Calendar
Eligible applicants include:
- Local Governments
- Businesses & Industry
- Non-Profit Organizations
- Universities and Educational Institutions
- Utility Districts
The Water Innovation Strategies of Excellence (WISE) Awards recognize innovative strategies and projects in the Houston-Galveston region that serve as models for improving water quality. Joint applications for larger, collaborative projects are encouraged. Winning projects must exhibit efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation and serve as models to improve surface water quality. Applications must be completed online by Feb. 6, 2019, at noon. For more information, visit h-gac.com.
Join Citizens’ Environmental Coalition as they visit the Hannah and Arthur Ginsbarg Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire. There will be a guided tour outside and a chance to view major renovations that were completed recently. They will visit the pocket priarie, deciduous woodlands, prairie wetland, and cypress pond in Russ Pitman Park; nature play area; and Critter Classroom. On the tour, you will learn about environmental education initiatives at a mainstay of environmental education inside the loop. The last part of the meeting is our traditional EEE Round-table Forum where members and attendees introduce themselves, their programs, make announcements and discuss challenges and successes in environmental education.
Thursday, February 7, 2019Â | 6:00pm – 8:00pm
 NEW LOCATION: Boheme | 307 Fairview StreetÂ
Houston | Texas
Please join us for pizza, fries, and drinks as we gather for a networking reception with diverse leaders in the environmental and conservation sectors. Come connect with us as we leverage our shared power for a better movement.  All are welcome!
Feel free to send questions to Karen Driscoll at kdriscoll@rabengroup.com.
We look forward to seeing you in Houston!
Save the date for H-GAC’s first Parks and Natural Areas Summit and Awards Ceremony from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, February 8, 2019, at H-GAC Conference Room B, Second Floor. The Summit will include presentations about various H-GAC programs that can provide goods, services, technical assistance, and funding for parks and natural areas projects.
The event will also include the annual Parks and Natural Areas awards recognition ceremony. These projects serve as models for planning and project implementation for parks and natural areas in the region. Projects will be honored in three categories: Planning Process, On-the-Ground Projects Over $500,000, and On-the-Ground Projects Under $500,000.
A light breakfast will be served. Registration will open in late December or early January. Registration and breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by the H-GAC program showcase at 9 a.m. The awards program will be followed by networking with H-GAC staff and other parks professionals.
The Summit will include presentations about various H-GAC programs that can provide goods, services, technical assistance, and funding for parks and natural areas projects. These projects serve as models for planning and project implementation for parks and natural areas in the region. Projects will be honored in three categories. The event will also include the annual Parks and Natural Areas Awards recognition ceremony. The awards program will be followed by networking with H-GAC staff and other parks professionals.
The Spotlight Award considers architects from around the world within the first 15 years of their professional practice who have demonstrated design excellence and curiosity through their body of work. Rice Design Alliance has selected DUST as the recipient of the Spotlight Award 2019.
DUST Principals, Cade Hayes and Jesús E. Robles, Jr., will be delivering the Spotlight Lecture 2019 at The Museum of Fine Arts Brown Auditorium designed by Mies van der Rohe.
On Wednesday, February 20, 2019, Houston Wilderness will have the honor of presenting its annual Wild Life Award to Joe B. Allen at the Annual Luncheon at River Oaks Country Club. The award will honor his legacy of environmental-based laws that are providing new parks, trails, and open space in subdivisions all over the state.
Jean Hill, a fiery octogenarian, is deeply concerned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world’s largest landfill. Since 2010, she has spearheaded a grassroots campaign to ban the sale of single-serve plastic bottled water in her hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. She spends her golden years attending city council meetings and cold calling residents. So far, her attempts to pass a municipal bylaw have failed.
As she prepares for one last town meeting, Jean faces the strongest opposition yet, from local merchants and the International Bottled Water Association. But her fiercest challenge comes from Adriana Cohen, mother, model and celebrity publicist-turned-pundit, who insists the bill is an attack on freedom.
When Adriana thrusts Jean’s crusade into the national spotlight, it’s silver-haired senior versus silver-tongued pro. In the same town that incited the American Revolution and inspired Thoreau’s environmental movement, can one senior citizen make history? A tense nail-biter of a vote will decide.
6:30 PM conversation, networking, and a light meal
7:00 PM film screening, followed by a panel discussion
Free to the public, though donations are kindly appreciated.
Rice Media Center is located at 2030 University Blvd, near Stockton and University.
The least expensive University parking is in the lot on the West Side of the stadium. Enter on Greenbriar, drive to the most southeastern spot you can find, then walk along University towards Stockton.
During the event, Harriet & Truett Latimer will accept Preservation Houston’s 2019 President’s Award for their outstanding contributions to historic preservation in Houston and Texas. Preservation Houston hopes that you will share the excitement as they present the 2019 Good Brick Awards for excellence in historic preservation, recognizing the diverse people and projects that continue to make our city unique.
A reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the program will start at 7:30 p.m. at River Oaks Country Club. Reservations are required.
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. For more information, visit www.h-gac.com.