Environmental Resource Guide
Barry Mandel, President and Park Director
Maria Aguirre, Executive Assistant
Purpose: To provide an uncommonly beautiful, urban green space in the heart of Houston that serves as a village green for our city, a source of health and happiness for our citizens, and a window into the incredible diversity of talents and traditions that enrich life in Houston.…
Purpose: The Resilience & Sustainability Office is responsible for implementing Resilient Houston and the Houston Climate Action Plan. Together, these documents provide a clear framework to foster the growth of a Houston that is both a healthy place to live and an equitable, inclusive, and affordable city that leads in climate mitigation and adaptation and offers a transformative economy that builds forward.
Purpose:Â Recipe for Success Foundation was launched in 2005 by Gracie & Bob Cavnar to lead the way in hands-on nutrition education aimed at preventing childhood obesity and encouraging long term health. In just a few years, it has grown to the largest outreach of its kind in the nation, empowering over 4,000 children each and every month with its signature Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Educationâ„¢ and other initiatives to change the way they understand, appreciate and eat their food.…
Purpose: Mercer Botanic Gardens (MBG) seeks to establish and maintain a versatile botanical facility for Houston and the greater Gulf Coast region, serving the general public, the horticulture industry, and the scientific community. MBG strives to improve quality of life and inspire greater appreciation for the essential value and beauty of the plant world.…
Purpose: To establish and sustain a premier botanic garden to promote public appreciation and understanding of plants, gardens, and conservation of the natural world through education and scientific enquiry. Through discovery, education and the conservation of plants and the natural environment, the HBG aims to enrich lives, serve as a model for sustainability, and inspire all who visit to become environmental stewards.…
Purpose: Engage. Educate. Empower. Providing opportunities for young people to learn about our environment and 21st Century Stewardship through engaging them, and providing knowledge and skills that empower them. Â
Programs: Conservation projects, scout merit badges, science teacher training, afternoon story time, hands-on student ecosystem lessons in the one-acre Don Greene Nature Park.…
Purpose: Non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and preservation of coastal margins and the marine environment through the disciplines of the sciences and the arts. Programs: Eco-Art Adventures via kayak, vessel, or walking, and summer camps Professional development & environmental stewardship programs, with special opportunities for oil and gas companies Eco-Art Residencies in Schools integrating the arts and sciences to create public sculptures and habitats on campuses Habitat Restoration Adventure Program, focused on stewardship-based learning through dune and coastal prairie preservation Boy and Girl Scout badge classes Classroom presentations and speakers that coincide with curriculum Gulf ‘Coast Education Center: K-Grey can learn about the ecological, social, and economic value of coastal ecosystems.…
Purpose: The Houston Community ToolBank is a nonprofit tool lending program that stewards an inventory of tools for lending to charitable organizations to increase the impact of their mission-related efforts in the community. With year-round access to an inventory of tools for use in volunteer projects and facility and grounds maintenance, the ToolBank provide resources to enhance the charitable sector’s capacity to serve, facilitating hands-on volunteerism in the greater Houston area.…
Purpose: Center for Houston’s Future (CHF) works to address matters of highest importance to the long-term future of the greater Houston region, by engaging diverse leaders, providing impactful research, and defining actionable strategies. The Center for Houston’s Future furthers the Houston region as a top global community in which to work and live.…
Purpose:Â The Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT) is a non-profit membership organization and land trust dedicated to the conservation, restoration, and appreciation of native prairies, savannas, and other grasslands in Texas. NPAT protects over 2000 acres of native Texas grassland, including over 100 acres of endangered/threatened tallgrass prairie. In 2010, NPAT started its first local chapter in Houston to allow members in the metro area to meet and discuss local and regional projects and raise awareness for the organization in the Texas Gulf Coast region.…
Purpose: To protect and restore the integrity of our bayous, rivers, streams, and the bays through advocacy, education, and action. Bayou City Waterkeeper (formerly Galveston Baykeeper) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to ensure that every waterway is swimmable, fishable, and drinkable from Lake Livingston through the Bayous of Houston down to Galveston Bay.…
Purpose: Levy Park is a six acre public green space in the Upper Kirby District which recently reopened after a $15 million renovation for the purpose of creating an entertainment and recreation destination for the immediate community and for the people of Greater Houston. The Upper Kirby Redevelopment Authority in partnership with the Upper Kirby District Foundation, funded the renovation and Levy Park’s many public amenities.…
Purpose: To develop leadership capacity and life skills in low income youth through a series of outdoor education/environmental awareness programs at wilderness sites in the United States. Goals: • To prepare students for college and beyond by fostering life skills and mindsets through outdoor education; • To provide hands-on science lessons in a natural environment; • To empower students to take advantage of leadership opportunities; • To teach students how to adapt to/accept and engage in foreign environments; and • To give students the opportunity to succeed in new endeavors.…
Purpose:Â The vision of Keep Pearland Beautiful is that Pearland will be the cleanest and most beautiful city in Texas.
Major Projects: Plant Thyme Fall Luncheon, Cheers for Volunteers, Environmental Awards Dinner. Yard Wise Demonstration Garden, Adopt A Spot, Community Greening. KPB Education methods include: speaking to groups, bringing environmental programs to schools, training teachers, sponsoring our annual Environmental Fair and informing people about Environmental responsibility.…
Purpose: To research and recommend policy that will lower electric bills, increase clean and renewable sources of energy, and combats greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global climate change by working to encourage city and state incentives for energy efficiency and to create incentives and mandates for more renewable energy.
Programs: Policy programs in are climate change, promoting clean government, fighting dirty energy, advancing energy efficiency in Texas, advancing renewable energy in Texas and student organizing.…
Purpose:Â The SPARK School Program works with schools and neighborhoods to develop community parks on public school grounds. In the past 30 years, SPARK has built over 200+ community parks throughout the Houston/Harris County area. Each park is unique, with its design based on ideas and needs of the school and surrounding neighborhoods.…
Purpose: The Houston-Galveston Area Council is a region-wide voluntary association of local governments in the 13-county Gulf Coast Planning region of Texas. H-GAC’s mission is to serve as the instrument of local government cooperation, promoting the region’s orderly development and the safety and welfare of its citizens. Key governmental services include transportation planning, disaster resiliency, cooperative purchasing, homeland security, workforce development, air and water quality planning, forecasting, and mapping.…
Purpose:Â To promote greater public awareness, appreciation, and enjoyment of White Oak Bayou, its tributaries and environs by advocating the preservation, restoration, and maintenance of the natural wildlife habitats thereof, while promoting compatible educational and recreational opportunities within the area. White Oak Bayou Association was founded in May 1986.
Meetings: Monthly: 2nd Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.…
Purpose:Â Identify, protect, conserve, and enhance the natural and cultural resources, values, and qualities of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and its regional environment for this and future generations. Programs: Down Under, Out Yonder (DUOY) Educator Workshop and Scuba Field Experience – annually in July.…
Purpose: Through collaborative fundraising and partnership building, EarthShare of Texas empowers mission-driven members to pursue positive environmental and health impacts across the Lone Star State for the benefit of all.
We support more than 40 of the most respected conservation and environmental organizations in Texas. Â From air quality to wildlife rehabilitation to the development of green building technology, our members work to protect our environment.…
The CEC has a searchable, web-based version of the Environmental Resource Guide. You may also download older versions of the printed guide below.
Archived Resource Guides