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Houston Environmental News Update June 3, 2020
June 3, 2020

Houston Environmental News Update June 3, 2020

In solidarity, Equity, National Trails Day, Houston Family Nature Challenge, Interfaith Justice Advocacy Training, Flower Garden Banks public meetings, and more

Normally, the CEC would not start its newsletter by discussing police brutality and violent protest, as they are not explicitly related to environmental issues.* However, to remain silent is to be complicit in the systemic racism that manifests itself throughout all aspects of our society.

CEC looks at systemic racism through the lens of environmental justice and equity–and there is a lot to see. One timely example is a new, 25-minute documentary released by Al Jazeera about the fight in Fifth Ward to hold Union Pacific accountable for the creosote contamination and cancer cluster. We share this video as a way to connect this city’s legacy of environmental racism to the larger moment.

As Andre West looks through the chain-link fence out over the Union Pacific railyard that was the likely source of a cancer cluster in her community, she says, “We matter. We matter.“

“The documentary is very powerful,” writes Allyn West of One Breath Partnership, who shared the video with us. “I’d urge caution if you are feeling emotionally drained, understandably so, and need to take care to protect yourself right now.”

CEC is intentional about lifting up the work of organizations that advocate for equity, including (and certainly not limited to):

By supporting and highlighting the work of our environmental community, CEC will continue to advocate for environmental justice through robust civic engagement, which might include include peaceful protests and civil disobedience, voting, volunteering, contacting elected officials and decision-makers, and conversation about difficult issues with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

CEC is purposeful in seeking diversity and inclusion throughout our organization. While CEC is not an expert on environmental justice, we are learning and hope you will join us on our journey.

In solidarity.

* Normally, we would have started the newsletter talking about National Trails Day, which, this year, calls for us to take action to preserve trails and fight for equitable access to quality green space.

Please scroll down to read notes from our member organizations and the community.

CEC NOTES

Teacher Professional Development: Place-Based Learning

Teachers, learn what’s outside your window and how you can use it to engage kids in any subject. Gain an understanding of what’s affecting Houston’s prairies, forests, and marshes. Discover resources to differentiate instruction for all learners, including tech options. Connect virtually with local informal educators the morning of June 10 (elementary and middle school) or June 11 (middle and high school). Sign up on Eventbrite for June 10 or June 11; limited to first 20 participants. Three hours CPE and G/T credit available, with an option for six hours, through the Texas Association for Environmental Education. Hosted by CEC in partnership with TAEE.

Superpowers Sessions for environmental educators

The Environmental Educators Exchange continues to offer virtual meet ups every Friday, featuring locally-relevant topics. Join us June 5 for “Urban Beekeeping:, June 12 for “Collecting Stories from the Pandemic” and June 19 for “Connecting Students to Conservation Careers”. Offered at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. every Friday, spend 15 minutes connecting with fellow educators, and 15 minutes learning about each unique topic. Find details and register on this Google form.

CEC Volunteer Info Session June 30 will be held online

CEC seeks individuals who might be interested in volunteering to help with our website and newsletter, plan events, design graphics, serve on one of our committees (programs, communications, finance, fundraising and development, membership, and governance) this year, or possibly joining our board of directors in January 2021. The next info sessions will be held June 30. For more information, please email rachel@cechouston.org, or join us online at Google Hangouts.

COALITION & COMMUNITY NOTES

We have endeavored to confirm the opportunities listed below. Please consider confirming directly with the hosts, particularly in light of concerns about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Nature Discovery Center names Bailey Kinney as Interim Executive Director

The Hana and Arthur Ginzbarg Nature Discovery Center has named Bailey Kinney as Interim Executive Director. Bailey has served as NDC’s Development Director since April 2018. Her prior experience includes working in development for both the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston and Rice University. Bailey’s development and management experience will support her efforts towards NDC’s strategic goals, governance, and programmatic offerings. She will be able to serve the evolving needs of Bellaire and Houston residents, students, teachers, families, and individuals that visit the Center for classes, leisure activities, and the stewardship of NDC’s outdoor classroom, Russ Pitman Park.

HARC research on COVID-19 impact on regional electricty use

The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) is providing scientific analysis on how the COVID-19 pandemic, social distance measures, and changes in daily behavior continue to effect environmental, societal and economic outcomes. In the latest release, HARC examines how the pandemic has impacted electricty consumption in the greater Houston-Galveston region. Read the analysis at harcresearch.org.

A Conversation with Rives Taylor

On June 4, 2020, beginning at noon, the Center for Houston’s Future will hold a conversation with Rives Taylor, principal at architecture, design, planning and consulting firm Gensler. The discussion will focus on some of the immediate and longer term effects of the COVID-19 crisis, such as returning to work, how design can increase wellness in the workplace and the community, if the course of climate change may be different in the next normal, and what changes and challenges we will face. For more information and to register, visit centerforhoustonsfuture.org.

