Join the Houston-Galveston Area Council at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 26 to hear tips from an individual who has hosted multiple pharmaceutical take back events as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) collection efforts in April and October to learn what it takes to host one in your community. The featured presenters include Cheryl Burton-Fentress with Harris County and Carie Fletcher with BACODA.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council will be hosting a regional recycling roundtable at 10 a.m. Thursday, August 23 at H-GAC, Conference Room A, Second Floor. The speaker, Anthony Showen, CEO of Treadwright Tires located in Houston, will be speaking about tire recycling. Come educate yourself on how you can become more environmentally responsible and recycle your tires.

Join H-GAC for the Parks and Natural Areas (PNA) Roundtable on Monday, September 10, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at H-GAC Conference Room A, Second Floor.

On the Agenda

• Representatives from Asakura Robinson will give an overview of the award-winning MD Anderson Prairie project
• Representatives from League City will give an overview of the award-winning Dr. Ned & Fay Dudney Clear Creek Nature Center Management Plan
• H-GAC staff will update the roundtable on activities, including the current awards and recognition program, the Facebook group, and the parks director survey

The PNA Roundtable serves as a forum for discussion of issues related to parks and natural areas, promotes the PNA Award Program, and maintains a regional inventory of parks. The PNA roundtable facilitates information exchange and planning efforts between various stakeholders and collaborators to protect and preserve parks and natural areas across the region.

This is a joint event of the German Consulate General in Houston, the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and Ecologic Institute’s EFEX program in the context of the second annual European Union Climate Diplomacy Week, two weeks after the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.

The Energy Future Exchange – Houston Dialogue focuses on renewable energy and its role in the future energy system with particular focus on resilience, equity and economic impacts.

For more information, visit eventbrite.com.

You are invited to participate in a unique roundtable discussion about the progress of Hurricane Harvey and the implications the recovery has for Houston’s future. Discussions are structured in a “Talanoa” framework. Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory, and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling. For more information, visit sccucc.org.

The Talanoa Dialogue series is produced with major support from the Meadows Foundation and additional support from several other sponsors. If you or your organization would like to sponsor the dialogues, please email Emma.Davis@texasimpact.org.

UH Energy is gearing up for its 6th Annual Energy Symposium Series – Critical Issues in Energy. The first symposium, Future of the Electric Grid: Renewed or Gridlocked a panel of experts will discuss the future of the electric grid. With the increasing adoption of distributed renewable energy resources, the potential electrification of the transportation sector and the recent cyber challenges faced by the grid, there has been increased focus on the stability of the current electric grid and how it will evolve in the future. Moreover, how this resilience and eventual transformation will be financed and regulated remain matters of significant uncertainty. Register on Eventbrite.

For the first half of the program, Jim Blackburn, co-director of the Severe Storm Prevention, Education, and Evacuation from Disaster (SPEED) Center at Rice University and director of the Bayou City Initiative, and Dr. Stephen Klineberg, founding director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, will discuss flooding and the future of Houston.

This will be the first public conversation between Blackburn, who specializes in sustainable development, environmental law, and civil and environmental engineering, and Dr. Klineberg, urban and environmental sociology expert.

For the second half, Wendy Watriss, award-winning social and political photojournalist, will lead a discussion about documenting major traumatic events from the photographer’s perspective. Watriss is joined by Houston Chronicle photojournalists Elizabeth Conley, Brett Coomer, Melissa Phillip, and Godofredo Vasquez, all of whom were on the front lines of documenting Hurricane Harvey.

The event is free. Registration is required.

Presented in partnership with the Houston Chronicle, Bayou City Initiative, and SSPEED Center at Rice University.

You are invited to participate in a unique roundtable discussion about the progress of Hurricane Harvey and the implications the recovery has for Houston’s future. Discussions are structured in a “Talanoa” framework. Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory, and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling. For more information, visit sccucc.org.

The Talanoa Dialogue series is produced with major support from the Meadows Foundation and additional support from several other sponsors. If you or your organization would like to sponsor the dialogues, please email Emma.Davis@texasimpact.org.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and University of Houston invite you to attend the Houston Green Roof and Wall Symposium. This one-day event will feature industry experts and local leaders presenting on green roofs and walls, local standout projects and the importance of strong green roof and wall policy. The Symposium will also feature a trade show for local green roof and wall companies, interactive panel discussions and workshops to help develop policy locally. For more information, and to register, visit GreenRoofs.org.

The Bringing Back Main Street initiative offers local communities a place to share best practices and engage in a regional dialogue about revitalizing and supporting vibrant downtown spaces. Each quarter, community leaders gather for a roundtable on topics ranging from small business support to sidewalk infrastructure. These ongoing roundtables add to the knowledge shared during a 2015 workshop series.

For more information, visit h-gac.com.