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.

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.

The health and safety of our generous donors and supporters are Turtle Island Restoration Network top priority, so the 2020 Art of Saving Sea Turtles benefit is going virtual!

Please join us on Thursday, October 29 from 5:30-6:30 pm Central to celebrate local sea turtle conservation and community art and help raise critical funds to support Turtle Island Restoration Network’s sea turtle conservation programs in the Gulf and on Galveston Island!

Turtle Island Restoration Network will be honoring Turtles About Town and the artists, sponsors, and individuals who have faithfully supported our mission. Turtle Island Restoration Network will also be introducing the artists and sponsors of 19 new sea turtle statues that will bring the total number of colorful Kemp’s ridleys on Galveston Island to 50!

Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is hosting a socially distanced picnic in place of its annual fundraising gala. Or, BBP will deliver
a picnic for you to enjoy at home while tuning into our virtual program. Although the event format has changed, the goal remains
the same—raising much-needed funds for the ongoing care,revitalization, and activation of Houston’s greatest natural resource.
Enhancement of the five-year-old Buffalo Bayou Park was made possible by a catalyst gift from the Kinder Foundation, along with the City of Houston through Houston Parks & Recreation Department, Harris County Flood Control District, and Downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) #3. This award-winning park has become a focal point for the city, providing a place for recreation, relaxation, and respite for hundreds of thousands of visitors. During the current health crisis especially, this accessible public space has been a critically important refuge for Houstonians of all ages and walks of life. Buffalo Bayou Park comes to life when friends like you are there,
so please join with Buffalo Bayou Picnic in honoring its essential role in the community.

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Join Bayou Land Conservancy on Friday, November 13, 2020, for our Annual Land Lover Gala Home on the Range (your range!) This year’s event will be held virtually and bring just as much joy and excitement as ever. Get Wild About Texas this year with keynote speaker Ben Masters, Texas Wildlife Filmmaker. Ben will take us through a journey about his latest film Deep in the Heart.

Deep in the Heart will be the first blue-chip wildlife documentary ever produced about our beloved Texas. The film will celebrate many conservation success stories while showcasing some of the most important ecological issues through the eyes of wildlife and wild places. Imagine Planet Earth…but in Texas! Through witty narration, humor, and state-of-the-art cinematography, the film will showcase approximately twenty wildlife species ranging from the iconic bison to the mysterious ocelot. The feature-length film will begin in the high plains and peaks of West Texas, flow through diverse ecoregions along our many river systems, and conclude along the bays, estuaries, and the Gulf of Mexico. Deep in the Heart aims to inspire Texans to conserve our remaining wild places, to show the connectivity of water and wildlife, and to recognize Texas’ conservation importance on a continental scale.

Center for Houston’s Future will also present the Vaughan Award to Ellen Cohen, a community leader who served as a Houston City Council member and Texas state representative.