Harris Co. (Texas) Soil and Water Conservation District
- About Us
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- Every ton of paper recycled saves approx. 17 trees
- Recycling ONE aluminum can saves an energy equivalent to run
a TV for 3 hours
- Every ton of glass recycled can save an energy equivalent of
9 gallons of fuel oil
- A 100 watt light bulb could run for 4 hours on energy saved
from 1 recycled glass bottle
RECYCLE
/ REUSE = CONSERVATION
(please
note: This is a courtesy posting and we cannot guarantee the accuracy)
Houston
Regional Recycling Centers:
1200 Brittmore, Houston TX 77043 - Open Daily
1245 Judiway, Houston TX 77018 - Open Daily,
Glass only
Kingwood Park & Ride, 3210 W. Lake Houston Pkwy - 2nd &
4th weekends monthly
Ellington Field, Hwy 3 & Brantley Rd. - Open Daily
Westpark Recycling Center, 5900 Westpark - Mon.- Sat. 8a-5p
City
of Houston - Hazardous Waste drop off locations:
11500 South Post Oak Rd., Houston TX 77035
5614 Neches Bldg C, Houston TX 77026
City
of Houston Neighborhood Depositories, Wed. - Sun. 10a - 7p:
5100 Sunbeam, Houston TX 77033
9200 Lawndale, Houston TX 77012
5565 Kirkpatrick, Houston TX 77028
Other
Locations in Harris County:
1601 W. Main, Houston TX 77520
4400 Edith St., Bellaire TX 77401
3009 Center St., Deer Park TX 77536
610 Old Underwood, Deer Park 77356 - Used Oil only
Jesse Jones Park, 20634 Kenswick Dr., Humble TX 77338
2963 N. 23rd St., LaPorte TX 77571
2900 Pasadena Blvd & Preston, Pasadena TX 77502
2300 Strawberry Rd & Cherrybrook, Pasadena TX 77502 (Clear Lake
Park)
5002 NASA Rd 1, Seabrook TX 77586 - Paper only
5004 Dincans St., West University Place TX 77005
Texas State
Envirothon
The John Cooper School Wins at 2008 Texas State Envirothon
The Texas State Envirothon was held April 12 through 14, 2008
at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch, Dallas, Texas. Eleven
schools for a total of 18 teams participated in the competition.
Those included were: Berkner High School (Richardson); Clear Lake
High School (Clear Lake); College Park Academy of Science and
Technology (The Woodlands – Teams A & B); John Cooper
High School (The Woodlands – Teams A & B); Klein Collins
High School (Spring); Monarch School (Houston – Teams A
& B); Montgomery High School (Montgomery – Teams A &
B); Richardson High School (Richardson); Rio Hondo High School
(Rio Hondo – Teams A & B); John Tyler High School (Tyler
– Teams A & B); and Westside High School (Houston –
Teams A & B). Students on the winning team were: Alex
Valderrama, Versha Reddy, Andrew Ghazi, Kevin Bennett, and Ranjeet
Paul (pictured above with Coach Tina Davies). College
Park Academy of Science and Technology Team B was second place,
while, College Park Academy of Science and Technology Team A took
third place.
The fun began on Saturday afternoon with optional student training
workshops presented by a variety of professionals. Presenters
included Michelle Holyfield and Alex Stanton from Eastman Chemical
Company, Brett Johnson from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,
Daniel Duncum from the Texas Forest Service, Nathan Haile from
the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Lisa Cole from
the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area. During these
presentations students received training in aquatics, forestry,
soils, wildlife, and oral presentation skills. The competition
officially began on Sunday afternoon at Brookhaven College. There
were 90 students as well as 20 team advisors participating in
the field testing. Questions on the field test ranged from identifying
bird nesting sites and tree measurements to describing soil textures
and discussing the benefits of wetlands. Over 50 volunteers assisted
with a variety of jobs including monitoring the field stations,
leading students to each station, grading the field tests, serving
as judges for the oral presentations, etc.
To help students prepare for Sunday evening’s challenge,
which was to develop a proposal addressing recreational impacts
on natural resources in Texas, a guest presentation was held on
Sunday morning. Dr. Gerard Kyle, associate professor in Recreation,
Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A & M presented on the
current issue, which was recreational impacts on natural resources.
Following the field testing on Sunday, the students were then
sequestered for three hours to work on their presentations. The
presentations were delivered to a panel of five judges on Monday
morning.
The John Cooper School - Team A will represent Texas at
the Canon Envirothon competition to be held in Flagstaff, Arizona
on July 28 – August 3, 2008.
Sponsors of the 2008 Texas Envirothon included: Eastman Chemical
Company; Bell Helicopter, University of Houston-Clear Lake, Environmental
Institute of Houston; Brookhaven College; Canon USA; Gulf Coast
Waste Disposal Authority, Harris County Soil and Water Conservation
District; Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District;
Texas Association of Environmental Professionals; Association
of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts; Texas Association
for Environmental Education; Shell Oil Company – Texas Regional
Collaboratives; Blue Bell Ice Creameries; and Richardson Environmental
Action League.
For more information about the Texas State Envirothon,
contact Wendy Reistle, Environmental Institute of Houston/UHCL,
at (281) 283-3045 or visit www.texasenvirothon.org.
HISTORY
The Harris County Soil and Water Conservation
District (HCSWCD) was organized in 1948 as a recognized unit of
state government of Texas. Elected by the landowners in Harris
County, a 5-member Board of Directors representing five zones
covering the 1.1 million acres in the county provide leadership
and focus for voluntary conservation programs
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the District took a leadership
role in improving agriculture. It was one of the first locally led
conservation districts.
The early 1970’s in Harris County brought urbanization and
more emphasis was placed on potential flooding problems and urban
encroachment on to flood plains. In 1972, the District was the primary
organization responsible for identification of county flood-prone
areas, together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Throughout the 1980’s, the District has encouraged the use
of a multi-disciplined approach to flood control - utilizing flood-prone
areas for recreation and agriculture, floodwater detention basins,
undeveloped natural areas, and appropriate channeling of waterways
to reduce the impact of flooding within the county.
During the 1990's, the District has been a leader in informing
residents about watershed management and presenting ideas to assist
in flood reduction. For example, the District worked closely with
the Harris County Flood Control District to rebuild after Tropical
Storm Francis.
As the 2000's unfold, by means of new information and education
programs, it continues to focus on developing public awareness of
urban conservation problems and solutions by means of information
and education programs
CONSERVATION DISTRICT ROLE
Conservation districts have a lead role in:
1. Developing annual and long range plans
2. Conducting information and education programs
3. Providing technical assistance when appropriate
4. Approving conservation plans
5. Coordinating local input in program development and implementation,
including:
Reaching out to the public and bringing stakeholders together
Using a conservation needs assessment to analyze local needs
Setting local priorities based on public input and needs assessment
Recommending BMPs, cost share rates and incentive levels for programs
Reviewing and evaluating needs and accomplishments
Convening the USDA local work group for EQIP
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