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June 26, 2014

Houston Environmental News Update June 24, 2014

COALITION NOTES

  1. The Best of Buffalo Bayou – Canoe & Kayak Trip. Join Buffalo Bayou Partnership on June 28, 2014 at North Lake Conroe Paddling for a great paddling day trip! Come experience the heart of Houston, while gliding down its’ flowing bayou…in a kayak. These are fun, group trips for all skill levels of paddlers. Join other water-loers, from age 8 and up, who enjoy recreating and meeting new paddlers, on this 3 hour trip. These scheduled paddle excursions, include (on shore) instruction, trip orientation, long tandem kayaks (open-deck), supportive seats, symmetrical paddles, paddle guide(s), life vests (PFD’s), shuttle service, bottled water and dry bags. The cost is $60 per paddler. To make your Buffalo Bayou kayak trip reservation, contact trip outfitters, North Lake Conroe Paddling directly at nlcpc@comcast.net, OR call 936.203.2697. Learn more at www.buffalobayou.org.
  2. Basic Birdwatching with Gary Clark. Learn the basics of birdwatching on June 28, 2014, 8:30-11:30am, with Gary Clark at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Gary Clark has been an active member of the birding community for over 35 years. He will provide a brief overview of the types of birds you might encounter in Texas as well as a brief introduction to bird sounds. Find out which characteristics are key to properly identifying birds! Gary Clark will also cover the proper equipment needed for birdwatching, including binoculars, field guides, and journals. The cost is $75 for Houston Arboretum & Nature Center members and $100 for non-members. Register at www.houstonarboretum.org.
  3. League City WaterSmart Workshop. June 28, 2014, 9: 00 am to 12:30 pm at the Hometown Heroes Park Community Center. Learn how to create a WaterSmart garden, create a rain garden at home, collect water to irrigate your flowerbeds, and tour the new Ghirardi WaterSmart Park. Free. RSVP to cyork@tamu.edu.
  4. Garden Architecture Buffalo Bayou Bike Tour. Join Architecture Center Houston for a special tour of Buffalo Bayou Park led by Scott McCready, SWA Group, and Trudi Smith, Buffalo Bayou Partnership. Tue, July 1, 6 p.m.Reservations are required. Visit aiahouston.org for more information and registration.
  5. Mercer Botanic Gardens FREE Children’s Programs. Children ages 6 to 10 are invited to become junior botanists at Mercer Botanic Gardens this summer on Tuesdays, July 8 through July 29 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. These FREE one-day programs allow participants to learn about a variety of plants through hands-on activities and a tour of the gardens. Then, they will collect specimens using a plant press and find out how to identify, preserve, and display collected plants in cool and crafty ways. Openings are limited, so please call Mercer at 281-443-8731 to reserve a spot today! Same-day arrivals will be admitted if space allows. Anyone seeking additional information, or requiring special assistance to participate in any program, should contact Mercer at 281-443-8731 or online at www.hcp4.net/mercer.
  6. Special Project Request for Community Gardens. If you are a community or school garden looking for extra help, please fill out Urban Harvest’s project request form. Urban Harvest has many volunteer groups looking for gardens to work in. So let Urban Harvest know if there is a project you need help with.
  7. Brushes By the Beach – Plein Air Contest. Artist Boat is partnering with G. Lee Gallery for this year’s Plein Air Contest. You can enter paintings created outdoors only and within the boundaries of the City of Galveston. Paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, crayon or pastel are acceptable (no photography). There is an entry fee for each painting: $20 early bird fee (until November 8, 2014); or $30 regular entry fee. The contest will be held fro November 15-22, 2014. There will be cash prizes for first, second, and third place winners. Find out more at www.gleegallery.net.
  8. Calling All Lady Anglers… Would you like to spend a day with your friends on the water? Do you have a daughter, niece, cousin or mom who loves to fish and enjoys the outdoors?Join Galveston Bay Foundation for its Ladies Casting for Conservation fishing tournament. It’s happening July 26 on Bolivar Penninsula, and all proceeds benefit the Galveston Bay Foundation in its efforts to protect the natural resources of Galveston Bay. www.galvbay.org
  9. Bike Around the Bay While Supporting its Conservation. Experience the natural beauty of Galveston Bay from the seat of your bike! Join more than one thousand cyclists who will flock to Galveston Bay on Oct. 18-19 for the 2-day, 180-mile ride or the 1-day, 96 mile ride. Need training? Bike Around the Bay has teamed up with Pearland Cycling Club to offer cyclists a training program. We’ll have you ready in no time! www.bikearoundthebay.org
  10. Artist Boat Programs. Artist Boat is offering two special grant-funded programs right now. The first is Watershed Education Training (WET) — a unique program that includes an on-site Eco-Art Workshop and an Eco-Art Kayak Adventure. The second offers Stewardship Training in the Coastal Zone for Petrochemical Industry workers. If you would like more information about Artist Boat’s Eco-Art Adventures for petrochemical workers or to schedule a program for your company, contact Anna Deichmann at asdeichmann@artistboat.org or (409)770-0722. Read more at www.facebook.com.
  11. Additional Upcoming Events