Ask an Ecologist

On June 4, 2020 (and every Thursday through September 24), beginning at 3 p.m., Bayou Land Conservancy will present a Facebook Live event called “Ask an Ecologist.” Attendees can submit nature-related questions or topics and receive answers live. For more information, visit the Facebook event.

World Environment Day

The theme for World Environment Day, June 5, 2020, is biodiversity — a call to action to combat the accelerating species loss and degradation of the natural world. The W.E.D. website contains a wealth of information, including practical guides to what organizations, businesses, cities, governments, schools and faith groups can do; global news articles (including stories about relationship between biodiversity and COVID-19); and photos of African savannas, coral reefs in the South Pacific, South American rain forests, antarctic penguins, European arctic foxes, and Asian snow leopards, among other things.

Webinar: Exploring for Black Corals in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

On June 5, 2020, from 10-11 a.m., NOAA will host a webinar featuring expedition lead Dr. Mercer R. Brugler, from New York City College of Technology (CUNY) and the American Museum of Natural History, who will recount the 2019 mission to investigate the biology and ecology of black coral colonies in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. For more information and to register, visit gotowebinar.com.

National Trails Day

This Saturday, June 6, we celebrate National Trails Day, sponsored by the American Hiking Society. Across the country, folks get out to to their favorite trails to do some hiking, volunteer to maintain them, or just enjoy a bit of nature. As the official website notes, during the past few months, we’ve had limited access to parks and other hiking facilities, but restrictions have begun to loosen (with appropriate social distancing, the use of masks, and other measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19.) With that in mind, the American Hiking Society asks the public its #NationalTrailsDay Pledge and commit to taking at least one action in 2020 to preserve trails and fight for equitable access to quality green space.

Among the many places in the greater Houston region where you can enjoy hiking trails this weekend are Memorial Park, the Spring Creek Nature Trail, Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center, the City of Houston’s Bayou Greenways, and Sam Houston National Forest, and at several nearby state parks. The Hiking Project, an online directory, offers a ranked listing of area trails here. Similar lists are available from trails.com and alltrails.com.

National Survey on Nature Use During a Time of COVID

The Urban Systems Lab at The New School is carrying out a national study on the importance of urban parks, open spaces, and other green spaces during the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. The main goal of this study is to understand how people are using and perceiving urban parks and open space during the pandemic and how this may affect their mental and physical well-being. Click on the links to take the English version or the Spanish version of the survey.

New Coral Reef Status Reports Released

NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program recently released status reports for coral reefs in Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico. The reports provide a snapshot of reef conditions measured through four indicators from 2014 to 2018: corals and algae, fish, climate, and human connections. Reef statuses range from “good” to “fair” to “impaired,” depending on the location. Flower Garden Banks received a rating of “good’. Find the full report at coris.noaa.gov.

Heron Shores

The Armand Bayou Nature Center offers its “Nature as Normal” blog as a means to “remember that things are still happening as normal in the bigger picture, and that we’ll all be back to normal soon too.” Each weekly entry features photographs by award-winning kayaking photographer Gary Seloff and ABNC Volunteer Photo Walk Leader Lyman Brown, with commentary by ABNC’s  Conservation Director and Chief Naturalist, Mark Kramer. The latest piece is titled “Heron Shores“. Find all of the blog entries at abnc.org.

“Get Into Your Sanctuary” photo contest begins

In celebration of national Get Into Your Sanctuary activities, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is hosting its annual photo contest. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, ONMS is accepting the public’s best photos of the National Marine Sanctuary System to help celebrate the beauty and importance of these special places, including Texas’s own Flower Garden Banks NMS. Photo contest categories include Sanctuary Views, Sanctuary Life, Sanctuary Recreation, and a new category for 2020 — Sanctuaries at Home. This new category showcases photographs that illustrate how the public can connect with a national marine sanctuary from afar, whether it be through stewardship activities in participants’ homes or neighborhoods or sanctuary-related artwork.

Virtual Paddling Tour of a Flooded Forest

Tom Douglas of the Houston Canoe Club has put together a “Virtual Paddling Tour of a Flooded Forest.”  From the comfort of home, you can craft a visit to the largest cypress forest on the Texas Gulf Coast. To view the virtual tour, visit houstoncanoeclub.org.

Healthy Living Matters workshops

On June 5, 2020, Healthy Living Matters will host two free virtual workshops in partnership with Nature Explore: Supporting Infants and Toddlers in Nature-Rich Outdoor Environments (10 a.m.-noon) will focus on supporting high-quality learning experiences for infants and toddlers by incorporating nature into their environments and daily routines (register on Eventbrite); Enhancing Whole-Child Development through Natural Outdoor Classrooms (2-4 p.m.) will focus on unique whole-child learning that occurs in natural outdoor classrooms. It will explore tools educators can use to identify, assess, and support the wide variety of skills children are developing as they interact with nature and natural materials (register on Eventbrite). Only 50 spots available per workshop.

