Collective Visioning for Our Region’s Water

In a generation, much of the U.S. will resemble the lower Galveston Bay Watershed, a 10-county region surrounding Houston which Bayou City Waterkeeper (BCWK) serves. Home to the most diverse population, and also one of the most ecologically diverse major urban areas, our waterways — consisting of 2,500 miles of bayous, as well as creeks, coastlines, and the ocean — support immense biodiversity. Our region has lived through unprecedented storm surges and widespread flooding from hurricanes and heavy rain storms over the last two decades. Amplifying the worst effects of these storms are the region’s long-time underinvestment in forward-thinking flood prevention, lax attitudes towards land use regulation, and historic redlining practices which have driven over-development of ecologically sensitive wetland areas and the outer-lying parts of our city. Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, Executive Director of BCWK, will explore the critical role that collective visioning, ecological imagination and storytelling play in connecting to and advocating for our region’s waterways and our community. Beyond the built environment, how can we use imagination as a tool to explore new ways to restore prairies and wetlands, which hold rainfall and prevent flooding? How can we use imagination as a tool for new approaches towards water infrastructure that center ecological impacts and environmental justice. Established in 2001, Bayou City Waterkeeper is a Houston-based organization working at the confluence of conservation and environmental justice toward cleaner water, wetlands and healthy ecosystems, and just, resilient communities. Time for interactive discussion with the speaker will be provided.  Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/collective-visioning-for-our-regions-water-tickets-288968451417. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at [email protected] with any questions.