Be amazed this summer at the award-winning exhibition by artist Sean Kenney. Kenney uses simple toy blocks to craft plants and animals, birds and insects, playing with our idea of scale and inviting a sense of wonder.

Free with admission.

The City of Fort Worth has issued a call for entries for the 2021 Environmental Excellence Awards.

Innovation Awards will be presented in the areas of:

    •    Water Use & Process Improvement

    •    Water Conservation

    •    Stormwater 

    •    Air Quality

    •    Land Redevelopment

    •    Solid Waste Reduction & Recycling

Recognition Awards include:

    •    Fort Worth Friendly Landscapes

    •    SmartWater Award

See website link below for details, eligibility requirements and application.

Info: [email protected] for more information

GAF Materials, aka Building Materials Investment Corporation, is seeking a 5-year renewal of their Title V Federal Operating Permit. Environmentalists are urging North Texans to demand better pollution controls for the facility located adjacent to residential neighborhoods. 

Public Hearing: TCEQ is holding a public comment hearing July 29 at 7 p.m. Sign up to speak or join the meeting. Enter the Meeting ID: 192-616-739. Register at least 15 minutes ahead of the meeting.

Written Comments: Submit comments by snail mail or electronically. Use permit number 2771.

A free workshop aims to help homeowners make the most of their yards while saving time, money and water by matching tips with how they use their spaces.

“Your Better Yard” is a program developed by the EPA WaterSense program and presented by the Fort Worth Public Library and the Fort Worth Water Department.

The virtual workshops are 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 31, and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7.

The workshops not only feature suggestions from Your Better Yard, but the Water Department is dropping in tips for Fort Worth residents to save water by using native and adaptive plants, following water schedules, using drip irrigation and more. Conservation is so important locally because of the summer heat, and the tips can help save money as well.

Experts Patrick Dickinson and Daniel Cunningham will host the programs. They both work with Rooted In, a DFW-based group of horticulture and conservation experts that offers a holistic, science-based approach to meeting the demands of an ever-changing Texas landscape. The two-part series will explore eight yard lifestyles, four per session.

Free.

As we see the effects of climate change and deal with issues of food insecurity, urban agriculture is becoming a vital component in providing food in urban areas. Whether it is in more traditional farming or using more technology based practices like vertical farming, it is vital to have a well trained work force to help produce this food.  Learn about some of the educational and fields of employment available in North Texas in the field of urban agriculture. Information will be provided by Dallas College and the University of North Texas at Dallas as well as others in the urban agriculture field.

Join Katie Vasquez and Megann Harlow from University of North Texas as they present their research in our Student Research Seminar series. They will discuss their analysis of different habitats of submerged aquatic vegetation in Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. 

Free.

Take the skills learned in Introduction to Watercolor and Watercolor: Next Steps and apply them to the plant portrait of your choosing. In this three-hour class you will learn some basic tips for drawing for watercolor and begin to paint the leaves, stem and flower of your choosing. 

This class will maintain 6 feet distance between participants and is held indoors. Masks are not required during the class but are available for those who wish to wear one.

Cost: $65/$55 member

Registration deadline Aug. 4

Water resources engineer Craig Taylor will discuss natural water cycles and contaminant transport. This presentation will focus on how water naturally moves through the environment and how that movement can spread environmental contamination through our groundwater and surface waters. This will include a discussion of common management strategies for contaminated sites.

Log in: 6:45 to 7 p.m. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. with announcements, followed by speaker's presentation.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/99535860396

Note: This is an in-person event

Using less water is not only good for the environment; it is also great for saving money on your water bill. The seminar series, taught by local and regional experts, covers a wide variety of landscape and gardening topics each year. Fort Worth Water Conservation staff attend each seminar in case you have questions about Fort Worth outdoor watering requirements and conservation programs.

Link to registration on website below.

Through this virtual workshop we will teach ourselves to slow down and breathe through several drawing activities, including blind contour drawing (where we only focus on observing, not the outcome). We will explore meditative mark-making and ways to train our eyes to see the details that we otherwise could miss. 

Registration deadline Aug. 6

Cost: $37/$32 member

In his debut book, internationally recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. Matt Candeias will be leading the discussion and taking questions.

Free.