The Texas Environmental Excellence Awards is an annual awards program that honors achievements in environmental preservation and protection. There are ten diverse award categories that provide citizens, communities, businesses, and organizations an opportunity to obtain the state’s highest environmental honor and be recognized for their environmental projects. The deadline for submission is September 27th.

Since 1993, they have honored more than 250 successful environmental projects and efforts. By honoring these winners, the TCEQ hopes to encourage others to initiate like-minded projects and reinforce a spirit of environmental stewardship. These are the categories:

• Agriculture
• Civic/Community
• Education
• Environmental Educator of the Year
• Individual
• Innovative Operations/Management
• Pollution Prevention
• Technical/Technology
• Water Conservation
• Youth

First we volunteer, then we beer! Meet behind the Cullen Running Trails Center to help Memorial Park Conservancy in our volunteering efforts, then hang out and enjoy a complimentary Saint Arnold Brewing Company beer (or 2). Lawn Games and Food trucks will be onsite too!

When: National Public Lands Day

When is that: September 28 @ 4:00pm to 7:30pm

Where: Meet behind the Cullen Running Trails Center. 7575 N Picnic Ln, 77007 (it’s a building)

Why: Is there a better way to join the conservation efforts at Houston’s most awesome park?

What to wear: Pants and close-toed shoes.

Kid friendly: Yes! Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

Food Trucks: Yes!

Shell Educators’ Preview: Start your evening at 4 p.m. and earn one hour of CPE credit while viewing our newly renovated George W. Strake Hall of Malacology.

HMNS’ Educator Members will have an opportunity to speak to Tina Petway, the
Museum’s Associate Curator of Malacology, during the Shell Educators’ Preview.
As a special treat, all guests will also be able to visit our newest special exhibition,
Art of the Brick until 6:00 p.m.!

The Educator Event @HMNS: Continue your evening with us starting at 5 p.m.
and earn up to three additional hours of CPE credit depending on which
programming you attend. HMNS is featuring several ways to earn CPE credit from
attending workshops to taking a guided tour to seeing a show in our Planetarium.
Educators are able to earn a total of up to 4 hours of CPE credit while attending
HMNS’, An Evening for Educators!

Registration Information
Educators: Free
Non-Educators: $10.00

(Pricing includes entry to the George W. Strake Hall of Malacology and Art of the Brick)
Registration begins Tuesday, July 30th and ends Wednesday, October 2nd.
Please complete the online form at hmns.org/eveningforeducators to reserve your spot. For questions, contact educatorevent@hmns.org.

The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N. is sponsoring a FREE Going Green Sustainability lecture: “Mycophile or Mycophobe–we all need mushrooms” with guest speaker, Teri MacArthur, Certified Texas Master Naturalist. This event is free and open to the public.

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

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.

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.