The After School Nature Explorers Club is designed for school-age children, 6-12 years old, who are interested in investigating the great outdoors. During each session, they will explore the natural world, focusing on native habitats and wildlife. They will go on nature hikes, dip-net in the ponds, meet live animals, and practice outdoor skills such as tracking, foraging, building shelters, telling stories, playing games, and much more. Adventures will be crafted from the curiosities of the children, allowing them to develop a sense of place while exploring the landscape through play.

Pricing: Once Monthly spring series ($70 first child/ $60 second child) OR Drop-in Rate ($20 per class per child)

NOTE: Classes are only held with minimum enrollment of 8 students. Refunds are given in the case that this is not met.

Night hikes at 7 and 8 p.m., mini owl prowl at 7:30 p.m., cabin tours, winter bird craft, pond fishing and live animal time. Campfire, s’mores and tacos. (Vegan and gluten-free options available). Tacos catered by Tacos A GoGo – veggie, chicken, beef tacos with corn/flour tortillas available. Reservation includes 2 tacos per person.

Cost: $30 adult/$35 non-member adult; $15 children (ages 3 & up); $20 non-member children; FREE for children under 3 years

Celebrate the wonder of trees at the Arboretum’s annual Arbor Day. Enjoy free, fun activities for the whole family, including guided tree hikes, wood-turning demonstrations, crafts, seed and sapling giveaways, and more.

Arbor Day Activities and Crafts:

• Guided tree hikes
• Wood-turning demonstrations
• Nature crafts
• Seed and sapling giveaways

A series of 3 classes

You are invited to join the Houston Audubon education staff for a fun and educational presentation about local owls, meet three live rehabilitated owls in the Bayou Barn at Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center and take a hike through the woods in search of wild owls. Popular for all ages and especially for owl enthusiasts. Space is limited; register today.

Memorial Park Conservancy continues the Memorial Park 101 series with Habitat Chat. Meet at the Cullen Running Trails Center at 5 p.m.and join MPC on an hour long guided hike in four distinct ecosystems present in Memorial Park.

Volunteers meet the second and fourth Thursday of every month to propagate plants from locally collected native seed. A typical workday may include seeding pots, bumping up trays into 1-gallon containers, separating seedlings, and weeding pots. They will also have special seed collecting trips, invasive species removal workdays, and planting events in restored prairies.

If you’re interested in volunteering for the Natural Resource Management Program, email kelli.ondracek@houstontx.gov or visit houstontx.gov/parks/naturalresources.html.

Habitat Restoration

Our volunteer group meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon at the HPARD Greenhouse.

We propagate plants from locally collected native seed. A typical workday may include seeding pots, bumping up trays into 1-gallon containers, separating seedlings, and weeding pots. We will also have special seed collecting trips, invasive species removal workdays, and planting events in our restored prairies!

We are also beginning to conduct semi-annual vegetation transects and monthly bird surveys at our current and future restoration sites. If you’re good at identifying plants or birds or if you would like to learn more about them, come join us!

If you’re interested in volunteering for the NRMP, email kelli.ondracek@houstontx.gov.

EmpowerE will have a very interactive seminar followed by a networking session. Can we go beyond our formal education system and educate ourselves and others around us what we can each do to better the planet that we all inhabit? Can we change the way we live? If we can minimize or reduce our use and waste, we will be able to mitigate many of the world’s major problems like pollution, climate change, hunger, poverty, and diseases, to name a few.