Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services

RESEARCH COLLABORATION - TEJAS TEXAS AM - TEJAS and AM University collaborated to co-coordinate and plan new projects for the year. The outcome of the meetings resulted in the draft proposal of a new 5-year health study for Houstons East End neighborhoods, including communities such as Manchester - a neighborhood directly adjacent to a Valero refinery they were designated a cancer cluster - an area with abnormally high rates of cancer in residents. A draft proposal was created for a one-year project that would help launch the 5 year health study.

INTERNSHIPS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT TEJAS also worked to establish experiential learning opportunities learning by doing related to our mission. The first was a partnership between TEJAS and the Student Conservation Association, where students participated in a Summer internship where they learned to kayak in Houstons Bayou, with the intent of collecting plastic trash in the waterway. This resulted in the collection of over 1500 pounds of plastic trash. The second was our Ethical Plastics Production Media Internship, where students engaged with residents to identify and collect stories related to EJ. They then worked with TEJAS staff and volunteers to create media presentations, both in video and photographic. Through this experience, youth strengthened their skills using multimedia equipment.