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.

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.”

Going Green in Houses of Worship – Learn from Others!

The Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston invites you to learn how houses of worship in Houston are going green and consider what you could do in your own house of worship. Join speakers of a variety of faith backgrounds who will discuss work in their houses of worship to go green in their building, grounds, worship services, community service projects, advocacy, educational programs, and more. After each speaker presents on their work, we will have break-out sessions where you can discuss your challenges in going green in your house of worship and get tips from others. People of all faiths are encouraged to attend, as are representatives of local environmental non-profits that would like to work with people of faith on environmental issues. Please join us! The Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston acts to empower the faith community in the greater Houston area to act and advocate on behalf of the environment. For more information about this event, or the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston, please contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com.

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.

On Jan. 26, from 9:45-11 a.m., Christ the King Lutheran Church will host a presentation by Dr. Stephen Long, a public health physician, on the EAT Lancet Commission on Food, Planet & Health: Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems report. This study, compiled by 37 scientists and other experts from 16 countries, aims to establish a global food economy that could combat chronic diseases in wealthy nations like ours and provide better nutrition for poor ones, all without destroying the planet. For more information, see the Facebook event.

As part of its mission to train the next generation of ocean explorers, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research hosts undergraduate and graduate students in the Explorer-in-Training program, where participants gain valuable experience in deepwater mapping and exploration. Applications for 2020 are currently being accepted through the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. The application deadline is January 31, 2020.2020 exploration will focus on the Atlantic Ocean, including the US Exclusive Economic Zone near Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and New England, the Mid Atlantic Ridge, and Atlantic Maritime Canada.  Application for the Okeanos Explorer-In-Training Program 2020 Field Season (March-October can be found at:  https://cpaess.ucar.edu/okeanos-application-2020.  Applications for offshore opportunities are restricted to US citizens only.  Onshore opportunities are not available this year.

Senior adults are invited to a variety of natural history programs, leisurely walks and fun nature activities every 1st Friday of the month. Meet at the nature center.

Bring the entire family out for a friendly competition of Nature Bingo. Teams will race against each other to complete their nature card. This bingo adventure involves running!!!

Nature lovers of all ages are invited to discover local environmental organizations, outdoor activities, native plants, and wildlife. This family-friendly event includes pontoon boat tours, guided walks, live animals, and a catch-and-release fishing tank.