H-GAC’s Parks and Natural Areas Summit and Awards Ceremony will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, February 14, 2020, at H-GAC Conference Room B, Second Floor. The Summit will include presentations on trends and topics related to parks and natural areas.

The event will also include the annual Parks and Natural Areas Awards recognition ceremony. These projects serve as models for planning and project implementation for parks and natural areas in the region. Projects will be honored in three categories: Planning Process, On-the-Ground Projects Over $500,000, and On-the-Ground Projects Under $500,000.

A light breakfast will be served. Registration and breakfast begin at 9:00 a.m., followed by topic speakers at 9:30 a.m. The awards program will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will be followed by networking until noon.

Agenda
9:00 a.m.    Registration and Breakfast
9:30 a.m.    Presentation – Claire Hempel, Design Worskshop, Equity In Parks
10:00 a.m.  Presentation – Katie Coyne, Asakura Robinson, TBA
10:30 a.m.  Parks and Natrual Areas Annual Awards Ceremony
11:30 a.m.  Networking

The Parks and Natural Areas roundtable serves as a forum for discussion of issues related to parks and natural areas and promotes the Parks and Natural Areas awards program. The roundtable facilitates information exchange and planning efforts between various stakeholders and collaborators to protect and preserve parks and natural areas across the region.

Join the Parks and Natural Areas (PNA) Roundtable on Monday, March 9, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at H-GAC Conference Room A, Second Floor.

Attendees will learn about the Nature and Eclectic Outdoors’ Healthy Outdoor Communities initiative and Exploration Green, an award-winning parks and natural areas project in the region. They’ll also discuss the time and date for the spring field trip.

The PNA Roundtable meets the second Monday of January, March, May, July, September and November and is open to anyone interested in participating.

The Living Coast performance combines original music, live narration, and cinematic images of the Texas gulf coast.  Surfers and sailors, shrimpers and oilmen, poets and scientists all share their stories about this complicated region of serene beauty, vast industry, and incredible contradictions.  Supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, the concert will tour throughout Texas and the midwest in 2020.

The Living Coast film was produced by cinematographer Anlo Sepulveda and drone pilot Reagan Jobe.  Climate scientists Wendy Gordon and Megan O’Connell perform on stage with Montopolis as well as providing educational outreach before and after the concerts.

With the Wild About Houston Film Festival coming up this October, the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition is taking a look back at some of our favorite films from festivals past.

Join the community for a fun evening of inspiring films. Find ways to get involved with our member organizations right here in the Gulf Coast region.

Submit your own films for the October festival, too. First check out the submission guidelines and then submit a film via this Google Form.

A Zoom link will be emailed to you prior to the show, so that we can all watch films together and interact in the chat. Kid/family/pet friendly. Pop some popcorn and join us!

Hurricanes dominate our headlines. Let’s unite our community in the movement for climate justice. Come together to virtually watch and discuss this award-winning documentary with local activists and raise funds to support frontline communities in Houston. Purchase tickets here. 

In 2015, the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition brought the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour to Houston for the first time, selling out the first showing and sharing the festival with an audience of thousands in following years. Despite the enthusiastic reception, CEC quickly realized that, while the WSFF was inspiring and meaningful, it did not showcase local environmental stories, issues, and heroes.

So CEC decided to create its own, local green film festival.

The CEC is proud to virtually host the third annual Wild About Houston Green Film Festival on Wednesday, October 21, and Wednesday, November 18, 2020. Each night features different films from our region.

CEC would like to use this festival to tell local environmental stories, highlight the work of CEC’s member organizations, and to inspire our residents and visitors to make a difference in the environment and our quality of life.

Be a sponsor, or a promotional partner! Email Alicia at alicia@cechouston.org for information.

Join Levy Park for their Prelude Concert Series!. This 45-minute music experience is geared toward babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grownups who love them! Prelude Music Classes for Children’s curriculum nurtures creativity, self-expression, and development through a variety of musical styles arranged and pitched for `6children. To learn more about Prelude Music Classes for Children visit their website.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour is returning to the Bayou City on January 29, 2021. Hosted for the seventh straight year by the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, this ever-popular film fest will be a virtual experience.

The January festival is just one of many offerings as part of the Houston Green Film Series. The lineup in January features national and international films that awe and inspire action to protect and preserve our environment. The festival also provides a broader audience for us to share three winners of the Wild About Houston Film Festival that highlight local environmental treasures and initiatives.

The auction has some GREAT items in 2021, including a pontoon boat ride through Armand Bayou Nature Center, a private cistern tour from Buffalo Bayou Partnership, custom art made by an ambassador animal at the Delores Fenwick Nature Center in Pearland and a private tour of Deer Park Prairie with Native Prairies Association of Texas. Bidding is open on this Google Form through February 1 at noon.

The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory’s “Brew on the Bayou” third annual celebration will take place on Saturday, March 27, 2021, at GCBO’s headquarters in Lake Jackson at 299 Highway 332 West.

Sample and enjoy local specialty brews and wines from eight breweries and three wineries. Listen to live music by the Intercoastal Pirates, watch a live raptor show, grab a bite to eat from local food trucks, and check out the silent auction. Our beautiful wooded grounds will be lit by torchlight. Take a pontoon boat ride on the bayou. Walk our nature trails.

Tickets are $20/person in advance and can be bought by calling 979-480-0999. Pre-sale ends March 10. Tickets will cost $25 on the day of the event. ID required at door for brew-tasting. Included in the ticket price is everything except food trucks and dessert table. Admission includes 12 drink tasting tickets; additional beer or wine tickets will be available for purchase. Come support our wildlife conservation work while enjoying a magical evening on the bayou!