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COMMUNITY NOTES

  1. Dow Black Skimmer Day. This year Dow Texas Operations will hold their annual Skimmer Day on Saturday, June 28, 2014, from 9:00am-noon. This free public event provides a rare opportunity to view one of the largest nesting colonies of Black Skimmers on the Texas Gulf Coast. Black Skimmers are considered colonial waterbirds because they nest in large colonies, usually on bay islands. These unique birds have a lower mandible longer than the upper which enables them to employ a unique feeding style. They feed by flying low over the water, opening their bills and skimming the water with their lower mandible to catch small fish. According to colonial waterbird data, Black Skimmers have declined on the Texas coast by 70% in the last 40 years so this colony at Dow is of increasing importance. Attendees should meet at the Dow A-41 gate located on FM 523 which is 1 mile south of the Hwy 332 and FM 523 intersection for shuttles to the site. Learn more at www.houstonaudubon.org.
  2. Urban Heat Island Funding Opportunities. The Funders Network, through its Partners for Places Grant Program, is seeking proposals to improve communities by building partnerships between local government sustainability offices and place-based foundations. Through the program, funders invest in local projects to promote a healthy environment, a strong economy, and well-being of residents. Among the program’s sustainability priorities are measures to address climate change while improving community sustainability; heat island mitigation activities may be appropriate in this context. For more information, visit the funding opportunity description. Due July 1, 2014.
  3. Tawny (Rasberry) Crazy Ant Talk. July 1, 11:00 am-2:00 pm, Harris County Extension Office, 3033 Bear Creek Drive, Houston, TX 77084. Master Gardener Hamburger Tuesday event.  Come enjoy a hamburger lunch while listening to an educational lecture on Crazy Ants!  Lecture is free, lunch cost is $5  harris.agrilife.org/
  4. Sea Level Rise Resource Guide Webinar. An upcoming webinar on the newly released Sea-level Rise Modeling Handbook: Resource Guide for Coastal Land Managers, Engineers, and Scientists will be held Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 2:00 PM. The Sea-level Rise Modeling Handbook has been developed as a natural resource manager’s guide to the science and simulation models for understanding the dynamics and impacts of sea-level rise on our coastal ecosystems. The webinar introduces the layout and content of the handbook including various methods and models for understanding past and current sea-level change and predicting ecosystem impacts of rising sea level under future climate change. This webinar will be presented by Thomas Doyle from the USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA. Read More or Register at usgs.gov.
  5. Few Americans “very worried” about global warming. The consequences of global warming are steadily mounting in the United States. According to the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment:
    “Residents of some coastal cities see their streets flood more regularly during storms and high tides. Inland cities near large rivers also experience more flooding, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. Insurance rates are rising in some vulnerable locations, and insurance is no longer available in others. Hotter and drier weather and earlier snow melt mean that wildfires in the West start earlier in the spring, last later into the fall, and burn more acreage. In Arctic Alaska, the summer sea ice that once protected the coasts has receded, and autumn storms now cause more erosion, threatening many communities with relocation.”

    Yet,a survey from April 2014 finds that only one in three Americans currently thinks people in the U.S. are being harmed “right now” by global warming in the United States, a number that has waxed and waned slightly over the past several years. Learn more at http://environment.yale.edu.

  6. Brownfields Tools for Economic Growth & Community Livability. Assistance to Brownfields Program (TAB) at Kansas State University. The workshop is for the full day and will run from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm, and lunch will be provided. Does your community have an abandoned building, old gas station or other potentially contaminated property that is impeding your future growth? This workshop is designed to help communities gain a better understanding of what a Brownfield is, learn how Brownfield revitalization can be a part of your community’s economic development strategy, and hear from state and national leaders on resources available to your community. For more information, contact Jennifer Clancey (City of Houston) jennifer.clancey@houstontx.gov, (832) 394-9005.
  7. Japeht Creek Updates. Japhet Creek has a new website and a new schedule for fall 2014 clean-ups. Visit www.japhetcreek.org for more information.
  8. EPA Environmental Justice Training Workshop. August 6-8, 2014, Houston. Embracing Environmental Justice:  Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of E.O. 12898. This is a community workshop for grassroots organizations and partners to better understand today’s Environmental Justice challenges; to exchange strategies/ideas, lessons learned and best practices that lead to healthier communities; and to participate in a collaborative process to draft a Region 6 Environmental Justice State Action Plan that addresses region-wide priorities. More at www.epa.gov.
  9. Additional Dates of Note
  10. TV: Texas Parks & Wildlife. Broadcast on KUHT Channel 8 at 3:00 PM each Saturday and on municipal access cable channels in Baytown, Deer Park, Houston, Nassau Bay, Pasadena, Seabrook, Sugar Land, and on HCC TV. More info on the TPWD website (* indicates a segment about the Houston area).
    • Invasive aquatic plants
    • Bird beaks
    • Water Quality and the “Dead Zone”
    • Lockhart State Park
    • Momma Tarantula
  11. Air Quality Forecast. http://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/monops/forecast_today.html. Houston Clean Air Network and Realtime Ozone Mapping: http://houstoncleanairnetwork.com.
    • June 24, 2014: Yellow–Moderate–Particulate matter 2.5. Lingering African dust may help to keep the daily PM2.5 AQI in the “Moderate” range over most of Southeast Texas.
    • June 25, 2014: Yellow–Moderate–Particulate matter 2.5. Another African dust cloud should begin moving into the Texas Coast and could possibly raise the daily PM2.5 AQI to “Moderate” levels over parts South and Southeast Texas.
    • June 26, 2014: Yellow–Moderate–Particulate matter 2.5. African dust should cover most of the eastern half of the state and could raise the daily PM2.5 AQI to “Moderate” levels over much of this area.
    • June 20, 2014: Yellow–Moderate–Particulate matter 2.5. African dust should continue over most of the eastern half of the state and could raise the daily PM2.5 AQI to “Moderate” levels over much of this area.

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