Calendar
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.
Join us at our Quarterly Membership Meeting!Â
Meet fellow conservation enthusiasts at an evening of food, drinks, and fun for everyone.
2019 Galveston Bay Report Card:Â 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:Â 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:Â Lone Star Flight Museum
Texas Trustee Implementation Group’s Annual Meeting Video Presentation: December 4
The Texas Trustee Implementation Group will hold its 2019 annual public meeting on December 4, 2019 via an online video presentation. The presentation will include an update on the work we have accomplished since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We will  highlight a few of our ongoing restoration projects and present our plans for future efforts.
You will be able to view the video presentation at any time on December 4 from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., and you can watch it as many times as you would like. You will also have the opportunity to provide comments related to the presentation topics during the same date and times through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s public comment portal under the heading, “Texas TIG Annual Meeting Video Presentation.â€
- Date: December 4, 2019
- Time: 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. CT
- Link: Please view the video at: https://tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/public_comment/ under the “Texas TIG Annual Meeting Video Presentation†heading.
For your convenience a PDF of the presentation will be available through the Trustees’ Texas Restoration Area page on December 5, 2019. The comment portal will close at 11:59 p.m. on December 4. If you need special assistance, including language assistance, please contact TXDWHNRDA@tpwd.texas.gov by November 25, 2019
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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.”

Held on the “2nd Saturdays†of each month, they will enjoy a delicious vegan potluck and meeting, along with a discussion, film screening, food demo or speaker presentation on intersectional issues of veganism, animal rights, environmentalism, nonviolence, health and more. Each month will be something new! Their new venue is at the HCC Conference Center.
They are asking for a donation of $5 per person to help cover our facility rental expenses. All attendees must bring a vegan entree to share at the potluck (serving size to feed 10 people)!
Please remember to bring a vegan dish to share with the group! Their events are always vegan, so please only vegan or raw vegan foods (no animal-derived ingredients). Also bring reusable dinnerware and plates to keep the event earth-friendly. If you have questions on ingredients, feel free to contact them.
They will also feature a new discussion topic on inter sectional issues each month, such as: animal rights, ethical vegan living, vegan health & nutrition, cooking, world hunger solutions, eco-friendly living, nonviolence and more! Some months will also include film screenings and/or guest speakers and food demos.
Houston Community College Conference Center is located at 3100 Main St, 3rd Floor, Houston, TX 77002. See below for map. Free Parking is available on level 7 & 8 of the HCC Administration parking garage at Main & Elgin. Use elevator from parking garage to 3rd floor breezeway, which leads to the Conference suites. You must enter the building through the parking garage and not street-level.
All attendees must sign in at the Security Desk.
RSVP is appreciated for seating!
“Climate, Flooding, and the Economyâ€
The CLE is free. Lunch is $30 in advance, $40 at the door.
Jim Blackburn is a professor in the practice of environmental law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University, teaching courses in sustainable development and environmental law. Jim is an environmental lawyer and planner as well as Professor in the Practice of Environmental Law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department where he teaches environmental law and sustainable design. He is co-director of the Severe Storm Prevention, Education and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center at Rice and a faculty scholar at the Baker Institute and Director of the undergraduate minor in energy and water sustainability. Blackburn set aside active environmental litigation to concentrate on research and teaching and expand his planning practice through his firm, Sustainable Planning and Design. He has authored two books published by Texas A&M Press – The Book of Texas Bays, published in 2004, and A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast, published in 2017 as well as co-author with artist Isabelle Chapman of a collection of poems and art work titled “Birds: A Book of Verse and Visionâ€. Blackburn received the Distinguished Alumni Laureate Award from Rice University in 2018, the Good Egg Award from the International Crane Foundation for litigation to protect the endangered whooping crane in 2015, the Barbara C. Jordan Community Advocate Award from Texas Southern University in 2007 and the Robert Eckhardt Lifetime Coastal Achievement Award from the General Land Office of the State of Texas in 1998, among others. Also active in civic affairs, Blackburn was among the founders of the Trinity Edwards Springs Association (TESPA), a Texas Hill Country non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting springs and groundwater, and he also founded the Bayou City Initiative (BCI), a Houston-based NGO focused on community recovery and long-term flood protection post Harvey and serves on the board of the Matagorda Bay Foundation and The Aransas Project, two NGOs committed to protecting the Texas coast.

Meet Mercer’s volunteer coordinator and explore the many volunteer opportunities at Mercer Botanic Gardens. Our volunteers not only help beautify the gardens and further educational programs, they also gain lifelong friendships and valuable knowledge of plants and horticulture.
Lunch Bunch is a free program offered at Mercer’s East Side Gardens, recommended for participants 12 and older. Attendees should bring a lunch and dress for the weather. Registration is required for each Lunch Bunch program. For more information or to register, call 713-274-4160.

Held on the “2nd Saturdays†of each month, they will enjoy a delicious vegan potluck and meeting, along with a discussion, film screening, food demo or speaker presentation on intersectional issues of veganism, animal rights, environmentalism, nonviolence, health and more. Each month will be something new! Their new venue is at the HCC Conference Center.
They are asking for a donation of $5 per person to help cover our facility rental expenses. All attendees must bring a vegan entree to share at the potluck (serving size to feed 10 people)!
Please remember to bring a vegan dish to share with the group! Their events are always vegan, so please only vegan or raw vegan foods (no animal-derived ingredients). Also bring reusable dinnerware and plates to keep the event earth-friendly. If you have questions on ingredients, feel free to contact them.
They will also feature a new discussion topic on inter sectional issues each month, such as: animal rights, ethical vegan living, vegan health & nutrition, cooking, world hunger solutions, eco-friendly living, nonviolence and more! Some months will also include film screenings and/or guest speakers and food demos.
Houston Community College Conference Center is located at 3100 Main St, 3rd Floor, Houston, TX 77002. See below for map. Free Parking is available on level 7 & 8 of the HCC Administration parking garage at Main & Elgin. Use elevator from parking garage to 3rd floor breezeway, which leads to the Conference suites. You must enter the building through the parking garage and not street-level.
All attendees must sign in at the Security Desk.
RSVP is appreciated for seating!
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:
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Implement a project-based STEAM learning unit.
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Participate in professional learning workshops paired with on-site educator support.
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Collect data with AirBeam monitoring technology combined with HabitatMap crowd-sourced data sharing platform.
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Focus on air-quality while learning pedagogical principles that apply to a range of citizen science learning opportunities.
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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.