HOUSTON ZOO FAMILY WILD WINK OVERNIGHT
Date: Sat, Aug 30
Time: 6 pm – 10 am the next day
Location: Houston Zoo
Fee: $70 for members, $80 for non-members
Contact: register at www.houstonzoo.org

Complete Description:
For ages 7 and up, accompanied by a registered adult. Wild Wink overnights offer guests a unique opportunity to experience the Zoo after hours. Fee includes hands-on activities, tents, touch animals, dinner, continental breakfast, and admission to the Zoo after the program is over on the second day.

ARMAND BAYOU NATURE CENTER – SUNSET CRUISE PONTOON BOAT RIDE
Date: Sat, Aug 30
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: meet at Bay Area Park boat launch, 7500 Bay Area Blvd.
Fee: $15 for members, $20 for non-members; pre-registration & pre-payment required
Contact: register at (281) 474-2551; information at www.abnc.org

Complete Description:
Join us for a relaxing and educational trip on the bayou in the cool of the evening. Sunset on the water is a peaceful experience as you observe the wildlife of Armand Bayou.

HOUSTON AUDUBON SOCIETY – FLYING WILD WORKSHOP FOR EDUCATORS
Date: Sat, Aug 30
Time: 9 am – 3 pm
Location: Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center, 3997 River Drive, Houston, TX 77017
Fee: $30; pre-registration and pre-payment required
Contact: register at (713) 640-2407; information at www.houstonaudubon.org

Complete Description:
Flying WILD is an exciting education program that introduces students to bird conservation through school bird festivals, hands-on classroom activities, and community service projects. Each workshop participant will receive the program publication, Flying WILD: An Educator’s Guide to Celebrating Birds. In addition, participants will receive the Citizens’ Guide to Migration and the Migratory Birds of the Bayou City manual.

ARMAND BAYOU NATURE CENTER – BREAKFAST ON THE BAYOU PONTOON BOAT RIDE
Date: Sat, Aug 30
Time: 8 – 9:30 am
Location: meet at Bay Area Park boat launch, 7500 Bay Area Blvd.
Fee: $20 for members, $25 for non-members; pre-registration & pre-payment required
Contact: register at (281) 474-2551; information at www.abnc.org

Complete Description:
Observe wildlife searching for their breakfast on the bayou. This trip through the heart of the Nature Center presents an uncommon opportunity to watch and learn about bayou life. Enjoy pastries, juice and coffee while underway.

Our eagerly awaited move will be late next week, and our new address will be 6420 Richmond, Suite 658, Houston, Texas 77057. The space we previously planned to move to was not ready. We expect that our phone number will remain (713) 524-4232 and our website will remain the same.

Do you know an individual, organization, project, or company that has an environmental achievement to brag about? Tell us! (more…)

Galveston Bay Foundation’s annual Redfish Raftup will be on Sunday, August 31 and Monday, September 1, Labor Day. Popular local singer/songwriter Kelly McGuire will perform from the top deck of Star Fleet Yacht’s Star Gazer beginning at 4 pm. (more…)

Gulf Coast Institute, Urban Harvest, Houston-Galveston Area Council, and Texas A&M Sea Grant will host a conference called “Food and Sustainable Prosperity for the Houston Region” on Thursday, September 4. (more…)

Popular 70s Kingwood magician Lisa (Lollipop) Menna has grown up and taken her show to 50 countries, Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, and CNN. She will be doing two benefit shows for the newly organized Galveston Baykeepers on Friday, September 5 and Sunday, September 7. (more…)

Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Houston Audubon Society are collaborating with government agencies and other conservation organizations to save increasingly rare coastal prairie plants such as Kansas Blazing Star, Black-Eyed Susan, and Rattlesnake Master from the pristine Saums Road prairie in west Harris County. (more…)

Buffalo Bayou Partnership has acquired a new tour boat – and it holds 20 guests! (more…)

The Council for Environmental Education seeks an experienced environmental education administrator and program leader for its Flying WILD national bird education initiative. (more…)

Keep Texas Beautiful is seeking a communications/marketing manager. The position is responsible for developing and coordinating information, public relations and marketing strategies. (more…)

LYONDELL PLANTS TO PAY $6.5 MILLION TO END TEXAS SMOG PROBE
Houston Chronicle 8/26/08
Two Lyondell Chemical Company affiliates have agreed to pay $6.5 million to resolve an investigation into their handling of smog-causing pollutants, the Texas attorney general announced Monday.

JOINT VENTURE PLANS $1.8 BILLION TEXAS OFFSHORE OIL PORT AND PIPELINE SYSTEM
Houston Business Journal 8/18/08
Two Houston companies and a German oil storage company are teaming up to build a $1.8 billion oil port and pipeline system off the Texas coast.

REPORT: SHIP POLLUTION IN PORTS ON RISE

RENTAL VENTURE ZIPCAR INTRODUCES RICE U. TO CAR SHARING
Houston Chronicle 8/26/08
Car sharing. Two words that still sound a little foreign when used together in Texas.

SPERM WHALES LIVE YEAR-ROUND IN GULF, NEW STUDY FINDS
Houston Chronicle 8/25/08
Sperm whales, one of the world’s largest and least-understood creatures, congregate year-round in the Gulf of Mexico despite the region’s significant drilling and shipping activity, according to a study released Thursday.

ENERGY INDUSTRY POWERS CORNYN’S FUNDRAISING
Houston Chronicle 8/26/08
Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn — a top congressional proponent of expanded domestic drilling for more oil to lower gasoline prices — is among the nation’s largest recipients of political donations from the oil and gas industry.

SPRING SUBDIVISION LOSING HOMES TO PLANNED TOLLWAY
Houston Chronicle 8/20/08
The red brick home in Spring that Tracy Martin’s family bought a year ago seemed to have everything she had ever wanted.

YOGA AT HOUSTON ARBORETUM
Date: Thu, Aug 28
Time: 5:45 – 6:45 pm
Location: 4501 Woodway Drive
Fee: $15
Contact: www.houstonarboretum.org or (713) 681-8433

HOUSTON ARBORETUM ADULT CLASS – CHINESE BRUSH PAINTING
Date: Wed, Aug 27 & Thu, Aug 28
Time: 7 – 9 pm
Location: Houston Arboretum, 4501 Woodway Drive
Fee: $95 for members, $125 for non-members
Contact: register at www.houstonarboretum.org or (713) 681-8433

Complete Description:
Learn and improve watercolor painting skills in a relaxed and enjoyable setting. This class will cover a wide variety of brushstrokes and techniques. Through step by step instruction, students will create their own watercolor painting. Artist Peihong Dong graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China in 1993. In Houston, Peihong has taught watercolor painting for 20 years, including classes at Houston’s Glassell School of Art.

FAMILY/KID YOGA AT HOUSTON ARBORETUM
Date: Wed, Aug 27
Time: 3:15 – 4 pm
Location: 4501 Woodway Drive
Fee: $10 for kids, $5 for adults
Contact: www.houstonarboretum.org or (713) 681-8433

Complete Description:
Classes for children and their families. Take part in this fun and imaginative class imitating plants and animals you will find right here in the Houston Arboretum. Bring yoga mats.