Dear Watershed Neighbor,

First and foremost, we'd like to invite you to tune in to a presentation about the West Portland Town Center (WPTC) Plan at our monthly board meeting this coming Monday 11/9. The WPTC is physically centered around the Barbur Transit Center in the heart of the Tryon Creek watershed's headwaters area. The WPTC's vision includes a multi-cultural center, affordable housing with co-located human services, stormwater management, and support for minority owned businesses. You can learn more about the WPTC Plan below, and email Alexis if you'd like to receive conferencing (Zoom) information for the meeting & presentation.

Thanks to our community members near and far for tuning into our Science Talk on 10/21 about the fish in the Tryon Creek watershed. The two-feature presentation from USFWS and BES about both fish monitoring study results, and fish passage barriers with the Boones Ferry Project in particular, was made interactive through some quizzes throughout. Although we were over Zoom instead of in person, the chat was fun too! ;) Let us know if you'd like the recording.

We were able to partner with Portland Parks & Recreation to host a No Ivy Day work party at Marshall Park, our first in-person volunteer event since mid-March (our scaled-back Watershed Wide Event was held amid initial COVID-19-related cancellations. Time flies...) Thankfully, this event wasn't as snowy! Check out our before and after photos (and, of course, a cute salamander in a leaf burrito) by scrolling down or reading our blog post!

We were honored last month to receive West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District's annual Non-Profit Partner Award. We really enjoy working with WMSWCD, who are a wealth of valuable resources and information. As a recipient of their Partner Funding, we're able to be responsive and adaptive to watershed needs, providing resources and facilitating ongoing collaboration: 
Behind the scenes, we are... coordinating with partners around planning for Garlic Mustard control come springtime, bringing watershed education to students via Zoom, working with watershed residents to install native plants, conducting an assessment of previous project sites' conditions, and getting the ball rolling on a few new restoration projects, including closing a gap along 10 contiguous riparian properties along Nettle Creek. Our board continues Strategic Planning work and equity discussions at each of our meetings - this month, we're watching this TED Talk on vulnerability by Brene Brown, which Alexis was introduced to in a Center for Diversity and the Environment cohort earlier this year. 

• Upcoming Events
• Monthly Meeting: WPTC Plan Presentation + Agenda
• No Ivy Day recap & photos
• Watershed 101 for classrooms
• Boones Ferry Culvert Project Update
• Social media spotlight

Upcoming Events

• Thwack! A Celebration of Wetlands & their Natural Engineers - tickets on sale; 11/13, 6pm
• Free Virtual Stories of our Watersheds Film Event with River Restoration Northwest - there are just a few more days to screen films, and tomorrow night -11/7- is an event with filmmakers to discuss your questions!
• Reciprocity & Responsibility on the Land: A community conversation, with Gabe Sheoships from Friends of Tryon Creek and others. 11/12, 3-4:30pm

Monthly Meeting: West Portland Town Center (WPTC) Plan Presentation

At our monthly board meeting, we'll be having a presentation about the West Portland Town Center (WPTC) Plan. The WPTC Plan is currently under development by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) in collaboration with the community-driven Southwest Equity Coalition (SWEC). It is part of Portland’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan aimed at managing growth in ways that will create and maintain inclusive, diverse, and complete communities.

The Tryon Creek Watershed Council is a member of SWEC, and brings an environmental and sustainability perspective to the discussions and planning work. The WPTC's vision includes a multi-cultural center, affordable housing with co-located human services, stormwater management, and support for minority owned businesses. The WPTC is physically centered around the Barbur Transit Center in the heart of the Tryon Creek Watershed's headwaters area.

Agenda
Tryon Creek Watershed Council monthly meeting, 11/9/2020, 6-7:30pm on Zoom:

• Introductions
• WPTC Plan Presentation (30-35 minutes with Q&A)
• Business (review financials, meeting minutes)
• Partner Updates (WMSWCD, BES, OPRD)
• Staff Report
• Strategic Plan check-in (7-7:15)
• Equity discussion (7:15-30)

Our board meetings are always open to the public; please email Alexis if you'd like to receive conferencing (Zoom) information for the meeting and/or any other information!

No Ivy Day!

Like so many others, our year has been fundamentally affected by COVID-19; we had a 7- or 8- month hiatus between in-person events, so were so glad to partner with Portland Parks & Recreation to host a No Ivy Day site at Marshall Park! Because of the collaboration we were able to safely host a larger work party with 24 volunteers working in two separate areas in Marshall Park to remove English ivy.

One group from Cedarwood School worked in the northern section of the park, and the TCWC-led group worked just south of the arched bridge on a large slope. Adjacent to a privately-owned lot whose landowners have done a great job stewarding to remove invasive species, we were particularly glad to expand this effort on the PP&R-owned section. Check out our before and after photos (and, of course, a cute salamander in a leaf burrito) below!

Watershed 101 for your classroom

We're having fun working with a few teachers, presenting watershed-based education to their Zoom classrooms. Feel welcome to share the below flyer with teachers or parents who may be interested!

Boones Ferry Culvert Project Update

Social Media Spotlight