H-GAC's 15^th annual Parks and Natural Areas (PNA) Awards program is now accepting applications.

The Parks and Natural Areas Awards honor projects in four categories: Projects Over $500,000; Projects Under $500,000; Planning Process; and Policy Tools. Winning entries serve as models for planning and project implementation for parks and natural areas in the region. The application period will be open until 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 30. 

An online application guide is available. No funding is associated with this awards program.

Winners will be notified in December and recognized in 2021. For more information, contact Andrea Tantillo at 832-681-2507.

H-GAC is offering an online Montrose Livable Centers Self-guided Neighborhood Walking Tour. The tour will identify 19 key existing historical and other neighborhood assets throughout Montrose, while highlighting certain elements and their relation to the ongoing Livable Centers Project.

H-GAC's Livable Centers Program works with local communities to reimagine auto-focused infrastructure, policies, and programs to be more multi-modal friendly.

Also, Houston BCycle is offering free rides on Tuesday, September 22. Visit any BCycle station (see a map here) and enter code 92220 for a free 30-minute trip. Vanpoolers can participate in the METRO STAR scavenger hunt.

Learn more about safety tips and helpful resources by visiting yourcommutesolution.org and h-gac.com/pedestrian-bicyclist-planning.

The next Parks and Natural Areas Roundtable will be from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, September 14.

Registration is required. For more information, contact Andrea Tantillo at 832-681-2507. 

Whether in a small town or big city, parking is a key component to how we conduct business in the Houston-Galveston region. The H-GAC's annual Land Use/Transportation Workshop will focus on Facilitating Parking for Livable Centers. This year, the event will be presented online on Friday, September 18, for a half-day workshop and will kick off with a virtual evening forum on Thursday, September 17.

Separate registration is required for each event.

From 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, September 17, explore how the current environment and future innovations are affecting how we plan for parking and how parking may change how we develop in the Houston-Galveston region. Registration is required.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, September 18, learn how to invigorate Main Streets, Downtowns, or Town Centers with parking solutions that leverage communities’ existing resources, enhance community context, and build community partnerships that incentivize new investment based on community needs. Registration is required. 

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

H-GAC and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting for the Spring Creek Watershed Partnership from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, October 8. 

Registration is required. For more information, contact Rachel Windham.

H-GAC's next Clean Waters Initiative workshop will be from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday, October 15. 

Registration is required. For more information, contact Brian Sims at 713-993-2438.

H-GAC's Bringing Back Main Street initiative will host the second annual Rural and Small Town Downtown Revitalization Summit from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 27.

This event will be online.

Registration is required. For more information, contact Cheryl Mergo at 713-993-4520.

The Bacteria Implementation Group (BIG) Fall Meeting will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, October 27.

This meeting will be online.

Registration is required. For more information, contact Steven Johnston at 832-681-2579.

The Texas Water Development Board, the Texas General Land Office, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management launched a website with information on flood mitigation funding opportunities for Texas communities. The site includes an online Request for Information Form that entities can submit to get feedback on what state and federal financial assistance programs could be the best fit for their flood mitigation needs. The site also includes funding opportunities, general project and entity eligibility by program, upcoming events related to flood mitigation financial assistance, and other resources. For local governments interested in using the clearinghouse to access project ideas, visit the Texas Flood Clearinghouse website or call 512-463-8725. 

Each year, the Governor's Office and commissioners from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality honor the state's most outstanding environmental projects through the Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. Winners from across the state exemplify how Texans set the standard for ensuring clean air, clean water, and the safe management of waste. The application period for the 2021 awards is now open. See the winner videos for 2020. Applications will be accepted through Friday, September 25. 

Texas communities working on long-term recovery from Hurricane Harvey can find Infoshare resources at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service's new Resilient Texas website. Visit the site for both new and previous information shared in weekly emails. FEMA's Texas Recovery Office partnered with AgriLife on the site and will continue to provide resources both in email and for the website. 

Kansas State University Technical Assistance to Brownfields program provides free site re-use planning and visioning services, and site inventory and prioritization assistance to local governments that don't have the resources to get this done on their own. This assistance is usually enough to "start the ball rolling," for developing strategies and to attract funds to do more extensive planning work and to redevelop brownfields. For more information, contact Blase Leven, the Program Coordinator at Kansas State University, at 785-532-0780. 

Trash Free Texas strives to keep trash out of area waterways by working with communities and organizations across the state to connect people to places that need routine litter cleanup activities. Local governments and organizations can get involved by using the Adopt-a-Spot online interactive mapping application. 

The Bayou Preservation Association will host its 17th Annual Symposium online October 1 and 2. The two-day event will be from 8 a.m. to noon each day. Join key policy makers, regulators, resource agencies, scientists, and engineers in a discussion about how ​diversity contributes to the longevity and growth of our community as well as our unique bayou systems. Tickets start at $10, and sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Registration is now open for the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling annual recycling and composting conferences. This year, the two popular events will be combined in a single all-virtual event October 5-7. The Rethinking Recycling event will feature online tracts and panels covering the most pertinent topics in the recycling and composting industries.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 24. Check the DEA website in early October for area drop-off locations. The collection event provides a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications and environmental contamination. Law enforcement agencies interested in hosting a collection site should call the point of contact for this area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is reminding Texans that FEMA provided Group Flood Insurance Policies (GFIP) to 6,704 households across counties impacted by Harvey.

These three-year policies end Saturday, October 24, so policyholders must plan now to switch to a standard flood insurance policy to ensure continuous coverage. Those who received a GFIP policy as part of their FEMA disaster assistance after Harvey but don't buy a standard flood insurance policy won't receive federal disaster assistance for home repairs if they experience another flood event.

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 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, Regional Data Lab, Bacteria Implementation Group (BIG), and West Fork Watersheds Partnership.

Find the latest information about activities around the region at H-GAC's Twitter feed @HouGalvAreaCog. H-GAC's water resources program also offers Twitter updates on water quality issues in the region @HGACwater.