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December 2016 Edition
General Meeting, December 8, 2016 — General Meeting and Holiday Auction
We will be celebrating the holiday season at our December 8 general meeting. Come deck the halls with us! Find some holiday gifts with our silent auction. Eat some delicious holiday delights and join us in watching a short, uplifting film (with popcorn). Know who John Muir is? You may win our Environmental Jeopardy. And don't miss the snowball fight!
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.
Houston Group Executive Committee Election 2016
Each December the Houston Group holds an election to fill positions on the Group’s nine member Executive Committee (Excom). Candidate and ballot information will be posted to the Houston Group’s website, and members can print out, mark, and mail in their completed ballot. A separate email or a postcard with the election information will be mailed out to members in December.
Take the Waste Away and Protect Galveston Bay
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just released its Proposed Plan to clean up the San Jacinto Waste Pits Site (SJWPS). The SJWPS was used in the 1960’s to dispose of paper mill waste that contain long-lived, very toxic, dioxin, furan, and other chemicals.
Tell the EPA you want to “Take the Waste Away and Protect Galveston Bay.”
You can send your comments to the EPA by January 12, 2017.
Go here for more information.
Young Adult Sustainability Meeting
Did you start an environmental club at your school?
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 Regional Group of the Sierra Club wants to hear from you.
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.
Service Outing
Katy Prairie Service Outing, Pot Luck Lunch, and Nature Walks
On Saturday, January 7, 2017, join the Houston Sierra Club for a service outing on the Katy Prairie. We will get our hands “dirty” for 3-4 hours doing some nursery work with native grasses and wildflowers or some other fun activity at the Indian Grass Preserve of the Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC). The morning should provide cool air with a sunny glow.
Go here for more information.
Outings Reports
Turtle Bayou Canoe/Kayak Outing on November 19
We met up at White Park, which is in Chambers County, about 5 miles northeast of the city of Anahuac. For about a week, we had all been following the weather forecasts, which kept telling us that the first cold front of the season was expected to blow through on Friday night, bringing colder temperatures and northerly winds in its wake. So, we had steeled ourselves to face the chill. But, that other prediction, that Saturday would be bright and sunny, also turned out to be correct.
Go here for more information.
Autumn Day Brings Out the Best in Deer Park Prairie!
I tend to be a preacher. I don't mean to be, but sometimes I am. That is what the sixteen of us found out on November 12th in Deer Park Prairie. Autumn is a wonderful time in Houston. When temperatures drop to the mid-70s, the sun is shining, there is a mild breeze, you can't ask for better weather.
Go here for more information.