Calendar

Mar
28
Thu
Air Alliance Houston Community Meeting: I-45 Expansion & Children’s Health @ Jefferson Elementary
Mar 28 @ 4:07 pm – 5:07 pm

https://www.facebook.com/airalliancehouston/photos/gm.545638365927264/2391737810845595/?type=3

Join us at a neighborhood community meeting on March 28 to talk about the I-45 freeway expansion project, known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP).  The I-45 North expansion is a transformational highway expansion project along the I-45 corridor that will shape the landscape of North Houston and the downtown area for decades, including the 5th Ward.

The project will rebuild and expand I-45 N from Beltway 8 N to the Wheeler Transit Station in Midtown (including major changes to the downtown freeway system, Spur 527, and 288 N). Construction is scheduled to last 10+ years.

Air Alliance Houston is conducting a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the proposed expansion on nearby communities. The assessment will reflect a range of issues, including air quality, mobility, economic development, parks and green space, noise, visual impacts, urban heat island, and flooding.

Bruce Elementary and Secondary DAEP have been identified by Air Alliance Houston as two of nine schools in the HISD and AISD districts that would most benefit from strategies to protect students and staff from the potential harmful health effects of traffic and air pollution.

This meeting will give you an opportunity to learn more about the proposed project and talk about opportunities to protect community health. Your feedback is critical to help Air Alliance Houston develop recommendations to the Texas Department of Transportation that could improve the freeway design and benefit schools and surrounding neighborhoods.

Children welcome, food provided.

Mar
30
Sat
Mercer Botanic Gardens’ Strawberry Patch Kids @ Mercer Botanic Gardens
Mar 30 @ 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Mercer Botanic Garden is announcing a Spring Planting Event!  Help the staff at Mercer Botanic Gardens plant a new strawberry patch this spring! Following the strawberry planting, visit our volunteer face painter for a cheerful design and check out strawberry-themed books from the Little Blue Library. Strawberry lemonade will be provided to participants. To reserve a strawberry plant for planting, call 713-274-4160. Planting is scheduled in two one-hour time blocks. When calling to reserve a plant for your child, indicate your time preference: 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. Limit one strawberry plant per child.

Hourly Schedule

  • 9:00 am – 10:00 am : First Session
  • 10:00 am – 11:00 am : Second Session
Urban Harvest’s Basic Organic Vegetable Gardening @ Houston Museum of Natural Science, Moran Conference Room
Mar 30 @ 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Gardening with Prairie Plants & Milkweed Propagation Workshop @ Brazos Bend State Park Dining Hall
Mar 30 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

On March 31, 2019, from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m., the Coastal Prairie Partnership and the Native Prairies Association of Texas will host a workshop for prairie plant gardening and milkweed propagation. It will be taught by Mark Morgenstern of Morning Star Prairie Plants and Barbara Willy of Monarch Gateway. The workshop will be at the Brazos Bend State Park Dining Hall, 21901 FM 762, in Needville. To register and for more information, visit houstonprairie.org.

Apr
1
Mon
Air Alliance Houston Community Meeting: I-45 Expansion & Children’s Health @ Aldine High School
Apr 1 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

https://www.facebook.com/airalliancehouston/photos/gm.645289989263865/2388415854511124/?type=3

Join us at a neighborhood community meeting on April 1 to talk about the I-45 freeway expansion project, known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP).  The I-45 North expansion is a transformational highway expansion project along the I-45 corridor that will shape the landscape of North Houston and the downtown area for decades, including the 5th Ward.

The project will rebuild and expand I-45 N from Beltway 8 N to the Wheeler Transit Station in Midtown (including major changes to the downtown freeway system, Spur 527, and 288 N). Construction is scheduled to last 10+ years.

Air Alliance Houston is conducting a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the proposed expansion on nearby communities. The assessment will reflect a range of issues, including air quality, mobility, economic development, parks and green space, noise, visual impacts, urban heat island, and flooding.

