TPWD Recreation Grants is planning a series of statewide public input meetings to discuss and assess evaluation criteria for awarding funds through the Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) Grant. Your feedback will assist TPWD in keeping the evaluation criteria relevant for future grant applicants.

TPWD developed the CO-OP in 1996 to help introduce underserved populations to environmental education, conservation and outdoor recreation programs. The program is authorized by the Texas Legislature through TPWD’s budget as a specialized component of the Texas Recreation and Parks Account Program. CO-OP grant funding is available to tax-exempt non-profit organizations, municipalities, universities and local school districts.

To register or for more information, visit tpwd.texas.gov.

On September 30, 2018, at 6 p.m., Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church invites you to a monthly environmental education web meeting series whose theme in 2018 is Stewardship. In September, the Church welcomes Jordan Fengel, Executive Director of STAR (State of TX Alliance for Recycling).

The US has relied on China to process our mixed plastic and mixed paper recyclables for the last 20+ years. However, a recent policy change by the Chinese government in 2017, enacted in 2018, banning many recyclable materials from being imported, has created a conundrum in the recycling industry. With China set to eliminate all imports of recyclable materials by 2020, Jordan will discuss what STAR is doing to turn the tide.

Please register for this talk, and you will receive an invitation to the web meeting. For more information, visit eventbrite.com or contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com.

This 90-minute webinar, sponsored by ASU in partnership with NCSE and SSF, will explore resilience risk and financial mechanisms to advance climate resilience. Joyce Coffee, Senior Sustainability Fellow, Global Institute of Sustainability, ASU and President of Climate Resilience Consulting, will moderate. She’ll be joined by

• Kurt Forsgren, Managing Director of U.S. Public Finance, S&P Global Ratings;
• Samantha Medlock, Head of North American Capital, Science and Policy, Willis Towers Watson; and
• Jame McMahon, CEO of The Climate Service.

Panelists will discuss risk and opportunity in the resilience finance marketplace and financial mechanisms to identify, evaluate and transfer climate risk.

The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will hold its annual public meeting via an interactive webinar on November 14, 2018. During this meeting, NOAA’s Gulf Spill Restoration will present updates on the Open Ocean Restoration Area’s early restoration projects, first and second restoration plans, and monitoring and adaptive management activities. They will also provide an opportunity for questions and answers after the updates are presented.

This is the third webinar in ASWM and NRCS’s jointly-developed nine-part wetland training webinar series. The first half of the webinar will focus on explaining general wetland ecology concepts, including succession, thresholds, disturbance, sensitivity and resilience. The second half of the webinar will identify how source waters (surface and groundwater) and soils define the character of a wetland, including an introduction to the Hydrogeomorphic Wetland Classification System (HGM). Participants will come away from the webinar with an increased understanding of how to consider these key concepts as they plan conservation and management activities that include wetlands.

Presenters: Stacey Clark, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and
Kendra Moseley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

This is the fourth webinar in ASWM and NRCS’s jointly-developed nine-part wetland training webinar series. The webinar will begin with a presentation on the variability in wetlands across the country, including how specific wetland functions and services vary by wetland type. The webinar will then move to a second presentation on wetland benefits and their impact on other resources at the watershed scale.  Participants will come away from the webinar with an increased understanding of variability of wetlands and their associated functions and services nationwide, as well as how wetland loss and wetland restoration can have impacts at the watershed scale.

Presenters: Doug Norris, Wetland Program Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and Andy Robertson, Executive Director, Geospatial Services, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

In November 2018, new HHS Physical Activity Guidelines were released. They confirmed what America Walks already know- that when people move more, they are healthy, active, and engaged. Join America Walks for “Let’s Get Moving: The Power of Physical Activity” as they explore the guidelines and how communities are promoting physical activity with this webinar. This webinar is intended for those just starting out on the walking path as well as those interested in learning more about the topic.

Attendees of this webinar will:

• Learn about programs, policies, and projects that support walk-ability in rural communities and small towns
• Hear inspiring stories of communities on the walking path
• Explore resources that can help you in your work to create walk-able communities

Webinar: Learn about our research campaign to improve understanding of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current

Following recommendations from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, the Gulf Research Program is developing a long-term research campaign to improve understanding and prediction of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current System.

Known as Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems (UGOS), the campaign is envisioned as a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary, multi-institutional research campaign to improve understanding of the various interacting physical, biological, and chemical processes at work in the Gulf of Mexico. In December, the Gulf Research Program announced the award of $10.3 million in grants for eight new projects to conduct studies and collect data and observations that will inform the planning and launching of the campaign.

On January 11, project team members for that first round of funding awards will convene to plan for and facilitate coordination of efforts across their different projects. A portion of that meeting, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. ET, will be broadcast as a webinar open to anyone interested in learning more about the origin, current work, and longer term vision and timeline for the research campaign.

Register for the webinar: https://nas.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8dc5d96edd0cea5da1175b8c1&id=8a861bd61e&e=0a9537353a

Even one life lost is too many. Pedestrian safety is a critical part of planning for healthy, active, and engaged communities. Learn about resources and ideas to improve safety with this webinar. This webinar assumes basic knowledge of issues related to walking and walk-ability.

This webinar will continue on America Walks’ September Walking Towards Justice episode that explored the potential partnerships between walk-ability advocates and the disability rights movement. Learn how communities are becoming more inclusive and accessible and tools and resources to do the same.  This webinar is intended for those just starting out on the walking path as well as those interested in learning more about the topic.