Welcome to the HCC conservation calendar.
This calendar will be updated weekly so check back often to view new listings. You may also email us to start receiving our quarterly newsletter with project updates, upcoming events, and other HCC news.
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April May June
Ongoing Events
MARCH 2008
29: Dig-In
Join the Green Corn Project (www.greencornproject.org) during the 2008 Spring Dig-In! Volunteers will build organic vegetable gardens for families, at schools, and in community centers all over town.
Volunteers are also needed who are interested in the following opportunities to get more involved with GCP and ensure success in bringing healthy, affordable to food to folks in Austin!
Please email greencornproject@usa.net with the following information: *Your full name, address, phone number, and preferred email *What opportunities you are interested in *What SPECIFIC dates you are available.
Dates: March 1st, 2nd, 8th, 29th, and 30th
Time: 9am-2pm
Contact: greencornproject@usa.net
APRIL 2008
 3-6: Gulf Coast Green 2008 Symposium and Expo
Gulf Coast Green 2008 Symposium and Expo is the leading green building conference along the Gulf Coast region. This year, a two-day symposium on building targeted to design and construction professionals on Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4, 2008 will precede a two-day consumer Expo on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6, 2008, inaugurating Texas's first green building consumer expo featuring certified green building products & materials. The theme of the 2008 conference is "Innovations in Building for Hot and Humid Climates." The content includes broader issues of sustainability such as sustainable land use and global warming. This event will take place in Reliant Park, Houston, TX.
For more information visit www.gulfcoastgreen.org.
 5: CLEAN SWEEP 2008 - Keep Austin Beautiful
Cleanup: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Volunteer Party: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Be a part of Austin's BIGGEST citywide cleanup! Volunteer for a group cleanup site or organize your own cleanup. KAB will provide all of the cleanup supplies. All volunteers are invited to a family friendly party after the cleanup at Waterloo Park with free lunch, a free t-shirt, a climbing wall, live music, and kid's activities.
For more information visit www.keepaustinbeautiful.org.
12: Guided Hike of Jollyville Unit
8:00 - 11:00 a.m. (Hosted by Travis County) Please join us for a guided interpretive tour of Travis County's Jollyville Unit within the Cypress Creek watershed/macrosite. This area features unique geological features, pools and streams that are home to many native species of plants, birds and other wildlife. In the spring the Jollyville Unit is host to the one of the richest populations of both golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo in all of Travis County. During our visit we hope to encounter golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo; plus painted bunting, yellow-breasted chat, black and white warbler and more.
18: Nature Nights
An Evening of Fun Family Learning on Friday evenings throughout the Spring at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Nature Nights are fun, interactive explorations of animals, plants, and ecology in Central Texas. Learn about animals, wild plants, and more! $1 admission, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For a schedule and more information, click here.
 19: Earth Day Austin
Join us Saturday, April 19 at Republic Square Park (4th & Guadalupe)! Austin Green Art, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to raising awareness of sustainability issues through art, announces its 3rd annual eARTh Day celebration. Austin Green Art is kicking off the Sustainability Revolution with a FREE community-wide event featuring green art, local food, music, green business and environmental partners expo with hands-on activities for kids.
To learn more about eARTth Day celebrations in Austin, click here.
22: Screening of the THE 11th HOUR
6:00pm at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. The film, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, describes the last moment when change is possible - it explores how humanity has arrived at this moment; how we live, how we impact the earth's ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course.
This will be a one-time chance to see it on the big screen for Earth Day, Tuesday April 22. Tickets are $10, or you may purchase a $25 VIP ticket which ensures you have one of the best seats in the house.
Online tickets available here.
Click here to view the 11th Hour website.
 24 - 27: EarthVision Conference
(Washington, D.C.)
This first-of-its-kind national conservation summit offers the unique opportunity to meet and influence today's environmental policy makers. EarthVision will convene the best and the brightest of young conservation leaders along with government agency chiefs, elected officials, corporate executives, scientists, media personalities and others to craft citizen-driven solutions to today's environmental challenges. Over four energized days in Washington, D.C., you'll learn new ways to minimize your environmental footprint, lend a hand in preserving capital-area monuments, and hear from world's leading authorities on "green" living. Most important, you will make your voice heard in the shadows of the White House and the Capitol as our country approaches national elections.
For more information visit www.thesca.org/earthvision_summit.
MAY 2008
5-11: National Wildflower Week
Celebrate the natural beauty and vital role of native plants at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center during National Wildflower Week. Participate with tours of the gardens, and celebrate the beauty of the Hill Country with on-site interpretation.
Click here to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's website
 10: Travis Audubon Society Bird-a-thon 2008
It's not just another fun-filled birding event; it's a major
fund-raising opportunity for the chapter. Anyone
interested in birding or conservation is welcome. So
whether you have the skills of a fledgling or the eye of a
hawk we invite you to this exciting annual event and
encourage you to bring along friends and family to join
in the fun. The bird-a-thon is not just confined to the
Austin area, so bird-lovers of every region are welcome.