Bruce Elementary and Secondary DAEP have been identified by Air Alliance Houston as two of nine schools in the HISD and AISD districts that would most benefit from strategies to protect students and staff from the potential harmful health effects of traffic and air pollution.

This meeting will give you an opportunity to learn more about the proposed project and talk about opportunities to protect community health. Your feedback is critical to help Air Alliance Houston develop recommendations to the Texas Department of Transportation that could improve the freeway design and benefit schools and surrounding neighborhoods.

Children welcome, food provided.

City of Houston Climate Action Plan Meeting @ Acres Homes Multiservice Center, City of Houston
Apr 1 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The City of Houston’s office of Sustainability, has begun drafting a Climate Action Plan. The goal is to create ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and establish a pathway to meet the Paris Agreement goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, while also decreasing traffic congestion, improving air quality, and reducing costs through energy efficiency and renewable energy. The target completion date for the Plan is December 2019, with implementation by the City to start in 2020. HARC, the Houston Advanced Research Center, is providing technical assistance.

The City has scheduled a set of four Community Meetings to give members of the public information about the Plan, as well as receive input: Each meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m.

Apr
2
Tue
Air Alliance Houston Community Meeting: I-45 Expansion & Children’s Health @ Emancipation Park Community Center
Apr 2 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

https://www.facebook.com/airalliancehouston/photos/gm.355626128374225/2387683527917690/?type=3

Join us at a neighborhood community meeting on April 2nd to talk about the I-45 freeway expansion project, known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP). The I-45 North expansion is a transformational highway expansion project along the I-45 corridor that will shape the landscape of North Houston and the downtown area for decades, including the 3rd Ward.

The project will rebuild and expand I-45 N from Beltway 8 N to the Wheeler Transit Station in Midtown (including major changes to the downtown freeway system, Spur 527, and 288 N). Construction is scheduled to last 10+ years.

Air Alliance Houston is conducting a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the proposed expansion on nearby communities. The assessment will reflect a range of issues, including air quality, mobility, economic development, parks and green space, noise, visual impacts, urban heat island, and flooding.

HAIS and YWCPA have been identified by Air Alliance Houston as two of nine schools in the HISD and AISD districts that would most benefit from strategies to protect students and staff from the potential harmful health effects of traffic and air pollution.

This meeting will give you an opportunity to learn more about the proposed project and talk about opportunities to protect community health. Your feedback is critical to help Air Alliance Houston develop recommendations to the Texas Department of Transportation that could improve the freeway design and benefit schools and surrounding neighborhoods.

Children welcome, food provided.

Apr
4
Thu
HPARD’s Native Plant Propagation Workdays @ HPARD Greenhouse
Apr 4 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Image result for Houston Parks & Recreation Department logo

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.

KPC Greenhouse Volunteers @ Memorial Park Conservancy Greenhouse
Apr 4 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

The Memorial Park Conservancy has generously offered Katy Prairie Conservancy use of their greenhouse while the Native Seed Nursery at KPC’s field office in Waller is being renovated. Volunteers will help grow plants that will be used for various Katy Prairie Conservancy spring projects and for the Great Grow Out. The Memorial Park Conservancy Greenhouse is located in Memorial Park on the south side of Memorial Drive. All are welcome, no experience necessary.

Workdays are scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Gardening for Birds, Butterflies and Other Pollinators course @ Rice University
Apr 4 @ 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

As birds, butterflies and bees become increasingly imperiled, more homeowners are creating gardens to nurture and sustain pollinators. These dynamic gardens not only support wildlife but also provide an attractive and healthy environment for people.

Master gardener and naturalist Glenn Olsen explains which wildflowers, flowering shrubs, fruit trees and even vegetables offer food and shelter for pollinators. Learn to create an outdoor oasis for yourself and for pollinating creatures. The class includes a field trip to the Rice University Betty and Jacob Friedman Holistic Garden, the Urban Pocket Prairie and the Lynn Lowery Arboretum. To register and for more details, visit glasscockcatalog.rice.edu.