Calendar
Attendance at Herb Day is by pre-paid registration only. Space will be reserved on a first-received basis until all chairs are filled. Payment must be received on or before Sunday, April 22, 2018. $15 cancellation fee after April 20, 2018. No refunds after April 22, 2018. For more information and to register, visit www.herbsociety-stu.org/herb-day.
Workday: Fourth Saturday of each month, 9:00 a.m. to noon or later
Visitation of Deer Park Prairie is by appointment only. Since the prairie will be attended on scheduled workdays, they will be ideal days to visit. Please email HNPAT@TexasPrairie for appointment on either workdays or any other days.
Please do not park directly in front of our neighbors’ houses – park across the street.
As always on the prairie, wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. For seed collecting, bring clippers if you have them. Also recommended are long-sleeved shirt, hat, water, insect repellent, sunscreen.
Email HNPAT@TexasPrairie.orgÂ
Exploration Green’s Phase 1, the first section to have detention lake excavated; trees, scrubs, and grasses planted and hike and bike trails completed, is just about to be officially opened. Save the date for Exploration Green’s Grand Opening “Spring into the Green,” which will be held on Apr. 28, 2018 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
If you are intereested in volunteering for this event, there will be multiple shifts available to help with set-up/break-down, handing out information about the Green, guided tours, kids activities, and more.
For more information, visit explorationgreen.org.
Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church invites you to a monthly environmental education web meeting series whose theme in 2018 is Stewardship.
At the April web meeting, we welcome Bakeyah Nelson, Air Alliance Houston’s Executive Director, who will discuss Addressing Ongoing Air Quality Challenges in Houston. Bakeyah will provide her perspective on some of the current air quality challenges that Houston is facing – ones that Air Alliance Houston is working to address to improve public health. These range from concerns about concrete batch plants and metal recycling facilities, to the proposed expansion of I-45. Air Alliance Houston is also working with community partners to address some of the challenges exposed during Hurricane Harvey. Bakeyah will also highlight how you can get involved. After Bakeyah’s talk, there will be time for Q&A.
For more information, visit eventbrite.com or contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com.
Photo by Air Alliance Houston.
The 2018 Climate and Resilience Community of Practice meeting will be held on April 30-May 1, 2018 in Port Aransas, Texas at the Port Aransas Civic Center.
Registration
You can register online for the annual meeting. The registration fee is $100. Local government officials do not have to pay the registration fee. There is a reduced rate ($50) for students who would like to attend. Email Heather Wade at hwade@tamu.edu for more information.
Lodging
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Island Hotel ($85 per night) and the Plantation Suites ($79 per night) in Port Aransas. Please have a credit card ready and reference the “Climate C.o.P.” when reserving your room. You will need to book your room by Friday, April 20th to secure these rates.
For more information, visit masgc.org.
The JJPV invites everyone to its monthly program and meeting. Ages 16+.
All Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center programs and events are free of charge unless otherwise noted and open to the public regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, physical ability, national origin, or religion. Anyone requiring special assistance to participate in these programs should contact the nature center. Programs meet at the Nature Center unless otherwise noted. Solid shoes are recommended for all walks. Call 281-446-8588 for more information.
Environment Protectors Initiating Change (E.P.I.C)
E.P.I.C. is a free service learning club for high school teens that is aimed at learning about, and solving coastal environmental problems through hands-on projects.
If you would like to:
- Make a difference
- Help your community
- Make new friends
- Gain volunteer hours
- Have fun
Join them for a meeting at the Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center on Wednesdays 4 pm – 5 pm!
Habitat Restoration
Our volunteer group meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon at the HPARD Greenhouse.
We propagate plants from locally collected native seed. A typical workday may include seeding pots, bumping up trays into 1-gallon containers, separating seedlings, and weeding pots. We will also have special seed collecting trips, invasive species removal workdays, and planting events in our restored prairies!
We are also beginning to conduct semi-annual vegetation transects and monthly bird surveys at our current and future restoration sites. If you’re good at identifying plants or birds or if you would like to learn more about them, come join us!
If you’re interested in volunteering for the NRMP, email kelli.ondracek@houstontx.gov.
The Texas Coastal Watershed Program holds weekly volunteer days for their stormwater wetland program, 9am-12pm on Thursdays. Volunteers help propagate plants in the wetland plant nursery at Exploration Green in Clear Lake City, or at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory in Lake Jackson.  The stormwater wetland program is developing demonstration projects to show  how wetlands can be designed into flood control basins to clean contaminants from surface runoff,  protect our bayous and bays, and provide a refuge for wildlife. A schedule and more information is available by contacting Mcedwards@tamu.edu.
An opportunity to participate in stewardship work for registered volunteers–if you are not already a volunteer, please check out Armand Bayou Nature Centers’ website for more information.
Help restore the prairie by potting and planting native plants and forbs every Friday, rain or shine. You do not need to attend every Friday.