The Mercer Society Gift & Plant shop is proud to host their 1st annual Camellia Sale on November 10, 2018. There will be 16 different varieties to chose from for your home. The Coushatta Camellia Society will be on hand with educational materials, such as offering expert advice on which Camellia variety is best suited for your garden.

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

Celebrate the holiday season with music, food, crafts, shopping, and more during Holiday in the Gardens at Mercer Botanic Gardens. This family-oriented event offers a holiday market, winter plant sale, and a Children’s Corner. Attractions include face painting, a visit from Santa, and holiday-themed crafts. Entrance is free, and children’s activities are available while supplies last. Food, drinks, and holiday gifts are available for purchase.

Volunteers needed! Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Mercer’s Volunteer Coordinator Jamie Hartwell. New volunteers must complete a volunteer application, available at hcp4.net.

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

Join Urban Harvest for the largest one-day sale in the country. Over 4,000 trees in 100 varieties will be available for their annual Fruit Tree Sale event. All trees have been specifically chose for the Houston soil and climate. This family-friendly event also features the Green Thumbs Education Pavilion presented by Kroger, live music and food trucks for a festival-like experience. All proceeds will benefit Urban Harvest. Volunteering opportunities are also available.

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.