Calendar
Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church in Houston invites you to a monthly environmental education web meeting series whose theme in 2018 is Stewardship.
At the February web meeting, we welcome Bruce Bodson, President/Executive Director of Lower Brazos Riverwatch, who will address Stewardship of Water. Water is a uniquely versatile medium, functioning as a vital resource, a habitat, a recreation venue, and a waste conveyance.  As we have often seen in Houston, it is also a destructive force of nature.  Stewardship of water entails balancing these functions and our management of the hazard in a manner that allows for protection of the resource, for all the human benefits to be obtained, and still leave a reasonably unimpaired habitat for other species.  Here in Houston, the Bayou City, we are blessed with an abundance of waters, but we struggle with maintaining the balance of uses that allows us to enjoy this abundance without causing irreparable harm to the resource.  This presentation will examine the resources we have, and consider the effects of the ever growing demand placed on them.  It will also look at some examples of local programs that strive to bring balance to our consumption and regulation of the resource. After Bruce’s talk, there will be time for Q&A.Â
Please register for this talk, and you will receive an invitation to the web meeting.
Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.
8-week course, offered via distance learning by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Conservation Training Center*
Learn to use a deliberate planning process that promotes strategic, accountable, and adaptive action resulting in programs that support achieving your resource management goals. After participating in this course, participants will be able to:
- Use a program planning and evaluation model to create programs that support achieving resource
management goals; - Write measurable outcome objectives;
- Select activities to achieve desired outcomes; and
- Develop a program evaluation framework
Who should attend?
Land managers; federal, state, county/municipal education & outreach staff; non-governmental education & outreach specialists; and others working to develop and deliver environmental education, outdoor skills, outreach, career, and/or citizen science programs (and etc.) will benefit from the knowledge and skills gained during this course.
Register online by February 1, 2018 at https://www.doi.gov/doilearn. See the attachment for details.
For more information, contact Sandy Spakoff – sandy_spakoff@fws.gov or call 304-876-7783.
On the first Saturday of each month (in November it is on the first Sunday), Members can enter the Zoo one hour before opening to the general public. Enjoy cooler weather and see the keepers prepare enrichment and animal areas all around the zoo.
Each month, a different Meet the Keeper Talk (Presented by Phillips 66) is featured at 8:30 a.m. exclusively for Zoo members. Hear from one of our Zoo’s experts and gain professional insight about the featured animals. Learn from the best in the field about what it really takes to care for the diverse animals that call the Zoo home!
This event is always FREE for Zoo Members, and there’s no need to RSVP – just show up and enjoy!
2018 Member Mornings
- January 6 – Bug House
- February 3 – Gorillas
- March 3 – Aquarium
- April 7 – Tapir
- May 5 – Bears
*Dates and animal habitat are subject to change
Membership – Lost your card? Just joined and have questions? For all membership related questions, e-mail us at membership@houstonzoo.org or call 713-533-6535.
Ticket or Membership Donations – If you represent a charitable nonprofit organization seeking Houston Zoo memberships or tickets for your fundraising event, visit our Membership and Ticket Donation webpage.
Are you over 50 and eager for birding and natural history adventures? Are you tired of driving through Houston traffic to reach a birding destination? We have the solution! Our monthly senior bus trips with buses provided free of charge by Harris County Precinct 3 as a senior service by Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack can easily satisfy your “natural” side. Houston Audubon books a bus every month for our Houston Audubon members who are 50 and over. We provide snacks, refreshments and an experienced tour guide at our destination.
Reservations are required and attendance will be limited to the bus capacity. The buses are provided by Precinct 3 free of charge. A small fee is charged by Houston Audubon to cover snacks, water, and any entry fee at destination. Participants will be required to sign Precinct 3 and HA liability release forms for the trip. Precinct 3 regulations require that all participants must be 50 years or older. Remember to bring your binoculars, insect protection, sturdy shoes, and raingear if necessary. For more information and trip updates, contact Mary Anne Weber at maweber@houstonaudubon.org.
Monday, January 8, 2018
100 Acre Wood Preserve & Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve
Register online for the January bus trip.
Monday, February 5, 2018
Rio Villa Nature Trails & Sheldon Lake State Park
Monday, March 5, 2018
Cullinan Park, Sugar Land Memorial Park, Brazos River Corridor
Register online for the March bus trip.
