June 2022 Contents

Thank you to the students that visited us for a fieldtrip this spring, and the volunteers that made these activities possible!
 

We are grateful to students and teachers from Portland Jewish Academy and St Clare School who joined us for fieldtrips on the SW 25th Ave community trail this spring. In all, 55 students got to explore the trail during 3 fieldtrips.

Students had the opportunity to hike the trail and learn about native plants and wildlife, while also helping with some trail maintenance. They also had the chance to visit Fanno Creek, and learn about the importance of headwaters areas, and how anything that enters the water effects everything downstream, all the way to the ocean! Students tested water samples from the creek and looked for aquatic macroinvertebrates. These water bugs are an indication of how clean or polluted the water is. Fortunately, students identified a few macroinvertebrate species that are sensitive to pollution (meaning they are unlikely to live in polluted water), thus indicating a healthy creek!

Thank you to Friends of Fanno Creek Headwaters and the neighborhood volunteers who supported these fieldtrips, and who continue to care for the SW 25th Ave trail that serves as a great community resource for people, plants and wildlife!

Students visited Fanno Creek to test water quality samples during their fieldtrips (photo courtesy of St Clare School).

Learn tips for incorporating rain-friendly practices into the landscape around you.
    

Saturday July 16; 9:30 am to 12:30 pm in Gabriel Park

The Stormwater Stars program is excited to bring you a workshop that is focused on Site Design. The workshop will provide hands on practice for analyzing and designing landscape spaces. Before this workshop, you will be asked to watch two webinar recordings from the Tualatin Soil & Water Conservation District YouTube Channel, Naturescaping: Basics Virtual Workshop and Naturescaping: Site Design. The workshop is intended to build upon the webinars.
 
During the workshop, landscape designer Lora Price will help us practice how to draw a site plan and analyze your site. We will also work in small groups to practice site design on a base map that will be provided. The workshop is designed to be interactive so that we can all share and learn together.
 
Location: The workshop will be held outside at a location within Gabriel Park in SW Portland (exact location to be provided upon registration).
 
Limited Space: Workshop size will be limited to 12 participants, so please register soon to secure your spot!
 
For requests for physical, cultural, technological and/or any other accommodation, please contact us. 
 
Pre-registration is required. You can learn more and sign up at www.stormwaterstars.org/events. For questions, email hello@stormwaterstars.org or call 503-865-6759. 
 
Stormwater Stars is a program of Neighbors West-Northwest and the Westside Watershed Resource Center, in partnership with and funded by generous contributions from West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District and City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services.

Celebrate access to the Willamette River. 

Presented by the Human Access Project, Sunday, July 10 marks the 10th annual Big Float! Grab your favorite floaty (or just bring your swim suit) and join this celebration of clean water that supports water access for the community. The event takes place at Waterfront Park in downtown Portland from 11am-630pm, and features lots of fun activities, games, resources, food, and of course floating!

You can learn more about the event and sign up here.

From plain to magical, all shapes and sizes of flotation device are welcome at the Big Float.