Let’s get trashy! – Chapter Meeting February 18

Aquatic trash is a growing problem in Texas that affects wildlife, flood control efficiency, and water quality for all. Houston Advanced Research Center, Keep Texas Beautiful, and Black Cat GIS and Biological Services created Take 2 for Texas to document this trash across the state. The project consists of sampling marine debris to get estimates on the amount of plastic pollution along Texas beaches, bayous, and waterways. We have two ways for you to do the Take 2 for Texas surveys. You can do the quick and easy Bottle Count in 2-5 minutes all total. If you’re feeling like a longer trash cleanup, we have the optional Texas 2 Step Survey that will take 30-45 minutes. All information collected will be housed in a database managed by HARC and Keep Texas Beautiful. This data will be used to locate “problem” areas, request funding for cleanup efforts by state/ local/ nonprofit groups, and to provide scientifically sound information to guide policy.

A native of Nacogdoches, Texas, Amanda Hackney grew up in the agriculture industry on a cattle and poultry farm. She double majored in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and Animal Science at Louisiana State University. She received her Master’s degree from Clemson University in Wildlife Biology in 2010 with research focused on spatially modeling diamondback terrapin nest predation risk. She has worked in a variety of conservation related positions including six American Zoo and Aquarium Association accredited facilities across the country, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Audubon Texas. In 2016 she founded Black Cat, a business providing logical, fact-based, biology driven solutions to enable efficient and innovative conservation programs. Her research interests include coastal ecosystems with an emphasis on waterbirds, spatial modeling of habitat change over time, and movement/ distribution of marine debris.