Conservation

Earth Day Texas (formerly, Earth Day Dallas) is an annual, outdoor festival seeking to elevate environmental awareness and influence the way Texans think, live and work. The family-friendly and free-admission event allows leaders in the corporate, academic and non-profit worlds to unite and show Texans how green lifestyle choices can lower their cost of living, improve their health, and help save the environment.

The heart of the festival is the Eco Expo where exhibitors will use their presence to promote their achievements as green leaders, and teach attendees how to take environmentally responsible action by better utilizing available resources, switching to eco-friendly products, or joining their organizations.

Presenter: Ramsey Kweik, Southern Methodist University Geothermal Labs
 
Depleted oil fields have potential for clean utility scale geothermal energy. Ramsey Kweik of the Southern Methodist University Geothermal Labs will share his studies of Fairway Field in East Texas. Research demonstrates considerable potential for geothermal development from old, depleted oil fields.

Meetings are held in the Fellowship Hall, which is accessible through the church main entry, or from doors in the rear.

Free.
  

Get back to nature with us on May 16 at The Nature Conservancy’s Clymer Meadow Wildflower Tour. This 1,400-acre preserve contains one of the last remnants of the Blackland Prairie, an ecosystem that once stretched from the Texas coast to southern Manitoba. Catch a glimpse of many rare plant species as well as three very rare prairie types, or bring your guidebook and turn an eye to the sky for birdwatching. Pack a picnic lunch and a beverage, and bring the whole family!

Info: Chan Glidewell at brice.glidewell@tnc.org. 

Directions:

The tour will start with the Clymer Meadow Preserve and include a trip to Tridens Prairie in Lamar County, near Paris, Texas. Clymer Meadow Preserve is located at 6210 CR 1140, Celeste, Texas 75423. Parking will be on the road verge and participants will walk a short distance to the tour starting point. Around 1pm and after lunch, we will caravan to Tridens Prairie Preserve, a strikingly different type of prairie near Paris.

Directions from Dallas via I-30: 

Earth Hour began in 2007 in Australia to encourage individual households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. Today more than 7,000 communities across the world participate in Earth Hour. 

Learn about the many ways to be better stewards of the earth’s resources. The event will feature various ways residents can invest in a sustainable future, improve daily living and save money by Going Green! Other highlights include entertainment, vendor booths, raffle and prizes. Free.

Students K thru 6: Collect and save your juice pouches for a chance to win an Apple iPad.

Memnosyne Institute presents its 4th Annual Green Source DFW Sustainable Leadership Awards.

2015 Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Georgeann Moss, Dallas County Community College District.

Winners in five categories will be announced in the following categories: Nonprofit Professional, Small Business Entrepreneur, Large Business or Nonprofit (Project or Program) Small Nonprofit Organization and Volunteer.  

We’re having a party to celebrate the Earth! Learn about backyard composting, rain barrels, green remodeling, maybe even take home a free tree from Home Depot and much more.  Entertainment by Melanie (of Woodstock fame) and Fort Worth’s very own Vocal Trash. 

This year marks the 30th annual Cowtown Cleanup! Started in 1985 as the Glad® Bag-a-Thon the Cowtown Cleanup is Fort Worth’s longest running cleanup now involving more than 5,000 volunteers. Picking up litter sadly does not prevent it from happening in the first place, but KFWB feels that youth that participate in litter cleanups do not grow up to be litterers. Grab some young people, find a Fort Worth location in need of some TLC, register to cleanup and receive free trash bags, gloves and T-shirts while supplies last. It takes all of us to keep Fort Worth beautiful!  Link to: www.FortWorthTexas.gov/cowtowncleanup

Hear local environmental activist Rita Beving, North Texas Outreach Coordinator for Clean Water Fund and Clean Water Action,  present "Understanding Water in Texas," which will include water planning in Texas, both locally and statewide, as well as conservation tips.

Presented by nationally-renowned Landscape Architect Rosa Finsley.

Rosa will discuss the restoration work in the fields adjacent to the historical Frankford church and cemetery. For many years, the field was kept mowed and manicured as part of the church grounds. After allowing for the native vegetation to grow back, this piece of the Blackland Prairie has become a large part of the heritage tourism being promoted for this historical site in the suburbs of Dallas. Wildflowers and other native plants which had probably not flowered in many generations were found to come back across these fields. Rosa will also provide a slide show illustrating some of the native plants being used as landscaping around the church and cemetery to capture the natural setting of this location. This restoration project in North Texas is a great example of steps that can be taken to revert manicured park areas and grounds back to a tallgrass prairie landscape.