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September 2017 Edition
September 14, 2017 — Effects of Climate Change on Human Health with speaker Brett Perkison
On Thursday, September 14, the Houston Sierra Club welcomes Brett Perkison, who is a board certified physician in family medicine and occupational medicine. His lecture will present an overview of climate change’s effects on human health, and how employers can reduce carbon emissions as part of workplace wellness programs.
Brett Perkison is an assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and has a joint appointment at the University of Texas Health Science Center in the department of Family Medicine.
The event is free and open to the public at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1805 West Alabama, Houston. Main program starts 7:30 PM. Doors open 7:00 PM.
Hurricane Harvey Funds
The Houston Sierra Club recognizes the suffering and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. It will take time, patience, and resources to recover. We’re asking you to please consider donating to one of these funds to help our neighbors rebuild.
Go here for more information.
On September 25, 2017, 6:30-8:30 pm, join us at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center for a special 125th Anniversary celebration to benefit the Sierra Club’s Houston Group and Lone Star Chapter. Gather with like-minded folks; enjoy good company, great appetizers and desserts. See displays of local conservation efforts and service projects.
Go here for more information.
In January 2017, environmental groups met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, to discuss the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study which will be released for the entire Texas Coast in the Spring of 2018. For the Houston-Galveston Area, the Corps is looking at four alternatives other than the No Action Alternative, which is required to be analyzed under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Go here for more information.
Did you start an environmental club?
Do you organize a recycling effort at your school, in your neighborhood, or in the broader community?
Are you involved in habitat restoration, urban gardening, or environmental design?
Do you make your environmental concerns heard politically?
The Houston Sierra Club wants to hear from you. This is your opportunity to share your sustainability efforts with like-minded individuals.
Go here for more information.
Houston Group Executive Committee Election 2017
Each December the Houston Group holds an election to fill positions on the Group’s nine member Executive Committee (Excom). The Houston Sierra Club is now soliciting nominations for the election that will be held this December 2017. Members of the Group’s Executive Committee serve terms of 2 years. Typically either 4 or 5 positions on the Excom are up for election in any given year, depending on the number of vacancies.
A nominating committee works to recruit candidates each year, and any member of the club may make candidate suggestions to the nominating committee. Members who are interested in running may also submit petitions to the nominating committee, should the nominating committee decline to select a proposed candidate.
Go here for more information.
HISD Trustees are members of our local school board. Trustee elections take place during odd years. This year, six out of nine board members are up for election on November 7, 2017. Trustees are responsible for managing HISD’s school budget and setting policy during staggered four year terms.
There is a connection between conservation of our environmental resources and the election of trustees.
Go here for more information.
The U.S. Forest Service (FS) will hold two meetings, September 12 and 14, regarding a “Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Study” and a “Wilderness Inventory” that have been prepared for the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) Forest Plan revision assessment. All Sierrans are urged to attend these meetings. If you cannot attend these meetings please submit your initial comments based on the information provided here.
Go here for more information.
The Sierra Club met with Rob Potts, Theresa Mathis, and Kara Davis of the U.S. Forest Service (FS) on July 25, 2017 in Lufkin, Texas to discuss the comments that the Sierra Club submitted in April 2017 about the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) Forest Plan revision assessment. The meeting went from 10 am to 3:30 pm. The FS and Sierra Club discussed the Sierra Club’s comments so that they could be clarified.
Go here for more information.
By Brandt Mannchen
The Reverend Peter Conaty died recently. Peter was an avid birder, friend of Nature, and was instrumental in the protection of the “Nash Prairie”. Peter convinced Episcopal officials and others of the rightness of selling “Nash Prairie” to The Nature Conservancy. This remnant coastal tallgrass prairie was saved for all people for posterity and stands as testimony to who Peter was and is part of his enduring legacy. Peter also loved the Columbia Bottomlands forest.
Go here for more information.
Welcome, tell us a little about yourself
My name is Tracy Ward Whatley and I am a very grateful person. I am a native Texan, born in Corpus Christi but raised here in Houston. I raised my sons here as well and love living in this dynamic city near the coast. I am excited to be teaching Environmental Science at the large and diverse campus of J. Frank Dobie High School in Pasadena ISD. The journey to being a teacher has been a long one. I have volunteered at the Houston Zoo, trained as a Wildlife Rehabilitator, and now I try to teach my students about the environment in which they live and that volunteering is an important component of learning about the world.
Go here for more information.
Get Outdoors!
For information on upcoming outings in the Houston area, check out our MeetUp site or our Outings Calendar on our website.
By Brandt Mannchen
What is an outings leader to do? In these days of climate change, with hotter summers, it is not easy to find places to have a bearable outing.
That was the question I was weighing. Then I heard that the Geraldine Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve (Watson Preserve) has the rare Chapman’s Orchid blooming in late July or early August. So, I set my date as August 12th and hoped for the best.
About 14 of us gathered at the Watson Preserve. But first, let’s talk about Geraldine Watson. It is no exaggeration that Gerald Watson, along with a few other people and a lot of support from the public, was responsible for the creation of Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP).
Go here for more information.