Environmental Resource Guide
The Environmental Resource Guide is a searchable, web-based resource that includes information about all organizations in the Greater Houston Area conducting environmental work. This guide is a one-stop-shop for any resources or connections you may need, and is updated often to ensure you have access to the newest information.
Scroll through the guide, view a list of all organizations, or view all categories of organizations below. At the very bottom of the page is an archive containing older versions of the printed guide available for download.
If you have any questions, would like to make edits to a current listing, or would like to add or remove an organizations, please reach out to us.
Purpose:Â Blackwood Educational Land Institute is an ecosystem and living classroom that inspires and teaches students of all ages to explore the natural web of life and to develop a healthy, respectful relationship with nature.
Major Events: Counselor Training Week, Blackwood Nature Camp Weeks, Edible Garden Tour, Sustainability Bike Ride
Children’s Activities: Blackwood Educational Land Institute reconnects children to nature through hands-on experiences that teach them about food and where it comes from, the value of community and collaboration, and the pleasure of being outdoors.…
Purpose: To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.
Meetings: Second Thurs., 7:30 p.m., St.…
Purpose: The mission of BikeHouston is to promote safe bicycling and to improve the quality of life in the Houston area. Goals -secure equitable access to regional facilities, lands and roads -educate the public about rights and responsibilities of bicyclists -promote public awareness of the personal and community benefits of cycling Meeting Time: Varies, see website.…
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: Cultivating thriving communities through gardening and access to healthy, local food.
Programs: Every year, Urban Harvest conducts more than 100 classes on a variety of subjects ranging from canning vegetables to living sustainably through permaculture principles. We offer advice, education, and services to provide parents, teachers, and administrators with information to build and maintain a successful and sustainable school garden program. The Urban Harvest Farmers Markets bring the bounty of the garden to Houstonians several times a week year round, rain or shine. Urban Harvest supports more than 130 community gardens planted with a variety of goals.…
Purpose: To promote the evolution and implementation of Plan Houston as the basis for planning the City’s future. Blueprint Houston serves as a resource and catalyst for better long-term planning for Houston’s future growth and development.
Blueprint Houston was founded in 2003 to build community support for a coordinated planning process to make improvements to Houston’s quality of life.…
Purpose: To promote the preservation and appreciation of Houston’s architectural and cultural historic resources through advocacy, education, and committed action; thereby creating economic value and developing a stronger sense of community. Regular Meetings: Walking tours, second Sunday of each month. Programs: Preservation advocacy, Historic Neighborhoods Council, Realtor programs, heritage education program, heritage tourism promotion, Museum of Houston digital archive and online museum.…
Purpose: Established in 1964, the Houston Canoe Club’s members are interested in all types of paddlesport from canoeing to kayaking, quietwater, whitewater, touring and racing. We do it all and have fun doing it. Canoe safety presentations are available for school groups.
Meeting Time: 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX 77074.…
Purpose: To provide a network and forum for anyone interested or with expertise in the environment’s natural history, ecology, local environmental issues and especially environmental education in order to facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas, methods, information and events related to environmental education efforts in the Greater Houston Area. Meetings: First Wed.…
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: 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.…
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: 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: Bayou Land Conservancy is a community-sponsored land preservation organization to permanently protect land, with a focus on the 13 watersheds that feed Lake Houston. We preserve river and bayou corridors, other properties with significant wildlife habitat value, and places where family recreation can occur in harmony with nature.
Jill Boullion, Executive Director
jboullion@bayouland.org
Becky Martinez, Conservation Director
bmartinez@bayouland.org
Cherie Wilson, Office Administrator
cwilson@bayouland.org
Purpose:Â Founded in 2001, the Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy (WWGC) partners with the Harris County Flood Control District and the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department to enhance the 280 acre Willow Waterhole Park as a native plant and wildlife area and a passive recreational green space.
Programs: Music in park performances, movies in park screenings, conservation volunteer work days on the second saturday of each month, monthly bird surveys on the third saturday of each month by Houston Audubon Society, and free environmental education series for kids and families.…
Purpose:Â The Heartwood Chapter is here to create a proactive resource of diverse individuals promoting environmental stewardship through outreach, education and volunteer service benefiting the residents in and around Montgomery and Walker Counties. Founded December 2004.
Meetings: First Wed. of month except Dec. in Classroom Building at WG Jones State Forest, 1328 FM 1488, Conroe, TX.…
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: The Houston Parks Board creates, improves, protects and advocates for parks for everyone. HPB is driven by the vision of thriving parks and communities for everyone forever.
Programs: Parkland and greenspace acquisition; park capital improvement projects; collaboration with other green groups; Neighborhood Partnership Program; 50/50 Park Partners Challenge; Volunteer Program.…
Purpose:Â The Houston Peace and Justice Center provides networks and resources for organizations and individuals to advance peace and social justice.
Programs: Links and resources to various social justice movements happening in the area.
Volunteer Opportunities: Fill out an application online to become a volunteer.…
Purpose: Â To educate the public and public officials about proper land management on our many streams, drawing on the latest science, and to advocate for enlightened flood and erosion control and drainage policies and practices that respect the natural process of our local bayous and creeks, their floodplains and watersheds, the trees and vegetation growing on their banks, all of which are so vital for the health of our waters, our environment, and us.…