Calendar
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.
Viewing Global Best Practices through Texas Leadership
Texans design, construct, operate and maintain their buildings has an immediate and lasting impact on the Social, Environmental and Financial health of our communities.  Texas continues to rank high Nationally in total number and total area of Energy Star and LEED certified buildings and has over 11,000 trained LEED Accredited Professionals.
However, the advancement of betterments such as Energy Efficient Designs, Proven Advanced Technologies, Healthy Indoor Air Quality, and Higher Standards of Care Processes have stagnated.
This session will be facilitated by Unboxed, a social innovation consulting firm that helps organizations thrive by connecting people, planet, purpose, and profit. They will introduce us to innovation methods and guide us through a brainstorming sprint in order to generate innovative ideas to make best practices and knowledge about sustainable buildings available for everyone.
Carrin Patman
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Ellen Cohen
The event will feature a discussion with Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, led by METRO Chair Carrin Patman. Kanter was named one of the “50 most influential business thinkers in the world,” according to Thinkers50, the global ranking of management thinkers. She will speak about her latest book, “Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time.”
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.
The Houston Botanic Garden presents Pat Hudnall, vice president of the Texas Gulf Coast Fern Society, who will introduce participants to 12 ferns often available in Houston nurseries that are well suited for, and typically not difficult to grow in, the Gulf Coast climate.
Garden members receive a $5 discount off registration.
*Non-member price ($15) covers the workshop but does not include general admission to the Garden on July 31, which is an additional $15 for adults, $10 for children and students.
Event page:Â https://hbg.org/events/a-dozen-ferns-for-houston-gardens-2021-07-31-10-30/
Impact Hub houston envisions a more prosperous, inclusive, climate-resilient economy, where finance flows to green projects and activities, and where motivated people are empowered with the skills and capacity they need to take action.
This progress can only be achieved through systemic change – change that includes innovation across business, investment, regulation, governance structures, values and mindsets. They invite you to join Climathon Houston to see the most promising ideas that emerge around Houston’s challenges, including:
Energy Transition: developing innovative ways to …
- Shift from extractive to regenerative energy production, capture and distribution technologies.
- Restore, protect, and enhance Houston’s natural ability to capture and store carbon.
Materials Management: developing innovative ways to …
- Reduce waste production and/or Optimize waste operations.
- Reuse or Upcycle materials into useful products, to lengthen their lifespan and keep materials out of streets and landfills.
- Recycle materials into efficient energy or new raw materials for manufacturing and production.
Building Optimization: developing innovative ways to …
- Reduce building energy use and maximize savings.
- Increase the healthfulness and utility of existing buildings for sustainable community use.
Regional Resilience: developing innovative ways to …
- Address clean water, access, retention and flooding issues
- Engage more people in building better habits that promote cleaner, greener communities
- Accelerate clean urban mobility
Parks and Natural Areas Awards
H-GAC established the Parks and Natural Areas awards program in 2006 to highlight best practices and innovative approaches to parks planning and implementation. H-GAC honors projects in the categories of Projects Over $500,000, Projects Under $500,000, Planning Process and Policy Tools, and Programming.
This program recognizes outstanding parks and natural areas around the region. No funding is associated with this award program.
Plant-it-Forward will give a presentation on city farming and plant growing times. Plant-it-Forward empowers refugees to develop sustainable urban farming businesses that produce fresh, healthy food for our community. This event is free and registration is required. Masks and social distancing are highly encouraged.
Conservation Grants
Conservation Grants can be awarded to projects anywhere in Texas. In its first 25 years the Birding Classic has donated $1,071,000 in conservation funding to nature tourism and avian habitat restoration, enhancement, and acquisition projects throughout the state!
Number of grants awarded (and their amounts) are determined based on team registration fees (independent and sponsored) and corporate sponsorship dollars collected each year. The Birding Classic is a cost-recovery event, so once minimal event costs are covered all remaining funds go to conservation grants in Texas. Organizations are not required to register a team in the Birding Classic to be eligible to submit a project proposal.
All approved projects submitted by the May 1st deadline will be provided to winning Birding Classic teams to select which projects are funded by Conservation Grants.
Plastic pollution now contaminates the deepest trenches in the ocean, high mountain peaks, and even the air we breathe – plus recently being found in our blood. Plastic has entered the food chain, killing wildlife, and causing the average person to eat one credit card’s worth of plastic each week. To learn more about this issue & take action to affect change, join the online Plastic Free EcoChallenge in July. You select the challenges you’d like to accomplish during the month and when/how you do them.  You can join as an individual, create your own team, or join an existing team. You are invited to consider joining one of the two teams listed below. Learn more at: https://plasticfree.ecochallenge.org/. Contact Lisa Brenskelle, team captain, at gcs.lrc@gmail.com.
Join the Lutherans Restoring Creation – Gulf Coast team at: https://plasticfree.ecochallenge.org/participants/join?referral_code=2f02b437-c6a1-4b89-84c1-82740e495ad7&team_invitation=true&team_id=20241.
Join the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston team at: https://plasticfree.ecochallenge.org/participants/join?referral_code=57e7e24b-05c8-4199-9efc-0d99c59abe89&team_invitation=true&team_id=20242