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GoGreenNation news

Earth Day 2024: Houston area offers variety of ways to celebrate the planet

News Feed
Thursday, April 18, 2024

Reliant EnergyEmployees from Reliant Energy plant flowering plants at the Houston Botanic Garden as part of an Earth Day event on Thursday, April 18, 2024.Earth Day is Monday, but Houston-area residents can celebrate the planet and advocate for protecting it throughout the upcoming weekend and beyond. Several family-friendly events, many of which are free, are being held around town leading up to the holiday, which started in 1970. There are Earth Day events at local parks, museums, artists studios and the Houston Botanic Garden, where a flower-planting event was held Thursday. The lineup includes an inaugural celebration organized by the Healthy Port Communities Commission, which is holding a free event at Hidalgo Park in Houston's Second Ward. The park is situated near the Houston Ship Channel, a heavily polluted industrial area that was deemed as a "sacrifice zone" by Amnesty International. Erandi Trevino, the Houston organizer for the Austin-based nonprofit Public Citizen, which is part of the coalition, said she put together the event as a way to give back to an impacted community while calling attention to the importance of protecting the environment. "The reality for a lot of people is living right across the street from a chemical plant or a refinery or the Houston Ship Channel," Trevino said. "Hidalgo Park does embody that." The following is a rundown of 12 Earth Day events happening around the Houston area: SATURDAY Earth Day Community Clean-Up Challenge | 9 a.m. at 6345 Windswept Ln. The Houston Millennials organization is holding a trash-collecting competition to help clean up the southwest part of town while calling attention to the need for a cleaner environment. Participants can volunteer individually or as part of small teams, and prizes will be awarded to the winning teams after the 11:30 a.m. weigh-in. Light bites and beverages will be provided to volunteers, along with clean-up equipment such as gloves and trash bags. Visit the event webpage for more information. Sugar Land Earth Day Festival | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Houston Museum of Natural Science-Sugar Land, 13016 University Blvd. in Sugar Land Visitors to the pollinator garden at the Sugar Land museum can discover creatures and their habitats, learn about biodiversity in the ecosystem and participate in hands-on activities related to Earth Day. Tickets start at $5 for museum members and $15 for non-members and can be purchased online. Artful Earth: A Spring Celebration | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring St. Head to Sawyer Yards for a free, art-centric Earth Day event that will include light bites and beverages, open artist studios, three exhibitions and guided meditation and sound bowls. Representatives from the Houston Botanic Garden, The Ranch Houston and Cornelius Nursery will be on hand, and original, Earth Day-themed art pieces in a variety of mediums will be available for $150 apiece, with proceeds benefitting the botanic garden and the Spring Street Studios building fund. Visit the event website for more information. Picnic in the Park | noon-4 p.m. at Evelyn's Park, 4400 Bellaire Blvd. The Evelyn's Park Conservancy is celebrating Earth Day and the Bellaire park's seventh anniversary with this free, family-friendly event, where 5,000 seedlings from a variety of tree species will be among the many giveaways. There also will be computer recycling a "Crush the Can" event and a community rock-painting project, along with vendors, a cake-cutting and entertainment for children and adults. Visit the event website for more information. Green Mountain Energy Earth Day at Discovery Green | noon-5 p.m. at Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St. All are welcome at this free downtown event put on by the Discovery Green Conservancy and the Citizens' Environmental Coalition. It will feature the Houston Public Works Water Works Festival along with an afternoon of art, dancing, music and Earth Day-themed short films. Visit the event website for more information. SUNDAY Healthy Port Communities Inaugural Earth Day Celebration | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Hidalgo Park, 7000 Avenue Q Houston's Second Ward will serve as the site for a new Earth Day event being organized by the Healthy Port Communities Coalition, which includes nonprofits such as Air Alliance Houston and Public Citizen. The free, family-friendly celebration is being held near the Houston Ship Channel, a heavily polluted industrial area that has been deemed as a "sacrifice zone" by Amnesty International. Sunday's event will include presentations about the dangers of plastics to people and the planet, and attendees also can enjoy live music, door prizes, food trucks and vendors. Those who plan to go are encouraged to walk, bike or use public transportation. Earth Day Bash | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Children's Museum Houston, 1500 Binz St. A variety of Earth Day-related activities are planned at the children's museum, including a water filtration demonstration, physics experiments from Rice University representatives, talks about ants and birds and a tree sapling giveaway. Tickets cost $17 and can be reserved online. Akaal Pachamama Earth Day at Old Town Harrisburg | noon-7 p.m. at 6632 Harrisburg Blvd. Attendees are asked to wear green and white to this free Earth Day celebration in the Second Ward, where there will be a pop-up market featuring a variety of local vendors. There also will be entertainment from 3-7 p.m. The Energy Corridor District's Earth Day Celebration | 1-4 p.m. at Terry Hershey Park, 15200 Memorial Dr. Admission is free to this family-friendly event in West Houston, where attendees can enjoy local food trucks, DJ music, a fashion show featuring clothing made with recycled materials, eco-friendly vendors and educational booths. They also can contribute to a communal art piece, and there will be tree seedling giveaways and children's activities such as games and face painting. More information can be found on the event webpage. MONDAY "Wild Texas" Mural Unveiling | 10-11 a.m. at Houston Botanic Garden, 1 Botanic Ln. The Houston Botanic Garden, Houston Parks Board and Gulfgate Redevelopment Authority will celebrate Earth Day by unveiling a 300-foot mural located along the Sims Bayou Greenway. "Wild Texas," by artist David Cobb, was more than six months in the making and "celebrates the diverse landscape of Texas in a stunning display of color and community spirit," according to event organizers. Earth Day HTX | 3:30 p.m. at Watonga Park, 4100 Watonga Blvd. The City of Houston and Apache Corporation are teaming up to plant 2,500 trees at Watonga Park in the northwest part of town, utilizing both volunteers from the community as well as employees from the Houston-based energy company. The event is part of a broader reforestation initiative by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. APRIL 27 Earth Day Celebration | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Dr. This free, post-Earth Day event will feature a scavenger hunt, interactive activities and crafts and the chance to see and learn about a variety of plants and animals. More information is available at the event website.

