UH-Clear Lake Institute Receives Conservation Grant

November 10, 2014

The University of Houston-Clear Lake's Environmental Institute of Houston has received a $3000 Horned Lizard License Plate grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Wildlife Diversity program to increase wildlife viewing opportunities on the UH-Clear Lake campus.

EIH offers programs for adults and children that are designed to encourage individuals to connect to nature, increase access to the environment, and provide education for both personal and environmental health. Through EIH's programs, participants have the opportunity to become comfortable being outside.

"Funding will be used to purchase birding binoculars for use with our programs," said UHCL Environmental Education Coordinator Wendy Reistle. "It is easy to get individuals hooked on birding when they are able to observe birds through high quality binoculars."

Environmental education programs benefitting from this grant include kids' summer nature camps, classes for elementary grade school students, teacher training workshops, and scout and family events on the UH-Clear Lake campus.

"The Horned Lizard License Plates are a valuable source of funding for the conservation community to advance natural resource conservation in Texas," said Richard Heilbrun, TPWD Conservation Outreach Program Leader.

EIH's project is one of nine projects selected for funding for the 2014–2015 grant cycle. TPWD selected projects that cover a diversity of conservation subjects, which include youth outreach, increasing wildlife viewing opportunities, advances in citizen science, habitat restoration, and important research on rare and sensitive species.