AT: Restoring Biodiversity in the Fifth Ward

Virtual. Zoom Link.

The Fifth Ward is a diverse community, historically African American and Latino, located just northeast of downtown houston. The community came together under the leadership of Erica Hubbard and Morton Sager, who founded the Progressive Fifth Ward Community Association. With volunteers and grants, the community turned an eyesore into an amenity. On an abandoned, small utility easement, they created a 4,300 square foot pocket prairie. The Fifth Ward Pocket Prairie serves as a great example of what a community, working together, can do. They will share a visual presentation of the process of creating this prairie, and will also present the installation of two dedicated pocket prairie beds at the Hershe Street Community Garden.

Erica Hubbard is the founding president of Progressive Fifth Ward Community Association, a civic group that operates both the Fifth Ward Pocket Prairie and the Hershe Street Community Garden in the Fifth Ward neighborhood of Houston. She is a community & environmental activist devoted to the intersectionality of environmental justice and nature conservation in the Fifth Ward, a place she has called home since 2015. When Erica is not filing legal complaints against nearby industrial polluters or TCEQ, you can find her working her real job as a Library Director for Houston Community College.

Morton Sager has been a resident of Texas/Houston area for 31 years. He has been a Fifth ward resident since August 2020. Morton has been interested in conservation and restoration since birth with families ties to Galveston, Huntsville, and Austin.

His Eagle Scout project in 2009 was restoring the Westwood Friendswood Elementary School nature center. Morton was graduated from U of H with a B.S. in Biology in 2021. He is a Seasonal Conservation Steward for Galveston Bay Foundation. As a member of the Progressive Fifth Ward Community Association Environmental, Morton serves as a Liaison and Community Species ID consultant.

Meeting will be in Zoom. Sign on as early as 6:45; speakers will start at 7:00.

Log in VMS under AT: native Prairie Association (NPAT, HNPAT)