• Moths are among the most diverse and successful organisms on earth.
• Scientists estimate there are 150,000 to more than 500,000 moth species.
• Their colors and patterns are either dazzling or so cryptic that they define camouflage. Shapes and sizes span the gamut from as small as a pinhead to as large as an adult’s hand.
• Most moths are nocturnal, and need to be sought at night to be seen – others fly like butterflies during the day.

CEC NOTES

CEC Seeks Board & Committee Members

The CEC is currently recruiting volunteers to serve on our 2019 Board of Directors and on board committees (programs, publications, membership, governance, finance, and development). Our Governance Committee will be hosting informational open houses for potential board members July 31, September 24, and October 22, 2018. If you are interested, please send an email with your résumé to rachel@cechouston.org.

Scroll down to read notes from our member organizations and the community, or view the emailed version of the newsletter, which includes a green job listing.

We have tried to confirm the events listed below, but not all organizations have updated their websites. Please consider confirming directly with the hosts.

1. Harris County Flood Control District Bond Program meetings
   Harris County will hold a bond election on August 25, 2018, for the Harris County Flood Control District. Registered voters will be asked to vote on up to $2.5 billion in bonds for flood risk reduction projects throughout the county. HCFCD is hosting a series of community engagement meetings, geared toward the county’s various watersheds, to gather input in order prepare an effective flood damage reduction program for the region at hcfcd.org. Numerous community engagement meetings are being held, including:
   • July 19, May Community Center (Cedar Bayou)
   • July 23, May Community Center (Luce Bayou)
   • July 24, Sylvan Beach Pavilion (San Jacinto River/Galveston Bay)
   • July 25, Pasadena Convention Center (Vince Bayou)
2. Houston Community Toolbank Warehouse Tour
   On July 19, 2018 from 9-10 a.m., the Houston Community Toolbank will host a free, open tour of their warehouse at 1215 Gazin Street. Learn about the toolbank’s lending program and community projects. Sign up to volunteer painting tools blue and/or filling orders. For more information visit houstontoolbank.org.
3. Disaster B2H Community Planning Discussion
   On July 19, 2018, from 6-8 p.m. at the Deluxe Theater, 3305 Lyons Ave, Lone Star Legal Aid’s Environmental Justice Team and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) will host a planning discussion to present the basics of the Brownfields to Healthfields (B2H) program and discuss how Houston-based community organizations looking for an equitable and just transition from Hurricane Harvey might be able to apply a disaster recovery lens to this program. Community partners and organizations will have the opportunity to ask EPA staff about the B2H program and next steps. Read the City of Houston’s Brownfields Strategic Plan. For more information, see the Facebook event.
4. Texas Children in Nature Summit and Champions Luncheon proposals
   Texas Children in Nature is accepting session proposals through July 20, 2018, for its annual Summit and Champions Luncheon December 6-7 in Corpus Christi. If you think your organization or program is doing a great job connecting children and families with nature to be healthier, happier, and smarter, please submit a session idea.
5. Sensational Bay!
   On July 21, 2018, from 9-11 a.m., the Galveston Bay Foundation will present “Sensational Bay!”, a family-friendly event that allows participants to use their five senses to investigate the Bay while expressing their creative side and practice investigative skills using a variety of scientific tools. The event will be held at Trinity Bay Discovery Center in Beach City, Chambers County. You must preregister by Friday morning at galvbay.org.
6. Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse
   On July 21, 2018, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse, 1200 National Street, will be open to all members. Materials include, but are not limited to, reclaimed wood flooring, windows and screens, interior/exterior doors and hardware, interior/exterior siding, paneling, and millwork, lumber, bath and kitchen fixtures, cabinetry, and exterior ironwork. For more information, visit historichouston.org.
7. Galveston Historical Association Marine Biology Tour
   On July 21, 2018, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the Galveston Historical Association will host a Marine Biology Tour of Galveston Bay aboard the catamaran SEAGULL II, setting sail from the Texas Seaport Museum, 2200 Harborside Drive. The tour, led by a marine biologist, provides participants with a hands-on opportunity to observe dolphins and other species in their natural habitat while exploring Galveston Bay’s rich history. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com.
8. Arboretum at Night: Frogs
   On July 21, 2018, from 7-9:30 p.m., The Houston Arboretum & Nature Center will host an evening class for people 16 and up about the diversity of frogs at the arboretum. Learn about the issues facing frogs around the world and in your backyard while enjoying beer from Saint Arnold Brewing Company. For more information and to register visit houstonarboretum.org.
9. “Climate Change Threatens the World’s Marine Protected Areas” webinar
   On July 23, 2018, beginning at 1 p.m., NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will co-sponsor a webinar titled “Climate Change Threatens the World’s Marine Protected Areas,” featuring Dr. John Bruno of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Bruno will discuss how carbon emissions, ocean warming, acidification and oxygen depletion are disrupting the ecosystems currently protected within the world’s MPAs, including Texas’s own Flower Gardens Bank National Marine Sanctuary. For more information and to register, visit zoom.us.
10. Microplastics Monitoring Webinar
