Natural Resources Advisory Commitee Meeting – February 6 (Hybrid)  

H-GAC's Natural Resources Advisory Committee (NRAC) will meet from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, February 6, at H-GAC second floor conference rooms and on Zoom.  

Registration is requested, but not required, to attend in person and required to attend online.

Participants at this meeting will hear updates on regional activities related to natural resources.  

The NRAC serves as a forum to advise the H-GAC Board of Directors and local decision-makers. 

For more information, contact Rachel Windham. 

Parks and Natural Areas Awards Celebration – February 21 (In Person)  

Save the Date for the Parks and Natural Areas Awards recognition ceremony from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, February 21, 2025, at H-GAC, Second Floor Conference Rooms.

Registration is requested, but not required to attend.

Award-winning projects serve as models for planning and project implementation for parks and natural areas in the region. Projects will be honored in four categories: Planning Process, On-the-Ground Projects Over $500,000, On-the-Ground Projects Under $500,000, and Programming.

Attendees will also hear about accessible and inclusive designs in parks and natural areas from Clark Condon | Landscape Architecture.

For more information, contact Andrea Tantillo.

Clean Waters Initiative Workshop – February 25 (Hybrid) 

Join H-GAC for a Clean Waters Initiative workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at H-GAC second floor conference rooms and on Zoom. In-person networking breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. The program begins at 9 a.m. 

The topic will be microplastics in surface water. The goal of the workshop is to bring together researchers in the region to summarize what we know regarding microplastics in the environment. The audience will be regional and state researchers, agencies, government officials, and citizens interested in microplastics in surface waters. 

Registration is requested to attend in person and required to attend online.

Clean water is crucial to our region's environment, economy, and quality of life. The Clean Waters Initiative (CWI) program offers workshops that help local governments, landowners, and residents develop effective strategies to reduce pollution in area waterways.

For more information, contact Rachel Windham.

Parks and Natural Areas Roundtable Park Tour – March 20 (In Person)  

Join us for the Parks and Natural Areas Roundtable park tour on Thursday, March 20, for a tour of Willow Waterhole. We will learn more about the award-winning projects in the area, including the Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy’s Greenway Accessibility project. 

We will meet at 10 a.m. at Willow Waterhole, 5300 Dryad Drive, Houston. The event will conclude at noon. 

Transportation will NOT be provided to Willow Waterhole. Carpooling is encouraged. 

Registration will open soon. 

For more information, contact Andrea Tantillo.

Trash Bash Waterway Cleanup – March 29, 2025 (In Person) 

Mark your calendar for the next River, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash®, Texas’s largest single-day waterway cleanup, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. 

Since its inception, more than 121,000 volunteers have collected over 2,505 tons of trash, 23 tons of recyclable materials, and 12,410 tires. Find out how to volunteer and promote a healthy Galveston Bay watershed at one of the many cleanup locations on March 29, 2025.

Cleanup supplies, event t-shirts, and lunch are provided to all volunteers. Trash Bash hopes you will come out and help “Clean it like you mean it !” ®

Bringing Back Main Street Roundtable – April 22 (In Person)  

Save the date for the next Bringing Back Main Street Roundtable Tuesday, April 22 at the Eagle Lake Chamber of Commerce Hall, 303 E. Main Street, Eagle Lake. Networking and check-in begin at 9:30 a.m., and the program begins at 10 a.m.

Registration is requested, but not required, to attend.

The Bringing Back Main Street initiative offers local communities a place to share best practices and engage in a regional dialogue about revitalizing and supporting vibrant downtown spaces. Each quarter, community leaders gather for a roundtable on topics ranging from small business support to sidewalk infrastructure.

For more information, contact Andrea Tantillo. 

Keep Texas Beautiful Governor's Community Achievement Awards Due February 13, 2025

For more than 30 years, Keep Texas Beautiful, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation, has awarded the prestigious Governor's Community Achievement Awards to Texas communities for their outstanding overall efforts to keep their communities beautiful. This year, 10 winning communities will share $2 million in landscaping awards from the Texas Department of Transportation, with the amount based on population size. The funds are used for landscaping projects along local rights-of-way. There is a $25 application fee. The deadline to apply is Thursday, February 13, 2025. 

AARP Community Challenge Grants Applications Due March 5 

The  AARP Livable Communities Community Challenge grants program is now open for applications. Funding is available for local governments and nonprofits to work on community-improving projects that can be started and finished by year end. AARP is accepting applications across three different grant opportunities: Flagship Grants ranging from $500 to $25,000; Capacity-Building Microgrants up to $2,500; and Demonstration Grants from $10,000 to $25,000. The application deadline is Wednesday, March 5. 

Take Care of Texas Art Contest

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is hosting the Take Care of Texas Art Contest for kindergarten-fifth grade students to depict positive ways to help keep the air and water clean, conserve water and energy, and reduce waste. The theme for 2024 is Recycling, and the contest sponsor is Texas Chemical Council. The deadline to enter is Monday, March 3, 2025.

Hazard Mitigation Funding Available Following Two Texas Storms

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) is accepting applications for funding under DR-4781 related to severe storms in April 2024 and DR-4798 related to Hurricane Beryl. All entities seeking funding under these opportunities must have a FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan at the time the project is submitted to FEMA for consideration and at the time an award is made, except for projects to develop or update mitigation plans. 

Applications under the DR-4781 program are due on February 28, 2025, and applications under the DR-4798 are due on March 14, 2025. 

Eligible applicants for both programs must apply for funding using the TDEM Grants Management System (GMS). GMS Is used to apply for, track, and manage a variety of FEMA grants. To register, visit grants.tdem.texas.gov/. 

Texas Watershed Steward Workshop – February 13

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is offering a Texas Watershed Steward Workshop from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, February 13. The event will be in-person at the George H.W. Bush Community Center, 6827 Cypresswood Drive, Spring. All participants at this free, half-day workshop will receive beneficial and applicable watershed education and a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Curriculum Handbook. Pre-register for the workshop at https://tws.tamu.edu/workshops/registration. 

Funding Sources

H-GAC's Community and Environmental Planning Department maintains a list of ongoing funding opportunities for parks improvements, conservation projects, active transportation projects, and downtown revitalization projects. H-GAC also provides a Funding Resources Hub with many funding opportunities for individuals, local governments, organizations, and others.

If you know of a funding opportunity, forward it to Andrea Tantillo.

All content, including links to websites on these funding lists, is for informational purposes only. Users of this content are responsible for checking its accuracy, currency, and suitability.

Mapping Applications

Looking for interactive applications or GIS data related to the H-GAC Community and Environmental Planning Department? Visit H-GAC's interactive applications web page.