Calendar

Oct
25
Fri
Gulf Coast: RESET Air Accredited Professionals Education Intensive and Exam @ Kirksey Architects
Oct 25 @ 7:15 am – 2:30 pm

RESET® Air, the world’s first sensor-based and performance-driven Building Standard and Certification Program, comes to Houston for an Introduction and Discussion Forum followed by a RESET Air Accredited Professionals (AP) Education Intensive and Practicum Exam. RESET Air Certification helps Building Owners attract businesses that understand that employee health and comfort directly connect to their prosperity and attract and retain the best and brightest employees through transparent independent assurance that the health of their environment is continuously verified.

Oct
27
Sun
Cooling Our Planet by Restoring the Water Cycle @ First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, Museum District Campus
Oct 27 @ 12:00 pm

Rain is as important as carbon dioxide in cooling our planet. People must restore trees and soil to restore the water cycle.

The image above shows how trees pump huge amounts of water back into the air and create more rain further inland. It is a river in the sky.

When folks started climate modeling, to simplify, they ignored water vapor and focused on carbon dioxide. But the water cycle is 95% of planetary cooling while carbon dioxide is only 5%, according to Dr. Walter Jehne. We need to keep on reducing emissions, but it’s time to also work on restoring ecosystems and their soils. Besides this may be an easier and faster way to make a difference.

To learn more and register to this event visit Coolingourplanet

Nov
6
Wed
Environmental Educators Exchange: Kickerillo Mischer Preserve @ Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve
Nov 6 @ 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm

The Environmental Educators Exchange meets quarterly on the first Wednesday of the month. Our goal is to provide a neat space to rejuvenate, network and learn about trends in environmental education. All are welcome (including children). Bring a snack to share and invite a friend.

Tentative Agenda:
3:30 – 5:00 canoe in the lake
5:00 – 5:45 networking & resource sharing
5:45 – 6:30 night hike & bonfire?!?

A few rules: For canoeing, we can accommodate children weighing 30 pounds or more. Also, there must be one adult paddler per canoe and one adult per child 10 years and younger. Example: 2 adults with 2 children 10 and younger, 1 adult with 1 child 11+. Maximum 4 persons to a canoe. i.e. One parent cannot ride alone with two children. Canoes and PFDs will be furnished. You may bring your own canoe/kayak.

Nov
8
Fri
CELF Citizen Science: Inquiry to Action Program @ MECA
Nov 8 @ 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

CELF Citizen Science: Inquiry to Action is a semester-long program that engages educators and students in project-based STEAM learning outside of the classroom. Tailored to each school and community location, we offer professional learning workshops for teachers paired with on-site support to implement a project-based learning module that  connects students to real-world challenges in their own neighborhoods. The program culminates in a Spring 2020 Student Symposium, bringing together all participating schools to present their findings and pollution-prevention plans to community members and real-world policy makers. The program combines the development of 21st century skills with the motivation and creativity generated by solving a problem in one’s own community.

Participants in the program will:

  • Implement a project-based STEAM learning unit.

  • Participate in professional learning workshops paired with on-site educator support.

  • Collect data with AirBeam monitoring technology combined with HabitatMap crowd-sourced data sharing platform.

  • Focus on air-quality while learning pedagogical principles that apply to a range of citizen science learning opportunities.

  • Engage with local concerns through student-led inquiry.

This opportunity is grant-funded. Join one of the workshops, connect with our educators for on-site support, and come together with other classes implementing this program at our 2020 Spring Student Symposium.

If you attend one of these two professional development opportunities you can attain 2-hours of Continuing Professional Education credit, receive an air quality monitor, connect with local environmental partners, and enjoy a free lunch with fellow educators. You will also gain access to the 2020 Student Symposium, the culminating event for the program.

Nov
12
Tue
Smart Energy, Smart City, Smart Buildings: Initiatives & Best Practices @ Ion Smart Cities Accelerator
Nov 12 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

The combination of IoT and big data analytics allow cities to imagine ways to be more efficient, resilient, sustainable in many fields like energy, building, mobility, utilities, safety, waste management and so on.

But Smart city solutions are not only designed for cities. They are also highly attractive for universities, hospitals and large companies to improve the management of their assets and their consumption of energy and natural resources.

What is the reality of the smart city concept?

What is going on in Houston and elsewhere in the US?

What are the main solutions provided by the vendors to the MUSH market and to the companies?

Attend our event to get a glimpse of what the city, corporates and startups have to offer to build a smart city.

