The clock is ticking! Sign up for the Fall Summit today. Just six days left to register for the biggest event of the year,
The Intertwine Alliance Fall Summit. Set for
Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Oregon Zoo, festivities will kick off with the
Force of Nature Awards ceremony and luncheon. Please join us to celebrate some of the movers and shakers who truly inspire us. We're so excited and honored to announce the following recipients -- and, whew, was it ever difficult to choose among so many deserving candidates. Thank you to everyone who sent in nominations.
Outstanding Organizational Achievement, Large Organization: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
- Outstanding Organizational Achievement, Small Organization: Depave
- Equity & the Environment: Wisdom of the Elders
- Outstanding Young Professional: Rob Nathan, Northwest Earth Institute
- Lifetime Achievement: Mel Huie, Metro
Directly after the awards luncheon we'll move into
Advancing Equity: Creating an Inclusive Movement, a deep dive into the
challenges and opportunities in our sector. Attendees will rotate around the room for conversations of their choice with the following groups:
Bicycle Transportation Alliance - Access Recreation
- Soul River
- Vive NW
- Wisdom of the Elders
- Teatro Milagro
- Center for Equity and Inclusion
- Urban Nature Partners PDX
- RxPlay
- Nonprofit Association of Oregon
- Columbia Slough Watershed Council
- Metro
- Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District
- The Intertwine Alliance and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Register for the luncheon, the summit or both. The awards luncheon is $15 for partners and $20 for non-partners. As always, the summit is free for first-time attendees, $10 for Alliance partners and $20 for non-partners. Scholarships are available. The registration
deadline is
Tuesday, Oct. 11, so please don't delay! Questions? Please email Lauren at lauren@theintertwine.org.
Blast off! We're over the moon to announce the launch of the brand-new Intertwine website. Completely overhauled, theintertwine.org now sparkles with a slick new look; better organization of information; a more robust calendar of events; a new interactive map of parks, trails and natural areas; a showcase for the Intertwine Project Network; and so much more. Please check it out today, and let us know what you think. Partners and Intertwine Project leaders, please don't hesitate to send your edits and updates to Tara at tara@theintertwine.org. Big thank you to to web design firm OMBU for the design and build, and to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for funding.
Partnerpalooza. Please join us in welcoming the following outstanding organizations to our growing coalition:
National Wildlife Federation,
USDA Forest Service Region 6 and the
Portland Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. Interested in joining with these and over 150 other organizations to amplify your work and collaborate on achieving your vision?
Here's how.
Big news for the Intertwine Project Network. We're so pleased to welcome two exciting additions to
the
Intertwine Project Network. The
Greater Forest Park Conservation Initiative is an 11-partner effort to restore and protect not just Forest Park, but its entire surrounding ecosystem totaling more than 15,000 acres. The Northwest Earth Institute
EcoChallenge provides the tools and inspiration to reduce your impact on the planet and contribute to a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable future — while engaging the people in your life and having fun in the process. Create or join a team, choose a challenge, and get ready for the
October 14-28 event. For those of you not participating with an organization, please consider yourself invited to join
The Intertwine Alliance staff team. Want support and visibility for
your collaborative work? Share a little bit of info with us, and you're in. We'll add you to the website, where you can post regular project updates, photos, resources needed and an events calendar. Or, if you have an idea for a new project,
put it on the site to seek partners and turn it into reality. Please email Tara at tara@theintertwine.org with any questions or ideas.
Measuring up. The
Protect Our Natural Areas and
Yes for Clean Water, Healthy Soil campaigns are joining up with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and several partners of The Intertwine Alliance to host volunteer events this autumn.
Please sign up for one or more of the following to ensure that our region invests in a bright green future this November.
Phone bank at the Oregon League of Conservation Voters in downtown Portland the evening of Thursday, Oct. 20.- Knocking on doors in Hillsboro the morning of Saturday, Oct 22.
- Phone bank at OLCV the evening of Tuesday, Nov 1.
- Knocking on doors in Happy Valley the afternoon of Saturday, Nov 5.
