Calendar
Integrating Water Management on the Texas Gulf Coast:
Moving Forward with a One Water Approach
Join Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium on Wednesday, October 28 – Thursday, October 29, 2020, for this two-day, virtual program. Each day’s programming will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will hold its annual public meeting via an interactive webinar on November 5, 2020. The webinar is open to everyone; Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group encourage your attendance and participation.
During this meeting, Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will present updates on the Open Ocean Restoration Area’s restoration and monitoring and adaptive management activities. Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will also provide an opportunity for questions and answers after the updates are presented.
The Texas Trustee Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill will hold its 2020 annual public meeting on November 4, 2020, via an online video presentation. The presentation will include updates on the Texas Trustee Implementation Group’s current restoration planning efforts and several ongoing restoration projects and will describe future planning efforts.
The video presentation may be viewed at any time on November 4, 2020, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. and can be viewed as an unlimited number of times.
The public will have the opportunity to view the video, and provide comments related to the presentation topics during the same date and times through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s public comment portal under the heading “Texas TIG Annual Meeting Video Presentation.â€

Carrin Patman

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Ellen Cohen
The event will feature a discussion with Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, led by METRO Chair Carrin Patman. Kanter was named one of the “50 most influential business thinkers in the world,” according to Thinkers50, the global ranking of management thinkers. She will speak about her latest book, “Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time.”
Center for Houston’s Future will also present the Vaughan Award to Ellen Cohen, a community leader who served as a Houston City Council member and Texas state representative.
Impact Hub houston envisions a more prosperous, inclusive, climate-resilient economy, where finance flows to green projects and activities, and where motivated people are empowered with the skills and capacity they need to take action.
This progress can only be achieved through systemic change – change that includes innovation across business, investment, regulation, governance structures, values and mindsets. They invite you to join Climathon Houston to see the most promising ideas that emerge around Houston’s challenges, including:
Energy Transition: developing innovative ways to …
- Shift from extractive to regenerative energy production, capture and distribution technologies.
- Restore, protect, and enhance Houston’s natural ability to capture and store carbon.
Materials Management: developing innovative ways to …
- Reduce waste production and/or Optimize waste operations.
- Reuse or Upcycle materials into useful products, to lengthen their lifespan and keep materials out of streets and landfills.
- Recycle materials into efficient energy or new raw materials for manufacturing and production.
Building Optimization: developing innovative ways to …
- Reduce building energy use and maximize savings.
- Increase the healthfulness and utility of existing buildings for sustainable community use.
Regional Resilience: developing innovative ways to …
- Address clean water, access, retention and flooding issues
- Engage more people in building better habits that promote cleaner, greener communities
- Accelerate clean urban mobility
Texas Trustees Holding Annual Public Meeting December 1
The Texas Trustee Implementation Group will hold its annual public meeting via a webinar on December 1, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. CT. During the meeting, They will present an update on Texas Restoration Area plans, projects, and activities. They will provide opportunities for attendees to submit questions as part of the webinar registration process, and during the Webinar via chat. The webinar is open to everyone, and they encourage your attendance and participation.
This free virtual event is brought to you by the Texas Water Resources Institute for those who will partake in the agency panel for program updates and a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension panel discussing continued engagement with stakeholders in response to COVID-19.
Parks and Natural Areas Awards
H-GAC established the Parks and Natural Areas awards program in 2006 to highlight best practices and innovative approaches to parks planning and implementation. H-GAC honors projects in the categories of Projects Over $500,000, Projects Under $500,000, Planning Process and Policy Tools, and Programming.
This program recognizes outstanding parks and natural areas around the region. No funding is associated with this award program.
Conservation Grants
Conservation Grants can be awarded to projects anywhere in Texas. In its first 25 years the Birding Classic has donated $1,071,000 in conservation funding to nature tourism and avian habitat restoration, enhancement, and acquisition projects throughout the state!
Number of grants awarded (and their amounts) are determined based on team registration fees (independent and sponsored) and corporate sponsorship dollars collected each year. The Birding Classic is a cost-recovery event, so once minimal event costs are covered all remaining funds go to conservation grants in Texas. Organizations are not required to register a team in the Birding Classic to be eligible to submit a project proposal.
All approved projects submitted by the May 1st deadline will be provided to winning Birding Classic teams to select which projects are funded by Conservation Grants.