This meeting of the Bay Area Sierra Club will feature a slideshow that will help you take more interesting photos of all of your holiday guests, of all of the flowers you receive, etc. Local Member Peter Bowman will teach four techniques that he learned from his famous Vietnamese teacher Do Anh Tuan.

At the end of the lesson, attendees themselves get a chance to identify these four techniques in photos which Peter will show without comment.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for social hour.

Save the Date! Memorial Park Conservancy’s first ever Fitness Fair brings together the best in health, wellness, and fitness, right to YOUR Park! Fitness Fair will feature booths from local business, running clubs, and fitness groups. You can also sample new products, enjoy the food truck, and try out free fitness classes throughout the morning. This event is made possible through the generosity of Axis Earth and Whole Health Center Houston. Visit their Facebook page.

Thursday, December 13, 6 pm – 7:30 pm

Did you have a bumper crop from your garden this season? Join Kyle Wolfe in the McGovern Centennial Gardens as he shares the basics of preserving your garden fruits and vegetables through canning and demonstrates step-by-step how to make a simple jelly from produce harvested in the garden. Tickets are FREE for anyone to attend, but you must register in advance!

Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association (HANPA) is an informal photo club for Houston Audubon members. They hold meetings monthly, September through May, on the first Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary headquarters library.

The Herb Society’s upcoming evening meeting is at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion in Hermann Park.  Hosts are Julie Fordes and Andi Leger. The program, “Moringa – A Nutritional Powerhouse in Your Backyard,” is presented by Tommy Garcia-Prats, founder and general manager of Small Places, LLC. Bring your plate and napkin and a dish to share.

Come learn about the Miracle Tree. Also known as the Tree of
Life, Mother’s Best Friend, and Nebedaye (which
means “never die” in many African languages),
Moringa oleifera may well be the world’s most
important plant. As one of the most nutrient-dense
plant foods known, moringa is being promoted as
a potential solution to world-wide malnutrition. It
was also named a Top Wellness Trend of 2018
and is an excellent source of complete plant
protein for vegetarians and vegans. And if that’s
not enough, this easy-to-grow tropical/subtropical
plant actually thrives in the Houston climate. So, if
you don’t already know about moringa, it’s time
you did.

You can learn about this life-saving “superfood”
when you join us for the January 16, 2019 Evening
Meeting of the South Texas Unit of The Herb
Society of America. The program is free and open to the public. We
meet in the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion, 1500
Hermann Drive, where it T-intersects with
Crawford Street. There is free parking adjacent to
the Pavilion. Members gather at 6:15 pm, and the
public is welcome to join us at 7:15 to enjoy the
program.

Trees are important oxygen producers, help provide energy-saving shade and the presence of trees positively impacts our psychological well-being. Keep Pearland Beautiful will pass out native trees during Arbor Day. KPB encourages a suggested donation of $10/tree (Two per household limit).

Pearland will benefit from these trees in multiple ways. First, people are attracted to a community with beautiful landscaping that includes trees for shade. Second, in city urban spaces and your own neighborhood a thriving tree canopy is important to keeping temperatures down in the summer. Planting trees around your home increase the energy efficiency of your air conditioner in the summer months. And finally, everyone benefits psychologically from having green spaces with trees. Visit their website, provided above, for an updated list of their tree selection.

Hawks, falcons, owls and more await you at Houston Audubon’s Raptor Photo Shoots. You will have the opportunity to photograph Houston Audubon’s education raptors in an intimate setting at the Houston Audubon Raptor & Education Center. Whether you use a simple point and shoot or serious photography equipment, you will enjoy meeting and learning about these awesome birds. Light refreshments will be served on the deck for all to enjoy during the shoot. Space is limited to 15 participants.

Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association (HANPA) is an informal photo club for Houston Audubon members. They hold meetings monthly, September through May, on the first Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary headquarters library.

Hawks, falcons, owls and more await you at Houston Audubon’s Raptor Photo Shoots. You will have the opportunity to photograph Houston Audubon’s education raptors in an intimate setting at the Houston Audubon Raptor & Education Center. Whether you use a simple point and shoot or serious photography equipment, you will enjoy meeting and learning about these awesome birds. Light refreshments will be served on the deck for all to enjoy during the shoot. Space is limited.

City of Houston—Houston Public Works’ Code Enforcement Green Building Resource Center presents an Education Seminar in partnership with the Texas Chapter of the US Green Building Council.  Interested in helping the City of Houston with our Climate Action Plan? Stakeholder meetings are an important way for cities to gather and dispense information to the interested public. Climate action plans are complicated and data intensive. This is a great opportunity to learn how they are developed, and what type of data they require.

Hear Speakers:  Larissa Williams, Energy Manager, City of Houston ARA Sustainability; Gavin Dillingham, PhD, Clean Energy Policies, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC); and Steve Stelzer, Program Director, City of Houston Green Building Resource Center.  Larissa will explain the intentions and processes of the Plan. Gavin will discuss the data gathering and research components. Steve will report findings and outcomes from plans of other cities. The event will be filmed to serve as a record for this important public engagement. In addition we will be answering questions, and taking notes for follow up.

The meeting is free and open to the public on Wednesday, March 27th at 6:00pm.  The event is held in the Green Building Resource Center, located in the Houston Permitting Center with its LEED Gold Certification since 2012. The GBRC is Houston’s best location for seeing displays of green building materials and strategies.