    On July 25, 2018, beginning at 2 p.m., the Gulf of Mexico Alliance will host the latest in its series of free webinars about its ongoing projects throughout the Gulf. This edition will examine the problem of microplastics in the ocean. For more information and to find out how to attend, visit gulfofmexicoalliance.org.
11. LEED Platinum Evening
    On July 25, 2018, from 5:30-8 p.m., the U.S. Green Building Council’s Texas Gulf Coast Chapter will celebrate Houston’s latest LEED Platinum Projects at the offices of HOK, 3200 Southwest Freeway, Suite 900. Local owners, developers, and architects will discuss their insights from pursuing the highest level of LEED Certification for Core & Shell (CS), New Construction (NC), and Commercial Interiors (CI) projects. For more information and to register, visit usgbctexas.org.
12. Houston Urban Food Production Conference
    On July 27, 2018, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and its partner organizations will present a Houston Urban Food Production Conference, covering commercial and backyard food growing, as well as selling produce, at the University of Houston-Downtown. For more information, including a link to the conference schedule and ticket purchases, visit agrilife.org .
13. HREG Solar Energy Workshop
    On July 27, 2018, from 2-4 p.m., the Houston Renewable Energy Group will host a solar energy workshop at TX/RX Labs, 205 Roberts Street. The workshop addresses the basics on how to install and operate a solar system.  It covers topics such as solar array types, costs of equipment and labor, permitting, energy savings, and reliability. For more information and to RSVP, visit houstonrenewableenergy.org.
14. Sunday Evening Conversations on Creation
    On July 29, 2018, from 6-7 p.m., Christ the King Lutheran Church will host a free webinar featuring Steve Stelzer, program director for the City of Houston’s Green Building Resource Center, who will discuss the center’s work to educate the public on healthy building and energy, water, and material-conserving design and construction. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com.
15. TRIES Wetland Delineation Training Course
    From July 30-August 3, 2018, the Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies at Sam Houston State University in Hunstville will hold a Wetland Delineation Course covering the protocol authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The course will emphasize identification and application of hydrologic, hydrophytic vegetation, and hydric soil indicators within inland and coastal wetland systems. For more information and to register, visit shsu.edu.
16. Project WET Educator Workshop
    On July 31, 2018, from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., the City of Houston’s WaterWorks Education Center, 12550 Water Works Way in Humble, will host an Educator Workshop for all grade levels, formal and non-formal, on diverse water topics that educators can use to reach children with objective, experiential, science-based water education. The workshop meets CEU requirements for educators, who will receive seven hours of continuing education credits. The workshop number is 12149. For more information, visit hcde-texas.org.
17. Houston Cities H2O Challenge continues through September 28
    The Houston Cities H20 Challenge, sponsored by the Galveston Bay Foundation, in partnership with the Texas Living Waters Project, The Woodlands Joint Powers Agency and the City of Pearland, continues through September 28. The Challenge is a friendly competition designed to engage area residents and businesses in water conservation.The Houston Cities H2O Challenge invites all to take the pledge to conserve water for the Bay through various actions, such as tracking water usage or learning how to efficiently water outdoor landscapes. For more information, visit gbwb.org.
18. “Roadmap” for cities’ move to renewable energy outlined in study
    The City of Houston is the country’s single largest municipal purchaser of renewable energy, but it as yet has not committed itself to reaching 100% renewable energy. In a paper released last week, researchers at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley provide “roadmaps” for 53 towns and cities across North America to obtain 100% of their energy from wind, water, and solar power plus storage and lay out the economic benefits that would be derived from the switch. Houston was one of the cities examined by the authors, who suggested an energy mix of 50% land-based wind; 13.9% offshore wind; 8% residential photovoltaic (PV); 7% commercial or government PV; 6.3% utility PV; and 14% concentrated solar polar (CSP). Read the full paper.
19. Air Alliance Houston partners with AQTreks on its Pasadena Community Project
    Air Alliance Houston, which works to reduce air pollution across the Houston-Galveston region, recently partnered with AQTreks in its Pasadena Community Project to raise awareness among schoolchildren and community members about air pollution while advocating for cleaner air in the heavily industrial suburb. Read more about the partnership at aqteks.com.
20. Environment Texas petition asks Whataburger to eliminate polystyrene cups
    As part of its Wildlife Over Waste campaign, Environment Texas is asking the public to sign its online petition asking Whataburger, the venerable Texas-based chain restaurant company, to set an example in eliminating the use of polystyrene cups. Because of polystyrene’s inability to decompose in a timely manner, polystyrene microplastics stay in the environment for thousands of years, causing the death of marine wildlife which try to ingest it but end up starving. Read and sign the petition at thepetitionsite.com.
21. 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.
    • Five generations of shrimping along the Texas Gulf coast
    • Brazos Bend State Park attracts diverse visitors
    • Bobwhite Quail cool off and chow down in a Panhandle cotton field

Additional Upcoming Events:

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