SPEAKERS

Introduction:

  • Franck Avice, President, French-American Chamber Of Commerce Houston
  • Christine Galib, Director, Ion Smart Cities Accelerator

Moderator:

  • William Fulton, Director at Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University

Panelists:

  • Jessie Bounds, Director of Innovation, City Of Houston
  • Kimberly Jonhston, National Tax Partner Energy, Ernst & Young
  • Roger Flud, Smart City Specialist & Sales Team Leader, Schneider Electric
  • Bruce Rutherford, International Director, JLL

AGENDA

5:30pm: Check-in/Networking; 6:00pm: Panel Discussion; 7:30pm: Networking Cocktail

Parking available at Green Street Garage on Fannin Street or on street after 6pm for free.

Nov
15
Fri
Houston Urban Tree Conference @ Weekly Community Center
Nov 15 @ 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

Interested in Urban Forestry? Come join Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, HAUFC and ISA-TX for a great day of education. Topics include: Emerald Ash Borer – Coming to a City Near You, Using Tree Growth Regulators to Reduce Pruning Costs, and Greening the Houston Region – Partnerships and Projects that Support the Urban Forest.

Dec
3
Tue
Galveston Bay Foundation Quarterly Membership Meeting @ Lone Star Flight Museum
Dec 3 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Join us at our Quarterly Membership Meeting! 
Meet fellow conservation enthusiasts at an evening of food, drinks, and fun for everyone.

2019 Galveston Bay Report Card: How healthy is Galveston Bay?
Presentation by T’Noya Thompson, Galveston Bay Foundation Advocacy Programs Manager
T’Noya will examine and explain the grades and factors leading up to those grades for this year in Galveston Bay.

Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Time: 5:30 – 8:00pm
Itinerary
5:30 – 6:30pm : One self-guided hour to explore the Lone Star Flight Museum with access to the two hangars, the Flight Academy and their Heritage Gallery.
6:00 – 6:45pm: Guests can explore the museum until 6:30pm, eat and drink during this time, or assemble a plate to take into the presentation
6:45 – 8pm: Introductions, presentation, Q&A
Location: Lone Star Flight Museum

Dec
4
Wed
Dr. Andrea Ballestero, Author of A Future History of Water @ Rice University, Huff House
Dec 4 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Duke University Press Description of Book:  “Based on fieldwork among state officials, NGOs, politicians, and activists in Costa Rica and Brazil, A Future History of Water traces the unspectacular work necessary to make water access a human right and a human right something different from a commodity. Andrea Ballestero shows how these ephemeral distinctions are made through four technolegal devices—formula, index, list and pact. She argues that what is at stake in these devices is not the making of a distinct future but what counts as the future in the first place. A Future History of Water is an ethnographically rich and conceptually charged journey into ant-filled water meters, fantastical water taxonomies, promises captured on slips of paper, and statistical maneuvers that dissolve the human of human rights. Ultimately, Ballestero demonstrates what happens when instead of trying to fix its meaning, we make water’s changing form the precondition of our analyses.”

Jan
25
Sat
CELF Citizen Science: Inquiry to Action Program @ MECA
Jan 25 @ 9:00 am – 11:30 am

CELF Citizen Science: Inquiry to Action is a semester-long program that engages educators and students in project-based STEAM learning outside of the classroom. Tailored to each school and community location, we offer professional learning workshops for teachers paired with on-site support to implement a project-based learning module that  connects students to real-world challenges in their own neighborhoods. The program culminates in a Spring 2020 Student Symposium, bringing together all participating schools to present their findings and pollution-prevention plans to community members and real-world policy makers. The program combines the development of 21st century skills with the motivation and creativity generated by solving a problem in one’s own community.

Participants in the program will:

  • Implement a project-based STEAM learning unit.

  • Participate in professional learning workshops paired with on-site educator support.

  • Collect data with AirBeam monitoring technology combined with HabitatMap crowd-sourced data sharing platform.

  • Focus on air-quality while learning pedagogical principles that apply to a range of citizen science learning opportunities.

  • Engage with local concerns through student-led inquiry.

This opportunity is grant-funded. Join one of the workshops, connect with our educators for on-site support, and come together with other classes implementing this program at our 2020 Spring Student Symposium.

If you attend one of two professional development opportunities you can attain 2-hours of Continuing Professional Education credit, receive an air quality monitor, connect with local environmental partners, and enjoy a free lunch with fellow educators. You will also gain access to the 2020 Student Symposium, the culminating event for the program.

Jan
29
Wed
Understanding Houston: The Big Picture @ Greater Houston Community Foundation
Jan 29 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

The Big Picture

Join us to hear major findings across 8 quality of life areas including arts & culture, civic engagement, community context, economic opportunity, education, environment, health, and housing.

Leave with a better understanding of key strengths and pressing challenges across the Houston three-county area and our 2019 summary report.

Vote at the event to inform where we’re headed by telling us what issues you think need attention, resources, and collaborative action, and learn more about how you can get involved.