H-E-B and Texas State Parks + Nat Geo = A Match Made At the Long Center
“I saw miiiiles and miiiiiles of Texas…” sing it with us! Okay, if you’re from out of town you may not know the song, but we’re pretty sure you’re familiar with the idea that one can drive for a full day in any direction in the Lone Star State and still not reach the Texas border.
Another not-so-secret Texan sentiment is that we love our state — like, LOVE it. We’re talking the plains, the hill country, the rivers, the landscape, and the wildlife. All the things that make this area as wild and unique as the folks who live here. So naturally, the Long Center jumped when given the opportunity to combine a few of our favorite things together — H-E-B, Texas State Parks, and National Geographic!
A Perfect Match
If you haven’t heard, we’re the new home for National Geographic’s Speaker Series, a part of their national circuit of lectures from Nat Geo explorers, filmmakers, and adventurers. You’ve already missed an incredible talk from one-handed climber Maureen Beck, but don’t worry, there are two more speakers this summer to look forward to (more on that later).
Since the Long Center is located on city park land and built from 95% reycled materials, we love any opportunity to admire the landscape around us and its wildlife, down to the Great Blue Herons that fly over Lady Bird Lake, and our fantastic view of the city and surrounding hill country from the top of our building.
Who better to share all this with than H-E-B? H-E-B is helping to conserve and protect Texas through their commitment Our Texas, Our Future. A long-term partner of the Long Center, we’re super pumped to have H-E-B through their commitment Our Texas, Our Future join us as underwriter for the National Geographic Speaker Series. It’s a perfect match — here’s what we have in common:
We Love Our State
H-E-B is about as Texas as a store can get — we dare you to find one more intrinsic to Texans’ everyday lives! Through Our Texas, Our Future, the grocery staple is also committed to making sure the state’s environment and natural resources are preserved for generations to come.
This includes everything from how they source their products (with local farms and growers), to how they manage food waste and recycling efforts, and even investing in renewable energy.
Our Texas land, water, and air are what we all share, and they want to make it easy for everyone to protect and enjoy that splendor, too.
We Love Our Parks
Texas State Parks is celebrating 100 years! And as a big part of H-E-B’s sustainability journey, they’ve partnered together to make the centennial celebration a fixture in everyone’s minds for the next 100 years.
They’re encouraging everyone to get out, explore, and find your new favorite State Park from the nearly 90 that cover 10 unique ecoregions. TSP & H-E-B have created this handy list of parks to get you started.
We Want to Share a Long Green Future
No better (or cooler) place to celebrate the sustainability of our state’s resources & wildlife this summer than at the Long Center! We’ve got two more guests in our National Geographic Speaker Series, and you can catch Our Texas, Our Future and Texas State Parks at both. Bring your thin film plastic to recycle at their booth, enter to win an annual TSP park pass, and ask all your park-related questions before the show.
FILIPE DEANDRADE, filmmaker
July 8 @ 7:30pm
Nat Geo’s ‘Untamed’ filmmaker invites us to experience the wild through his camera lens as he talks about finding your passion in life, living with intent, and how animals and their stories saved his life.
BRIAN SKERRY, underwater photographer
August 4 @ 7:30pm
Photographer behind the television series “Secrets of the Whales,” Brian will share behind-the-scenes stories from the field and give an inside look into the groundbreaking science of whale culture.
Start making your top ten list of Texas State Parks (remember, almost 90 to choose from) so you can be prepared when you win that annual pass 😉
And keep your eyes peeled for ways to be green at your local H-E-B — look out for the Our Texas, Our Future plastic recylcing bins, and always keep a resusable H-E-B or Long Center tote in your car.
At the Long Center, we’ve always got a new partnership or something cool we know you’ll want to check out! Find and follow us @longcenter on your social media platform of choice, and we’ll see you real soon.
