The Texas Environmental Excellence Awards honor achievements in environmental preservation and protection. As the state’s highest environmental honor, the Office of the Governor and commissioners from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recognize outstanding projects from ten diverse categories. To learn more about how winners are recognized and for a list of categories, visit the Texas Commision on environment  About TEEA page.

The Texas Environmental Excellence Awards is an annual awards program that honors achievements in environmental preservation and protection. There are ten diverse award categories that provide citizens, communities, businesses, and organizations an opportunity to obtain the state’s highest environmental honor and be recognized for their environmental projects. The deadline for submission is September 27th.

Since 1993, they have honored more than 250 successful environmental projects and efforts. By honoring these winners, the TCEQ hopes to encourage others to initiate like-minded projects and reinforce a spirit of environmental stewardship. These are the categories:

• Agriculture
• Civic/Community
• Education
• Environmental Educator of the Year
• Individual
• Innovative Operations/Management
• Pollution Prevention
• Technical/Technology
• Water Conservation
• Youth

This year’s gala is the most important fundraising event of Houston Audubon’s landmark 50th Anniversary. Gala proceeds will benefit the organization in its work to ensure special natural places, critical habitat, and resilient bird populations will be a legacy for future generations to enjoy.

For the past 50 years, Houston Audubon has been the voice for birds, and they’ve served the Houston-Gulf Coast region through land conservation, habitat restoration, education and advocacy. At this year’s gala, they will celebrate Houston Audubon’s journey, its achievements, and the dedicated donors, volunteers, staff, and partners whose collective efforts have led us to being the regional avian conservation leader they are today.

Date: Thursday, November 7
Time: 6:30pm Cocktails / 8pm Seated Dinner
Location: The Water Works in Buffalo Bayou Park

Attire: Cocktail

Co-Chairs: Carolyn and Chris Dorros and Mary and David Wolff

Please consider supporting the 2019 Buffalo Bayou Partnership Gala, Moonscape. It will be a magical evening, dining under a luminous tent on the beautiful lawn at The Water Works in Buffalo Bayou Park. To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, this year’s gala will highlight the signature Lunar Cycle Lighting along Buffalo Bayou.

This illuminating celebration will support the ongoing care of Houston’s most significant natural resource and Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s vital programs and projects that enhance the quality of life for all in our city. Tables for ten guests are: $25,000; $15,000; $10,000 and $6,000. Individual tickets are:  $1,500; $1,000 and $600.

Cocktail-only tickets are available for $100 and can be purchased here.

Click here for a response form.  For more information, contact Leigh McBurnett, BBP Director of Development, at lmcburnett@buffalobayou.org or 713.752.0314 ext. 105.

The Nature Conservancy in Texas invites you to attend the 2019 Houston Conservation Gala! Join us on Thursday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Zoo for a gala of global proportions. Spend an “evening on the ark” as National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore presents National Geographic’s Photo Ark—a groundbreaking effort to document species before they disappear.

Sartore is a photographer, speaker, author, teacher, National Geographic fellow and regular contributor to National Geographic magazine. Most importantly, he is an avid conservationist who began the ambitious Photo Ark project 11 years ago in his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska. Since then, he’s visited 40 countries in his quest to create a lasting photo archive of global biodiversity. To date, Sartore has captured portraits of more than 9,000 animal species in human care, inching him nearer to his original goal of documenting 12,000 unique species.

During the evening, Sartore will take us behind the scenes, describing how his vision for the Photo Ark not only began, but where it’s taking him next. He’ll share with us the stories of his travels and what goes into the creation of a photo archive of true biodiversity. And above all, he’ll impart on us the saliency of this work, helping us understand how intimate animal photography like this can play a critical role in inspiring people to take action around conservation.

Sartore’s commitment to saving species makes him a perfect keynote speaker for our Houston Gala. The Nature Conservancy is working throughout Texas to protect at-risk species—we’re restoring grasslands to preserve and improve monarch butterfly habitat, acquiring land to conserve one of the last remaining wintering grounds for endangered whooping cranes and protecting vital corridors for ocelots in South Texas. Like Sartore, the Conservancy is dedicated to connecting people and nature throughout the Lone Star State.

To purchase tickets or sponsor the event, contact Megan Brann at megan.brann@tnc.org or 832-260-4915. To ensure sponsor recognition in the invitation, please respond with your sponsorship commitment by September 4, 2019.

Join the prairie community of southeast Texas and coastal Louisiana as we celebrate the great work happening locally to save, restore, and teach prairies. We will present awards to prairie champions and enjoy a delicious potluck dinner. Register today!

Join MPC at the Omni Houston Hotel for Memorial Park Conservancy’s annual gala celebrating Memorial Park, our treasured greenspace in the heart of Houston. The annual Picnic for the Park raises critical funds for the day-to-day care of Memorial Park including its vast urban trail network that provides enjoyment, well-being, and connectivity for the millions of people who love Memorial Park.

Your support plays a valuable role in Memorial Park Conservancy’s mission to restore, preserve, and enhance the Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians. From recreation to nature, there is a trail for everyone in Memorial Park!

Raise funds for the Lawther-Deer Park Prairie Education Program, honor Susan and Peter Conaty, participate in auctions, and test your prairie knowledge with this fun program.

On May 18, Kinder will offer the same great program spotlighting Stephen Klineberg and his transformational Kinder Houston Area Survey, along with insights from Rice University and community leadership. Proudly, they will also honor Rev. William A. Lawson for his many years of service to Houston and its people. All will be offered online for our entire community to enjoy freely, safely and comfortably.

Registrants will receive instructions via email on how to access the program closer to the program date.

11:30 a.m. Digital Registration

2020 Kinder Houston Area Survey and other materials made available to access online and download

12:00 p.m. Lunch-Out Program

Grab your lunch, and from the comfort of your preferred location, explore findings from Stephen Klineberg’s 39th Kinder Houston Area Survey, with insights from Rice University President David Leebron, Houston Education Research Consortium Director Ruth N. López Turley, and Kinder Institute Director Bill Fulton. The Lunch-Out will also honor Rev. William A. Lawson for his 60+ years of service to Houston and its people.