy levels of ozone in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria areas on March 24, 25, and 26. During a Level Orange warning, active children and adults as well as people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exposure.