Bird-a-thon 2008 is open to anyone, anywhere!
Click here to learn more about this event.
23: Nature Nights
An Evening of Fun Family Learning on Friday evenings throughout the Spring at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Nature Nights are fun, interactive explorations of animals, plants, and ecology in Central Texas. Learn about animals, wild plants, and more! $1 admission, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For a schedule and more information, click here.
JUNE 2008
14: Introduction to the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve
8:00 - 10:00 a.m. (Hosted by The Nature Conservancy) Enjoy this special opportunity to learn about management techniques, including prescribed fire and brush management, employed by the Nature Conservancy on this 4,083 acre preserve dedicated to the BCP. The Nature Conservancy has managed the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve (BCHP) since it was acquired in 1994. Their land management strategies enhance habitat for endangered golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos. Four miles of Barton Creek also flow within its boundaries, allowing a significant section of this locally famous creek to be conserved for future generations. Interestingly, the creek continued to flow during the summer of 2006 despite extreme drought conditions; illustrating the important connection between wildlands and the waterways they can help sustain.
ONGOING EVENTS
Wild Basin Workdays
Like to get dirty, work hard, and have fun? Then join the folks at Wild Basin for trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, revegetation, erosion control, and other land management projects on the second Saturday of each month.
Time: 8:30am-12:00pm
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, 805 N. Capitol of TX Hwy (West Austin-78746)
For more details, email hike@wildbasin.org or call 512-327-7622, ext 17.
Note: Wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes and long pants with a long-sleeved shirt; bring bottled water and gloves, plus a day/fanny pack to carry personal items. You need your hands free! Dress for the weather: hat & sunscreen for solar protection; raincoat/light jacket if it's chilly or raining lightly. We don't go out in thunderstorm conditions.
Website: www.wildbasin.org
AUSTIN NATURE DAYS (April 2008)
Celebrate the 4th annual Austin Nature Day Event. This event is patterned after the successful Austin Museum Day, and brings over twenty Austin area environmental and cultural organizations together to celebrate the city's beauty, vitality, and diversity of natural landscapes and resources. Throughout April, organizations will offer over two dozen programs and events.
For more information on all Nature Day activities, visit www.austinnatureday.org.
Keep Austin Beautiful needs volunteers
Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) works to empower citizens of Greater Austin to take personal responsibility for enhancing their community environment. They focus on litter prevention, beautification and community improvement, waste reduction and resource conservation. Visit www.keepaustinbeautiful.org and sign up for their e-newsletter for regular updates on programs and volunteer opportunities.
Austin Carshare
Become part of the solution to our carbon-choked air and our traffic-clogged streets. Members have access to cars and trucks they can check out by the hour. Makes commuting via carpool, bus, or bike more practical when you have that "final leg flexibility." Currently serving downtown and UT campus areas and adding vehicles based on membership development and business partnerships.
Enroll in Austin CarShare at
www.austincarshare.org or call 448-4477.
Adopt-A-Creek
Litter is a continuous problem in our waterways that reappears after every rainfall. If you, your family, organization, company or friends would like to commit to cleaning up a creek or riverside or restoring a creekside habitat, contact Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) at (512) 391-0617.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watershed/cleancreek_adopt.htm
Parent/Child Clean Creek Camp 2008:
Parents, join your 9-12 year old child for a week of fun exploring water in Austin's creeks or Edwards Aquifer. Groups with adult leaders are welcome!
Watershed & Aquifer Camp (June 16-20, 9am-noon, M-F)
• Explore Barton Creek with a scavenger hunt challenge
• Wade in the creek and find out how bugs tell us about water quality
• Test water quality on our floating lab
• Get down into the Aquifer through a local cave
• Dive into Barton Springs
Aquifer Camp (July 7-10, 9am-noon, M-Th)
• Explore a recharge creek with a scavenger hunt challenge
• Get down into the aquifer through a local cave
• Dive into Barton Springs and Splash! into the Edwards Aquifer Exhibit to learn how water emerges from the aquifer
• Participate in a recharge creek clean-up and storm drain marking
Watershed Camp (July 21-24, 9am-noon, M-Th)
• Explore Bull Creek with a scavenger hunt challenge
• Wade in the creek and find out how bugs tell us about water quality
• Canoe Town Lake and test water quality in its tributaries
• Participate in a creek clean-up and storm drain marking
COST: $20 deposit per child (deposit will be returned if you attend the entire camp) No cost for adults attending with child. Call or email Susan Wall for more information 974-6571. Registration deadline is one week before camp begins. Space is limited to 30 participants, so register early!
Click here to visit the Clean Creek Camp website.
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