Rgisc Inc

Programs: Dia del rio - rio research roundup: 1)goal - educate middle and high school students about the importance of the rio grande as the only source of drinking water in our community and how its fragile ecosystem is determined by a number of factors including human interventions. 2)objective - organize student teams and teach them how to collect and process water samples; and synchronize biology, geography, and ecology student's curricula with the roundup for a meaningful experience 3)expected accomplishments - increase the number of participating student teams by at least 20% based on previous year's participation; increase the number of middle and high schools from both laredo school districts by at least 30% based on last year's participation. Ddr 2014 - river cleanup and paso del indio nature trail work day: 1)goal - several hundred of volunteers are called by rgisc to clean up sections of the river and the paso del indio nature trail. The goal is to instill respect and "care" for our natural resources through hands-on activities in our community. 2)objective - recruit volunteers and promote the event; and measure the weight of garbage collected and disposed of as a baseline measure for future endeavors. 3)expected accomplishments - increase river sections cleaned by at least 20% compared with prior year; and have a baseline number on the weight of garbage/trash collected and disposed of during this event. Dia del rio - public kayak excursions & art exhibit at laredo center for the arts: 1)goal - reconnect laredoans with the river by providing kayak excursions in october. Also, many residents prefer to express their connection with the river via art, which is the reason behind organizing our annual river art exhibit. We partner with the laredo center for the arts for this dia del rio event. 2)objective - continue collaborating with the center for the arts and offering kayaking excursions on the river to promote river conservation programs and selected topics such as river's flora, fauna, endangered species, and other critical issues. 3)expected accomplishments - increase the level of public participation by at least 35% compared to prior year's level of participation in terms of river art submissions. Also get at least 20 people on the two public kayak excursions.

laredo birding festival in 2014, rgisc undertook a significant project and organized a multi-day laredo birding festival that resulted in 120 registered birders from other cities in texas, the united states and canada. Rgisc oversaw all details of the festival, and worked in partnership with the local monte mucho audubon society and city's convention & visitor's bureau. The festival also included a highly successful bird art contest that was open to the community, and received nearly 300 quality art submissions. The lbf also organized several community outreach events, such as the fun with feathery friends event at the laredo public library, for nearly 100 youth to learn about local birds and how to use birding optics.

green spaces preservation: to increase quality of life for laredo/webb county residents through preservation of our natural resources. In the 1990s, rgisc proposed the idea and secured necessary seed money to begin construction of the lamar bruni vergara environmental science center, which is now part of laredo community college. Rgisc actively assisted in writing the city of laredo's two most significant environmental ordinances: hazardous materials and green space preservation. Rgisc also helped initiate the dialogue to establish the city's environmental services department. Rgisc opposed building a border wall within the river vega. It has advocated vigorously against aerial spraying of the herbicide imazapyr by the u. S. Border patrol on or near the river, where it represents a hazard to humans and river wildlife. Rgisc also brought attention to the near destruction of a critical inner city wetland at lake casa blanca by acquiring 13,000 signatures and holding countless meeting with city council members, and the u. S. Army corps of engineers. In january 2013, the city council eventually voted to sell all of this land for development with very little being preserved as a wetland feature.

general: river monitoring: measure and document water pressure of pollutants and pathogens in the rio grande river. For more than 20 years, rgisc has conducted monthly sampling of water at multiple points along the river and submitting the data to federal and state agencies. Plastic bag reduction campaign in june, rgisc successfully concluded a nearly 10 year campaign to get a plastic bag reduction ordinance passed in laredo. On june 2, 2014, the laredo city council voted 6-1 to pass the ordinance, set to take effect april 30, 2015. The goal is to reduce the use of nearly 120 million plastic bags each year in laredo. Rgisc continued its education awareness campaign by distributing thousands of loving laredo reusable bags at multiple events, and holding talks and discussions with multiple groups and at multiple schools. Nature education: in 2014, rgisc continued its regular loving laredo hikes, which are free saturday nature excursions for the public to explore nature trails and other green gems throughout laredo. Bioblitz in april, rgisc held the first ever bioblitz -- in which scientists and science hobbyists observed and counted species of flora and fauna in a 24- hour time period. We held bioblitz at the bend of the river known as lost lakes - located downstream of laredo community college before hitting the international bridges downtown. This area was home to former gravel pits, which have since become lovely lakes whose water table coincides with that of the nearby river. We hosted visitors (scientists, professors, undergraduate and graduate students) from central and south texas who studied the local fish population, as well as insects, birds, plants, trees, mammals and other animal species. Ecofest in april, we hosted the first ever ecofest, a festival aimed at drawing in a large segment of the laredo population to learn more about rgisc, and how to live a greener and more eco-friendly lifestyle. Nearly 1,200 people attended, many of whom were children. Workshops on plants, trees, composting, gardening, and water conservation were held. Also, festival goers were able to participate in kayaking, paddle boats, mini golf, and a variety of recycling and eco-friendly games. Adults could peruse eco- friendly products from vendors, and also learn how to live a more eco friendly lifestyle. Ecoambassadors launched in 2013, our eco ambassador youth outreach program is geared for high school students, and some college students. We train students about the river and pressing environmental issues affecting laredo. In summer 2014, we trained about 30 new eco ambassadors and focused on solar energy. The students helped us with a fundraiser that included a raffling of a photovoltaic solar system, valued at 20,000 with installation.