Several family-friendly events, many of which are free, are being held around the Houston region before, on and after Earth Day, which is Monday.

Houston Botanic Garden Reliant Flower Planting

Reliant Energy

Employees from Reliant Energy plant flowering plants at the Houston Botanic Garden as part of an Earth Day event on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

Earth Day is Monday, but Houston-area residents can celebrate the planet and advocate for protecting it throughout the upcoming weekend and beyond.

Several family-friendly events, many of which are free, are being held around town leading up to the holiday, which started in 1970. There are Earth Day events at local parks, museums, artists studios and the Houston Botanic Garden, where a flower-planting event was held Thursday.

The lineup includes an inaugural celebration organized by the Healthy Port Communities Commission, which is holding a free event at Hidalgo Park in Houston's Second Ward. The park is situated near the Houston Ship Channel, a heavily polluted industrial area that was deemed as a "sacrifice zone" by Amnesty International.

Erandi Trevino, the Houston organizer for the Austin-based nonprofit Public Citizen, which is part of the coalition, said she put together the event as a way to give back to an impacted community while calling attention to the importance of protecting the environment.

"The reality for a lot of people is living right across the street from a chemical plant or a refinery or the Houston Ship Channel," Trevino said. "Hidalgo Park does embody that."

The following is a rundown of 12 Earth Day events happening around the Houston area:

SATURDAY

Earth Day Community Clean-Up Challenge | 9 a.m. at 6345 Windswept Ln.

The Houston Millennials organization is holding a trash-collecting competition to help clean up the southwest part of town while calling attention to the need for a cleaner environment. Participants can volunteer individually or as part of small teams, and prizes will be awarded to the winning teams after the 11:30 a.m. weigh-in. Light bites and beverages will be provided to volunteers, along with clean-up equipment such as gloves and trash bags.

Visit the event webpage for more information.

Sugar Land Earth Day Festival | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Houston Museum of Natural Science-Sugar Land, 13016 University Blvd. in Sugar Land

Visitors to the pollinator garden at the Sugar Land museum can discover creatures and their habitats, learn about biodiversity in the ecosystem and participate in hands-on activities related to Earth Day.

Tickets start at $5 for museum members and $15 for non-members and can be purchased online.

Artful Earth: A Spring Celebration | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring St.

Head to Sawyer Yards for a free, art-centric Earth Day event that will include light bites and beverages, open artist studios, three exhibitions and guided meditation and sound bowls. Representatives from the Houston Botanic Garden, The Ranch Houston and Cornelius Nursery will be on hand, and original, Earth Day-themed art pieces in a variety of mediums will be available for $150 apiece, with proceeds benefitting the botanic garden and the Spring Street Studios building fund.

Visit the event website for more information.

