Houston Sierra Club Outings

This program requires advance registration at this Zoom link:
Meeting Registration - Zoom

September Program Topic:
A Stream Come True: Improving Surface Water Quality in Texas

This month our speaker will be Dr. Evgenia Spears, the new
Water Program Coordinator for the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter.

As Texas continues to grow, the pressure on its water resources intensifies, necessitating more stringent and comprehensive water policies to protect the 'lifeblood' of the Lone Star State. Fast population growth, land use changes, increasing industrialization, and worsening droughts are among the key factors affecting water quality in Texas water bodies. To help mitigate these impacts and protect public health and the environment, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) establishes and updates surface water quality standards every three years. Public participation is a critical part of this process, as required by the Clean Water Act. With around 40% of the state's surface water bodies currently impaired and demographic projections predicting a near doubling of the Texas population within the next 50 years, Texans' involvement in water quality protection is more important than ever. Join us as we explore the current state of Texas surface waters and learn how you can contribute to shaping water quality decisions in our state.

Speaker's Background:
Dr. Evgenia Spears recently joined the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter as the Water Program Coordinator. Prior to this role, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Texas A&M University, where she contributed to the development of major natural resource strategic planning documents for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. She has also worked with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service as a Watershed Coordinator, providing statewide public outreach and education on best practices to protect water resources. Dr. Spears envisions a future for Texas where water is not only clean and abundant but also accessible to everyone. She is confident that by committing to responsible stewardship and working together, we can make this vision a reality.

The September meeting will be conducted via Zoom.
Starts 6:30 pm for social time; 7:00 pm for program.
Here is the link for the meeting on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4168201898?pwd=MzBpZ2hvUVFMckw4anlldTh6Tkh3dz09

September Meeting Program:
Updates on Flood Mitigation in the Bay Area, and
Issues with Carbon Sequestration

Doug Peterson will provide updates on Flood Mitigation in the Bay Area, including a summary of Exploration Green, insights on the Galveston Bay Protection Park Plan and a report on the "Preparing for Growing Flooding Mitigation" Public Forum.

Kevin Beard will have a report on concerns related to carbon sequestration.

Bay Area meetings are on 3rd Wednesday of the month and start at 6:30pm for social hour; speaker and discussion from 7-8:30 pm.

Link for online and in-person events:
Attend National Drive Electric Week

As of August 21, the following local in-person events are listed:
Air Terminal Museum, Hobby Airport, Saturday, 9/21
Friendswood, TX on Saturday, 9/28
Go to link above for further details for each.

Note: Additional in-person events may be added during the month of September. Check the link for new additions in mid to late September.

Note: Online events often have specific themes or topics. Check the individual event description for details. Online events are also NOT listed sequentially by date. Scroll through the list for the date of each event.

Drive Electric Week - Home page:
National Drive Electric Week

Adopt-A-Beach | Cleanups (texasadoptabeach.org)

Multiple Locations:
Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup Check-in Locations - Google My Maps

Registration link:
Texas Adopt-A-Beach 2024 Coastwide Fall Cleanup Registration, Sat, Sep 28, 2024 at 8:30 AM | Eventbrite

Safety Information:
safety-sheet.pdf (texasadoptabeach.org)

On Saturday, October 12, 2024, the Houston Sierra Club will visit the 2,800-acre Sheldon Lake State Park (SLSP) in Northeast Harris County at 9 am. This park has a 1,230-acre lake on Carpenters Bayou. We will see wildlife, wildflowers, and lush forests, prairies, and wetlands.
Bring a daypack, 3 qts. of water, snacks, lunch, camera, field guides, insect repellent, hat, and clothes to suit the weather. Long pants are recommended. The weather will be warm, and we may encounter mosquitoes. No pets/firearms/radios. We’ll put our cell phones on vibrate and enjoy the solitude/quiet/natural sounds of SLSP.
Contact your Sierra Club leader, Brandt Mannchen, at 281-570-7212 or email brandt_mannchen@comcast.net. We will meet at the entrance to SLSP, 14140 Garrett Rd., Houston, Tx. 77004, at 9 am. Directions are:

1. Go N. on Beltway 8 and exit at Garrett Rd.
2. Turn rt. on Garrett Rd. and proceed 2 miles.
3. Turn rt. onto Park Rd. 138 and then immediately turn rt. into a small parking lot.
4. We meet at this parking lot.

The link below has the Sierra Club participant sign-in agreement (liability waiver). Please read this before the outing so you know what it says. We will sign-in quickly at Hudson Woods and then proceed with the outing. Sign-Up Sheet 2-2020.pdf (sierraclub.org)

If anyone has COVID symptoms/is sick don’t come! We want everyone to be safe. By going on this outing, we will potentially be hiking with individuals who are vaccinated and unvaccinated. It’s each person’s choice to participate on this outing.

For those who want to carpool, meet Brandt at Starbucks, Meyerland Plaza, at 7:30 am. I have a “steel” colored Honda Accord Hybrid (PXL 9133) and will be parked just west of the Starbucks. My phone number is 281-570-7212. Don’t be late!

The October meeting will be conducted via Zoom.
Starts 6:30 pm for social time; 7:00 pm for program.
Here is the link for the meeting on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4168201898?pwd=MzBpZ2hvUVFMckw4anlldTh6Tkh3dz09

October Meeting Program:

Speaker will be Dr. Mohamed L. Shalaby, a cardiologist in Webster, Texas.

Bay Area meetings are on 3rd Wednesday of the month, and start at 6:30pm for social hour; speaker and discussion from 7-8:30 pm

The November meeting will be conducted via Zoom.
Starts 6:30 pm for social time; 7:00 pm for program.
Here is the link for the meeting on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4168201898?pwd=MzBpZ2hvUVFMckw4anlldTh6Tkh3dz09

November Meeting Program:
The Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Research in the Pacific Northwest

Peg Hill will be the program speaker. Peg will cover information from NOAA fisheries and from two recent National Geographic trips that she has taken to the Northwest and Canada along the Columbia, Salmon and Snake Rivers and into Desolation Sound in Canada.

Bay Area meetings are on 3rd Wednesday of the month and start at 6:30pm for social hour; speaker and discussion from 7-8:30 pm.