Regional Solid Waste Management Plan Public Meeting – January 5, 2022 (Online/In-Person)

H-GAC is seeking public comment on the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan 2022-2042, a plan for the next 20 years, as per Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements. The plan addresses all solid waste activities in the region.

A draft of the plan is available for review online and at the H-GAC offices, 3555 Timmons Lane, Suite 100, Houston, Texas.

A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at 3 p.m. online via Zoom and in person at H-GAC’s offices, second-floor conference room. Anyone wishing to make public comment may also dial in using your phone at 888-788-0099 and use meeting ID 832-4892-0855 and passcode 792200.

Both oral and written public comments will be allowed. Written comments may be submitted via email to [email protected] or via mail to Erin Livingston, Houston-Galveston Area Council, P.O. Box 22777, Houston, Texas 77277-2777, and must be received no later than 4 p.m. CST January 5, 2022.

Gulf Coast Economic Development District Meeting – January 14, 2022 (Online/In-Person)

The Gulf Coast Economic Development District will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, January 14, 2022.

This meeting will be held as a hybrid in-person/online event on Zoom and at H-GAC offices, second-floor conference room. Registration for the online meeting is required. Due to capacity limits, registration for the in-person meeting is also requested.

The GCEDD assists and advises elected officials in their decision-making responsibilities by making recommendations on issues related to economic development.

For more information, contact Darryl Briscoe.

Bringing Back Main Street – January 25, 2022 (Online)

Save the date for the next Bringing Back Main Street Roundtable from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 25, 2022.

The event will be online, and registration is required.

At this workshop, we will explore Building Downtowns from Scratch and discuss how to strategically plan for and implement downtown gathering spaces. Jeff Taebel, FAICP, Director of Community and Environmental Planning at H-GAC, and Rick Leisner, AICP, Principal at Norris Design, will share information about the benefits of building a downtown and strategies for getting started.

For more information, contact Sarah Torresen.

Parks and Natural Areas Summit and Awards – February 11, 2022 (Online)

Save the date for the Parks and Natural Areas Awards recognition ceremony to be from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, February 11, 2022.

This event will be online, and registration is required.

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/Policy Tools, On-the-Ground Projects Over $500,000, On-the-Ground Projects Under $500,000, and, new this year, Programming.

For more information, contact Andrea Tantillo.

Trash Free Texas Adopt-A-Spot Webinar – February 24, 2022 (Online)

Save the date for a Trash Free Texas Adopt-A-Spot webinar from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, February 24, 2022.

The event will be online, and registration is required.

At this webinar, participants will explore ways to use the Adopt-A-Spot website as part of new or ongoing litter cleanup efforts and have a conversation with Adopt-A-Spot partners who will share success stories and answer questions. 

This webinar is a part of H-GAC’s Trash Free Texas project. For this project, H-GAC has partnered with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment  to establish a unified, coordinated approach to litter abatement and community engagement in the six river basins in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston regions. 

For more information contact Kendall Guidroz.

River, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash® – March 26, 2022

The River, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash®, Texas’s largest single-day waterway cleanup, is excited to welcome back volunteers to the 28th annual event on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

Since its inception, more than 114,000 volunteers have collected over 2,300 tons of trash, 20 tons of recyclable materials, and 11,629 tires. Find out how to volunteer and promote a healthy Galveston Bay watershed at one of their many cleanup locations on March 26. Trash Bash hopes you will come out and help “Clean it like you mean it!” ®

Find more information, including registration links and public health guidelines, at www.trashbash.org.

As part of our Regional Conservation Initiative, H-GAC will actively assist with preparing grant applications, convening stakeholders, and otherwise supporting the implementation of priority conservation projects across the 13-county H-GAC region. To guide our efforts, we are collecting information about planned conservation projects from local governments and non-governmental organizations and categorizing the projects in a priority list.

In November 2021, the H-GAC Board of Directors approved the inaugural priority project list. See the current priority project list and learn more about our work online. The list will be updated quarterly. 

Staff encourages you to submit your conservation projects here by January 14, 2022, or email [email protected] with any questions.

In 2019, H-GAC completed a 10-Year Evaluation and Summary of the Livable Centers Program that recognizes local sponsors’ ongoing commitment to the implementation of study recommendations.

In 2021, H-GAC staff contacted 31 local sponsors with completed studies for an implementation update.

To learn more, visit the Livable Centers implementation page to download the 4-page Summary Evaluation Report Update and study area Local Sponsor Report Cards.

Audubon Christmas Bird Count – December 14-January 5

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is December 14 through January 5 each year. Organized by the National Audubon Society, this global, all-volunteer effort collects data on local bird populations. Individual counts are open to birders of all levels, and there is no fee to participate. Several events are scheduled across the region.

Resiliency and Recovery Workshop – February 16, 2022

The Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) and the International Sustainable Resiliency Center are hosting the Resiliency and Recovery Workshop: Don't Mess With Texas-Gulf Coast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, February 16, 2022. The free workshop on disaster resiliency and recovery will be at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land, 16090 City Walk, Sugar Land. Registration is required and closes on Friday, February 11, 2022. The workshop will focus on preparing communities to be more resilient to navigate disasters of all kinds, learning the best practices for business continuity, and accessing resources to aid in economic recovery. Each workshop participant will receive resource materials, a resilience scorecard, and important information to aid in resilience and recovery strategies for economic development. For more information, contact Amy Swank with TEDC.

H-GAC has compiled a list of local, regional, state, federal, and private funding sources for local governments and other organizations. H-GAC also maintains a list of ongoing funding opportunities for parks improvements, conservation projects, and economic recovery resources.

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

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.

H-GAC has a Facebook page where information about current and upcoming events is posted. Please visit and like H-GAC's page. While there, visit other H-GAC pages on Facebook, including Recycling, Trash Bash, and Regional Data Lab.