Coalition Notes 05-28-2012

1. Fresh Air Friday: A Picnic in the Plaza! H-GAC Commute Solutions Program will host the tenth annual Fresh Air Friday event on June 1st, 2012 at the Jones Plaza in Downtown Houston from 11am-1pm. Come out to learn about Commute Alternatives and Alternative Fuel Options while enjoying free food, and entertainment! For more information, contact Rick Guerrero at rick.guerrero@h-gac.com or 832-681-2589 or visit the website www.cleanairaction.org.
2. Green Building Tours: Planning Design Research. The next Green Building Tour of the 2012 Series will take place on June 1st at Planning Design Research (2 Houston Center, 909 Fannin Street, Level 39) from 11am-2pm. View the LEED for Commercial Interiors Platinum PDR Offices in an “open house style” guided tour approximately every 30 minutes. The tour is free and open to the public. The flyer is available at http://www.houstontx.gov/. For more information on Green Building Tours, please contact Steve Stelzer at 832-394-9050 or e-mail at steve.stelzer@houstontx.gov.
3. Bay Day 2012. Bay Day is a one-day celebration presented by the Galveston Bay Foundation and numerous community partners. It is a fun event for families and adults that allows attendees to experience and learn more about Galveston Bay, the largest bay in Texas and one of the most productive estuaries in the country! Bay Day highlights include hands-on, interactive exhibits, activities and demonstrations that emphasize the beauty and value of Galveston Bay. Bay Day 2012 will be held on June 9th 11am-4pm at the Kemah Boardwalk. To learn more, visit http://galvbay.org/events_bayday.html.
4. ParkScore. The Trust for Public Land has launched ParkScore, a powerful tool to help city park systems better serve the public. The parks and open space in the 40 largest U.S. cities were examined and the results are available at http://parkscore.tpl.org/. Visit the site to learn which cities top our ranking for easy-access parks—and which have the most work to do, where new parks are needed most, and how leaders in your city can help make parks even better. Houston was ranked as number 30. The site also has tips for improving a city’s ParkScore.
5. Heart of Texas Green Expo. The Heart of Texas Green Expo, the largest Green Expo between Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, will be held at the new Bastrop Convention Center (1408 Chestnut Street Bastrop, Texas 78602) from June 8-9. The Green Expo weekend will feature more than 50 speakers and panels and demonstrations. They include a presentation by city managers and mayors of Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville of their newly developed “sustainability” programs. John Ikerd from Missouri is the keynote speaker, followed by talk show host Howard Garrett (“The Dirt Doctor”) from Dallas. Learn more at http://usgbctexasgulfcoast.org/.