Get to UERC! The
15th Annual Urban Ecology and Conservation Symposium
is set for
Monday, February 6, at Portland State University.
Registration is under way, and the
call for abstracts is open through Friday, Nov. 18. I
f there are topics of particular interest to you, work you're aware of that would be valuable for others to learn about, or sectors of the conservation community you think should be represented, please help UERC reach those audiences and potential presenters. Please also note that UERC has added "climate change" to its list of key words for abstracts. Questions? Email Jennifer Thompson at Jennifer_Thompson@fws.gov.
Daycation How-To. Thank you so much to all the partners and friends who have sent in
Daycations. For those considering jumping in but not sure where to start, we've published a
Daycation How-To to get your creative juices flowing and answer some common questions. Check it out -- and then send in
your favorite experience in urban nature! The Daycation mobile app is on the brink of going live; we'll keep you posted.
Please contact Tara at tara@theintertwine.org with any questions or ideas.
A bigger, more beautiful platform for your Outside Voice.
Another
feature of the new Intertwine website is the redesigned partner blog, with a nifty way to display posts on related
focus area and
Intertwine Project pages. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Pat Stark takes the new
Outside Voice for a test spin with a
post about the many virtues of partner collaboration. The blog
showcases the ideas, opinions, concerns and projects of Alliance partners. Please direct your ideas or submissions to tara@theintertwine.org. You can also sign up to receive blog posts by
email.
Other headlines from around The Intertwine:
- Lots of major park and trail projects are going on throughout The Intertwine, with exciting developments and opportunities to contribute. Find out the latest about Cully Park and Gateway Green in East Portland, the Washougal Waterfront in Washington, and a new segment of the Waterhouse Trail in Beaverton. What other projects should we call out? Let us know.
- Now through Oct. 31, Friends of the Columbia Gorge challenges you to a friendly game of old-fashioned road trip bingo, in celebration of the centennial of the Historic Columbia River Highway. Pack up your car, hop on your bike, or lace up your boots to start your 73-mile adventure. Get started with Historic Highway Bingo now.
The Oregon Drive Less Challenge is happening now through Oct 15, with lots of great prizes. Discover healthy, green travel options for work, school and play through this fun challenge created by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Metro and its public and private partners.
- Culturally Diversifying the Outdoors, Vive Northwest's inaugural annual conference, takes place Thursday, Oct. 20, at the David Evans and Associates building (home to The Intertwine Alliance). Registration is open through Oct. 13.
- Don't forget to sign up for the annual Oregon Recreation & Parks Association (ORPA) conference, set for Nov. 7-9 in Eugene. This year's theme is "Advocacy for Parks & Recreation: Telling Our Story."
Funding Opportunities
New on the scene. The Portland Parks Foundation is celebrating its 15
th anniversary with the creation of a new small grants program to start in 2017. The grants, to be named after donor Nancy Hebb Freeman, will support nonprofit organizations working to support and improve public parks and park programs in the city of Portland. Specific grant program guidelines will be developed over the next several months. Interested organizations should contact the Portland Parks Foundation at 503-445-0994 or info@portlandpf.org.
Mark your Calendar
Highlights of the month ahead. See the Intertwine event calendar for more. Please note that you can add your events to the redesigned calendar with no log-in required.
Tree tops. The Hagenstein Lectures, Emerging Voices in Forestry, debuts Sunday, Oct. 9, at the World Forestry Center, with five foresters working at the forefront of social, economic and environmental change. Admission is free, but advance tickets are required.
- Seize the day! Parke Diem, the largest citywide volunteer event for Portland's parks, will paint the town green Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14 & 15. More than 1000 volunteers will join forces at 58 community gardens, neighborhood parks and natural areas for the Portland Parks Foundation event's fourth year. Sign up for a project today!
- With school out for many on Fri., Oct. 14, the Sauvie Island Center invites your family to spend the day on the farm. Find out who's been foraging on the farm and learn how decomposers (like worms) make soil healthy. Free; registration requested.
