Join us for the Parks and Natural Areas (PNA) Roundtable on Monday, July 8, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at H-GAC Conference Room A, Second Floor.

The PNA Roundtable serves as a forum for discussion of issues related to parks and natural areas, promotes the PNA Award Program, and maintains a regional inventory of parks. The PNA roundtable facilitates information exchange and planning efforts between various stakeholders and collaborators to protect and preserve parks and natural areas across the region. To register visit events.r20.constantcontact.com/register.

Trainers:     Michael Bloom, PE, ENV SP and Liz Parent, PE, ENV SP

Hosted By:  The West Houston Association

Costs:            West Houston Members:                $700

                        Private Non-WHA Members:        $800

                        Government Employees:                $650

Includes:     Breakfast, Lunch, and Full Binder of Materials and Notes.

In person training will make you eligible to take the online class and obtain your EnvisionSustainability Professional Credential from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Register:      Email Jennifer@westhouston.org by September 6, 2019

Questions:  Email mbloom@rgmiller.com

NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF TEXAS HOUSTON CHAPTER

WILDSCAPES WORKSHOP

Wildscapes Workshop, a one-day, not-to-be-missed educational event and local native plant sale. This year’s event will involve featured speakers providing up-to-date information on the relationship between native plants and our local wildlife and environment, and Houston’s prairie history, culture, and its future.

Wildscapes Workshop benefits local native plant gardens, grants, and scholarships.

NPSOT promotes research, conservation, and utilization of native plants and habitats through education, outreach, and example.

Register at NativePlantSociety.org

This free, monthly 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. The instructor, Bill Swann, is an expert in solar energy and has built many of his own solar systems. This workshop is ideal for all people; Bill can answer the simplest and most technical of questions. If you want to learn more about solar, this is the workshop for you. For more information, contact Bill Swann at william.swann2@gmail.com.

Street parking available. This workshop occurs on the last friday of every month, except December.

The Texas Environmental Excellence Awards is an annual awards program that honors achievements in environmental preservation and protection. There are ten diverse award categories that provide citizens, communities, businesses, and organizations an opportunity to obtain the state’s highest environmental honor and be recognized for their environmental projects. The deadline for submission is September 27th.

Since 1993, they have honored more than 250 successful environmental projects and efforts. By honoring these winners, the TCEQ hopes to encourage others to initiate like-minded projects and reinforce a spirit of environmental stewardship. These are the categories:

• Agriculture
• Civic/Community
• Education
• Environmental Educator of the Year
• Individual
• Innovative Operations/Management
• Pollution Prevention
• Technical/Technology
• Water Conservation
• Youth

Shell Educators’ Preview: Start your evening at 4 p.m. and earn one hour of CPE credit while viewing our newly renovated George W. Strake Hall of Malacology.

HMNS’ Educator Members will have an opportunity to speak to Tina Petway, the
Museum’s Associate Curator of Malacology, during the Shell Educators’ Preview.
As a special treat, all guests will also be able to visit our newest special exhibition,
Art of the Brick until 6:00 p.m.!

The Educator Event @HMNS: Continue your evening with us starting at 5 p.m.
and earn up to three additional hours of CPE credit depending on which
programming you attend. HMNS is featuring several ways to earn CPE credit from
attending workshops to taking a guided tour to seeing a show in our Planetarium.
Educators are able to earn a total of up to 4 hours of CPE credit while attending
HMNS’, An Evening for Educators!

Registration Information
Educators: Free
Non-Educators: $10.00

(Pricing includes entry to the George W. Strake Hall of Malacology and Art of the Brick)
Registration begins Tuesday, July 30th and ends Wednesday, October 2nd.
Please complete the online form at hmns.org/eveningforeducators to reserve your spot. For questions, contact educatorevent@hmns.org.

The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N. is sponsoring a FREE Going Green Sustainability lecture: “Mycophile or Mycophobe–we all need mushrooms” with guest speaker, Teri MacArthur, Certified Texas Master Naturalist. This event is free and open to the public.

RESET® Air, the world’s first sensor-based and performance-driven Building Standard and Certification Program, comes to Houston for an Introduction and Discussion Forum followed by a RESET Air Accredited Professionals (AP) Education Intensive and Practicum Exam. RESET Air Certification helps Building Owners attract businesses that understand that employee health and comfort directly connect to their prosperity and attract and retain the best and brightest employees through transparent independent assurance that the health of their environment is continuously verified.

This free, monthly 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. The instructor, Bill Swann, is an expert in solar energy and has built many of his own solar systems. This workshop is ideal for all people; Bill can answer the simplest and most technical of questions. If you want to learn more about solar, this is the workshop for you. For more information, contact Bill Swann at william.swann2@gmail.com.

Street parking available. This workshop occurs on the last friday of every month, except December.

Rain is as important as carbon dioxide in cooling our planet. People must restore trees and soil to restore the water cycle.

The image above shows how trees pump huge amounts of water back into the air and create more rain further inland. It is a river in the sky.

When folks started climate modeling, to simplify, they ignored water vapor and focused on carbon dioxide. But the water cycle is 95% of planetary cooling while carbon dioxide is only 5%, according to Dr. Walter Jehne. We need to keep on reducing emissions, but it’s time to also work on restoring ecosystems and their soils. Besides this may be an easier and faster way to make a difference.

To learn more and register to this event visit Coolingourplanet