Interfaith Justice Advocacy Workshop

On June 7, 2020, from 2-4 p.m., the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston will hold a free, online Justice Advocacy Workshop, Texas Impact, an Austin-based interfaith justice advocacy organization, will educate on how to do it right, and will provide information on its top justice advocacy priorities for 2020: Climate Justice, Health Justice, and Migration Justice, so that participants can engage your legislators on these critical justice issues as a person of faith. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com.

Houston Family Nature Challenge

From June 8-26, 2020, Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation Houston is hosting the Houston Family Nature Challenge. Participants will receive a challenge each Monday, accompanied by thought-provoking mini-lessons, educational tools to enhance understanding, and Texas-based guest speakers who will share valuable environmental insights for the whole family. each week with a live Show and Tell, structured on building community among families across the Houston-Galveston region. For more information and to register, visit celfeducation.org.

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary expansion virtual public meetings on June 8 and June 11

NOAA is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking to expand Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. The proposal would expand the sanctuary from 56 square miles to 160 square miles to protect additional critical habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed rule for expansion would add 14 additional reefs and banks to the sanctuary. NOAA is inviting the public to provide input on any aspect of the notice of proposed rulemaking during a public comment period ending on July 3, 2020. The sanctuary will also host three virtual public meetings so that people can learn more about the proposal and submit comments, on June 8 and June 11. Additional information on the proposed rule and how to make comments is available on the expansion website. 

Mercer Lunch Bunch: Local Impacts of Climate Change

On June 10, 2020, from noon-2 p.m., Mercer Botanic Gardens will host a Lunch Bunch featuring Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteer and liaison for Texas’ Second Congressional District, Hans F. VanBrackle, who will share local impacts, challenges, and causes of climate change. Registration is required. For more information, visit the Facebook event.

Houston Parks Board Rising Leaders Virtual Social

On June 11, 2020, beginning at 5:30 p.m. the Houston Parks Board will host a Rising Leaders Virtual Social in which HPB Board Chairman Barron Wallace will discuss hot to bringing 1.5 million Houstonians within 1.5 miles of a Bayou Greenway. For more information and to register, visit houstonparksboard.org.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby 2020 Virtual Conference

On June 13, 2020, the Citizens’ Climate Lobby will hold its 2020 Virtual Conference, which will discuss the path ahead for climate change policy. Attendees will learn about the prospect of climate change action from members of Congress, journalists and other climate organizations; and receive training on how to Congress members and others in the community about climate change Additionally, there will be three seminars on Sunday, June 14 that will dive deeper into the topics introduced at the conference. For more information and to register, visit citizensclimatelobby.org.

L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Workshops continue through August 3

The Texas Wildlife Association’s Learning Across New Dimensions in Science (L.A.N.D.S.) Outreach Workshops are six (6) hour trainings that introduce attendees to the TWA, in-class and outdoor lessons and activities, and how to incorporate natural resources into classrooms or programming.  Lessons focus on teaching land stewardship, native wildlife, and water conservation and are Science TEKS-aligned for Grades K-8. This year, the L.A.N.D.S. workshops are being held virtually through August 3. For more information and to register, visit texas-wildlife.org.

COVID-19 Registry seeks public’s input

The COVID-19 Registry, spearheaded by Rice University with partnering organizations, is a research study that provides real-time information to health departments on the spread of COVID-19, who is being affected, and how. The registry will help to: track virus spread over time and across geography; measure economic and health impacts; understand behavior in response to policy changes; and identify popular and effective sources of information. Data from the registry will be stored in a highly secure system built by Rice University. Things learned from the registry will be published, but will not include any information that would identify participants. For more information and to take the survey, visit rice.edu. Read the most up-to-date findings here.

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.

  • Ever wonder what that brilliantly blue bird is in your backyard or how to make hummingbird food? Just ask state ornithologist Cliff Shackelford on Red River Radio during his call in show, “Bird Calls”
  • One of Rick Torres´ passions is leading families on night hikes at Ray Roberts Lake State Park. Rick is able to reach visitors who would not otherwise be exposed to the natural, nocturnal world
  • Exploring the depths of Texas´ artificial reefs, documenting species of fish and coral, and monitoring the health of our reefs, these are all in a day’s work for Dr. Brooke Shipley and Chris Ledford of the TPWD Artificial Reef Program
  • With two teens and a toddler, the Gibson family has a hectic schedule. But every year they squeeze in time to volunteer at the Texas Coastal Expo. Mom, dad and the kids all pitch in to help other families learn about the natural world. In return, the Gibsons say they’ve learned a lot about themselves

Additional Upcoming Events

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