In November 1996, Planet Ark founded National Recycling Week to bring a national focus to the environmental benefits of recycling. Now in its 24th year, this established and highly regarded annual campaign continues to educate and stimulate behavior change, by:

• Promoting curbside, industrial and community recycling initiatives
• Giving people the tools to minimize waste and manage material resources responsibly at home, work and school.

Whether it’s hosting a swap party for friends, setting up a new workplace recycling system or just upping your knowledge, we’ve got plenty of ways for you to get involved.  Be focused on developing engaging and positive environmental behavior changes to help everyone recycle and reduce waste.

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.

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.

Time to get rid of those tires, mattresses, paint, motor oil, antifreeze and other hard to recycle items. Keep Pearland Beautiful is hosting Pearland Recycles Day on Saturday, November 16th from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. This is the only day that the Stella Roberts Recycling Center will accept tires and mattresses for recycling. Pearland residents and non-Pearland residents can recycle up to 8 tires ($2/each) and up to 3 mattresses ($5/each). We are only accepting car & light truck tires off of the rim. KPB received a grant from Keep America Beautiful of 9-Volt batteries.  We will be distributing them to residents on this day to educate about the importance of replacing your smoke detector batteries and recycling all batteries properly.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) including paint, motor oil, antifreeze, etc. is accepted year-round at the Recycling Center during normal operating hours of Tuesday – Friday 8 AM – 5 PM and Saturday 9 AM – 1 PM. Brazoria County residents can recycle HHW at the Recycling Center for free with proof of residency and non-Brazoria County residents can drop-off HHW for a $1/pound donation to KPB.

Tires and mattresses were chosen to be collected on this day for several reasons. Used tires can be a threat to the environment because they hold water, serving as a breeding space for mosquitos. They can also become a fire hazard, emitting harmful toxins into the environment. Used tires will be sent to Liberty Tire Recycling, where they will become rubber mulch and tire derived aggregate. Mattresses are bulky, hard to compress, and tough on machinery when taken to the landfill. Mattresses collected from the event will be sent to Houston Furniture Bank, which will reuse, if possible, or recycle up to 90% of the material.

Keep Pearland Beautiful offers this program in conjunction with Texas Recycles Day and America Recycles Day. Please go online and take the pledge to recycle more at americarecyclesday.org. For more information about this event call (281) 489-2795.

Please join the group for a morning of trail maintenance helping the Friends of Woodland Park revitalize, weed, and mulch the wooded trail entrance! This event is hosted the by Friends of Woodland Park and supported by Parks Project.

You Bring: Sturdy closed-toe shoes, clothing appropriate to the weather (long pants and sleeves), refillable water bottle, sunscreen, bug spray, hat, and work gloves (if you have them).

Parks Project Provides: Snacks, water, and Parks Project swag for volunteers!

Following the trail work, come over to the Spring Street Beer and Wine Garden (weather pending) for a chance to socialize and relax after a morning of hard and fulfilling work.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email charlottecisneros@gmail.com

The Memorial Park Conservancy has generously offered Katy Prairie Conservancy use of their greenhouse while the Native Seed Nursery at KPC’s field office in Waller is being renovated. Volunteers will help grow plants that will be used for various Katy Prairie Conservancy spring projects and for the Great Grow Out. The Memorial Park Conservancy Greenhouse is located in Memorial Park on the south side of Memorial Drive. All are welcome, no experience necessary.

Workdays are scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month from 9:00 a.m. to noon.