For more information, please visit houstonaudubon.org/birding/field-trips-travel.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Climate Communications Initiative (CCI) aims to coordinate efforts across the Academies to successfully address public questions about climate change, develop innovative approaches for communicating and disseminating climate information, and provide easy access to evidence-based findings and explanations of climate change to various audiences. The CCI will enable the Academies to advise the nation in more nimble and responsive ways, pulling from the deep and diverse body of work from the institution’s seven programmatic divisions and three honorific societies.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have put in place an Advisory Committee to provide expert oversight and guidance for the plan; part of their process is to convene an in-person meeting (to be held on March 6) to gather input. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine welcomes you to join their meeting via webcast, and participate in this full-day meeting!
To register for the webinar or for more information, visit eventbrite.com.
Join the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) for the Parks and Natural Areas (PNA) Roundtable on Monday, March 12, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at H-GAC Conference Room A, Second Floor. The PNA Roundtable is open to anyone interested in participating.
The topic of the meeting is Maintenance and Beyond. Speakers will discuss parks as flood mitigation and park maintenance before and after large-scale events. H-GAC staff will discuss upcoming PNA activities. A roundtable discussion will follow the presentations.
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.
Register to attend in-person or to attend via webinar.
For more information, visit h-gac.com.
All of the material at Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse has been reclaimed from historic houses that Historic Houston has deconstructed, as well as individual items that have been brought to our Salvage Warehouse. The Salvage Warehouse, now located at 1200 National, has become a regional resource for reclaimed building materials serving an 11 county region of Southeast Texas. Materials at the Salvage Warehouse include, but are not limited to, reclaimed wood flooring, windows and screens, interior/exterior doors and hardware, interior/exterior siding, paneling, and millwork, lumber, bath and kitchen fixtures, cabinetry, and exterior ironwork.
Salvage Warehouse is open to members on the first and third Saturdays. No appointments needed on Saturdays.
Due to limited staffing during the week, current members can chop at the Salvage Warehouse by appointment Tuesday – Friday between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Members can schedule an appointment by calling 713-553-7035.
For more information, visit historichouston.org.
All of the material at Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse has been reclaimed from historic houses that Historic Houston has deconstructed, as well as individual items that have been brought to our Salvage Warehouse. The Salvage Warehouse, now located at 1200 National, has become a regional resource for reclaimed building materials serving an 11 county region of Southeast Texas. Materials at the Salvage Warehouse include, but are not limited to, reclaimed wood flooring, windows and screens, interior/exterior doors and hardware, interior/exterior siding, paneling, and millwork, lumber, bath and kitchen fixtures, cabinetry, and exterior ironwork.
The Salvage Warehouse is open during the week, Tuesday- Friday 10-3 by appointment due to limited staffing and on the first and third Saturday’s of the month from 10-4.
For more information, visit historichouston.org.
H-GAC is hosting a series of seminars and hands-on workshops to learn to use H-GAC’s interactive web applications for community and transportation planning. Participants will have access to computers to participate in an interactive session to master the use of these online applications.
A webinar option is also available; however, hands-on activities will be presented to in-person attendees only.
- Seminar 1:Â Demographic Explorer and Snapshot -Â Thursday, March 22
- Seminar 2: Regional Employment Snapshot & Commute Patterns -Â Thursday, April 26
- Seminar 3: Activity-Connectivity Explorer -Â Thursday, May 24
Seminar 1 focuses on the Demographic Explorer and Snapshot which provides quick and easy access to US Census American Community Survey data
Learn how to customize the data displayed to fit your needs:
- Draw and select an area of interest
- Query the data for more information
- Perform market analysis
- Summarize and download data
- Directly use the demographic snapshot tool and maps for presentations
For more information, visit h-gac.com.
Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church invites you to a monthly environmental education web meeting series whose theme in 2018 is Stewardship.
At the March web meeting, the Church welcome John Ferguson, soil scientist & owner of Nature’s Way Resources, a Houston-based composting, mulch & recycling firm. John’s talk is an introduction to a new model of soil science and fertility management called the “Soil Food Webâ€. It explains how biological (organic) methods work and how they save you time and money in your gardening projects by preventing many problems. The biological methods are sustainable; greatly reduce water requirements, prevent problems, eliminate air and water pollution, sequester carbon, and lower total management costs from property management to erosion control. Learn from the man whose personal garden has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens and several gardening books. After John’s talk, there will be time for Q&A.
For more information, visit eventbrite.com or contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com.