Picnic in the Park | noon-4 p.m. at Evelyn's Park, 4400 Bellaire Blvd.

The Evelyn's Park Conservancy is celebrating Earth Day and the Bellaire park's seventh anniversary with this free, family-friendly event, where 5,000 seedlings from a variety of tree species will be among the many giveaways. There also will be computer recycling a "Crush the Can" event and a community rock-painting project, along with vendors, a cake-cutting and entertainment for children and adults.

Visit the event website for more information.

Green Mountain Energy Earth Day at Discovery Green | noon-5 p.m. at Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St.

All are welcome at this free downtown event put on by the Discovery Green Conservancy and the Citizens' Environmental Coalition. It will feature the Houston Public Works Water Works Festival along with an afternoon of art, dancing, music and Earth Day-themed short films.

Visit the event website for more information.

SUNDAY

Healthy Port Communities Inaugural Earth Day Celebration | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Hidalgo Park, 7000 Avenue Q

Houston's Second Ward will serve as the site for a new Earth Day event being organized by the Healthy Port Communities Coalition, which includes nonprofits such as Air Alliance Houston and Public Citizen. The free, family-friendly celebration is being held near the Houston Ship Channel, a heavily polluted industrial area that has been deemed as a "sacrifice zone" by Amnesty International. Sunday's event will include presentations about the dangers of plastics to people and the planet, and attendees also can enjoy live music, door prizes, food trucks and vendors. Those who plan to go are encouraged to walk, bike or use public transportation.

Earth Day Bash | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Children's Museum Houston, 1500 Binz St.

A variety of Earth Day-related activities are planned at the children's museum, including a water filtration demonstration, physics experiments from Rice University representatives, talks about ants and birds and a tree sapling giveaway.

Tickets cost $17 and can be reserved online.

Akaal Pachamama Earth Day at Old Town Harrisburg | noon-7 p.m. at 6632 Harrisburg Blvd.

Attendees are asked to wear green and white to this free Earth Day celebration in the Second Ward, where there will be a pop-up market featuring a variety of local vendors. There also will be entertainment from 3-7 p.m.

The Energy Corridor District's Earth Day Celebration | 1-4 p.m. at Terry Hershey Park, 15200 Memorial Dr.

Admission is free to this family-friendly event in West Houston, where attendees can enjoy local food trucks, DJ music, a fashion show featuring clothing made with recycled materials, eco-friendly vendors and educational booths. They also can contribute to a communal art piece, and there will be tree seedling giveaways and children's activities such as games and face painting.

More information can be found on the event webpage.

MONDAY

"Wild Texas" Mural Unveiling | 10-11 a.m. at Houston Botanic Garden, 1 Botanic Ln.

The Houston Botanic Garden, Houston Parks Board and Gulfgate Redevelopment Authority will celebrate Earth Day by unveiling a 300-foot mural located along the Sims Bayou Greenway. "Wild Texas," by artist David Cobb, was more than six months in the making and "celebrates the diverse landscape of Texas in a stunning display of color and community spirit," according to event organizers.

Earth Day HTX | 3:30 p.m. at Watonga Park, 4100 Watonga Blvd.

The City of Houston and Apache Corporation are teaming up to plant 2,500 trees at Watonga Park in the northwest part of town, utilizing both volunteers from the community as well as employees from the Houston-based energy company. The event is part of a broader reforestation initiative by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.

APRIL 27

Earth Day Celebration | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Dr.

This free, post-Earth Day event will feature a scavenger hunt, interactive activities and crafts and the chance to see and learn about a variety of plants and animals.

More information is available at the event website.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks

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Social Justice

Silent Forests

Loss of more than half the central African forest elephant population to poaching in the last decade has led to a concerted effort to save those that remain. These efforts are explored through one of Cameroon’s first female eco-guards, a grassroots wildlife law enforcement group, a Congolese biologist studying elephant behavior, a reformed elephant poacher, and anti-poaching sniffer dogs led by a Czech conservationist, all fighting corruption despite a lack of funding that threatens to derail their work to save the elephants.

Animals
Conservation
Documentary

Wildlife in Our Backyard

It is often said that we must tolerate wildlife, but what happens if we learn to thrive with them instead? What can this mean for the wildlife? What can it mean for the people of Florida? And what can it mean for the endangered Florida panther? Wildlife in Our Backyard shows us some of the problems facing the wildlife as well as the hope of a brighter future as we learn to share the landscape with them.

Animals
Land Use
Extinction

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