LET'S TALK TURTLES!  A Webinar on Watershed Wildlife Ecology with Portland Parks Ecologist Laura Guderyahn

Join us for our first naturalist webinar on Thursday, Dec. 10th at 6:00pm (free but registration is required) where we'll be joined by Columbia Slough and Willamette Watershed Ecologist Laura Gudreyahn to talk turtles, ecology, the future of Whitaker Ponds, and more!

During this webinar you'll have the opportunity to learn how to identify our watershed's four turtle species with live turtles, join Laura in the field to see her work as an ecologist, and have an opportunity to ask questions about watershed wildlife during a live Q & A!  Registration is limited, so sign up for the Zoom webinar today!
 

Thursday, December 10th
6:00pm - 7:00pm PST
ZOOM Webinar
REGISTER HERE



THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN FLOODPLAINS:    

Coming Soon!  A 4-Part webinar series exploring the relationship between the Columbia River floodplain and Indigenous communities, the Vanport Flood of 1948, climate change impacts and adaptation, and the formation of a new levee management district. 


Thanks to support from the Multnomah County Drainage District, Bureau of Environmental Sciences, and East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, the Council has partnered with several organizations including Vanport Mosaic, The Confluence Project, Army Corps of Engineers, US Geological Survey, and others to explore issues relating to flooding and floodplain management along the Slough. Stay tuned for more information, the series is set to begin in late January!

POSTPONING IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING

Considering the continual increase of COVID-19 cases and Governor Brown's recommendations, we are postponing all in-person stewardship and birding events during the month of December. We are hopeful we'll be able to resume outdoor programming, in a safe and regulated manner in January and are keeping our fingers crossed, and our masks on!  Feel free to sign up for our next Stewardship Saturday in January at NE Ainsworth Habitat Corridor, on Saturday, January 30th!




GUEST BLOG POST FROM ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

"As the COVID-19 pandemic took over many aspects of our lives in spring of 2020 and our high school classes went “remote”, we had little hope of going back to in-person classes in the spring. This was disheartening because it is typically a time of year when we might take students to canoe the slough, go birding at Whitaker Ponds, and engage in stewardship projects in our watershed. As the summer did not bring the disappearance of the virus and the promise of going back to in-person school diminished, we knew we needed to do something drastic to engage students in “comprehensive distance learning” in the fall." 

Read the full blog HERE!



HOLIDAY TREE TOSS CANCELLATION

It is with much regret that we announce the cancellation of this winter’s Holiday Tree Toss event. However, with the current rise in COVID-19 cases, this is the most responsible decision we can make to protect the health of our community.

In place of volunteering at a group Holiday Tree Toss event, we encourage you to take advantage of one of the many other options in our watershed for recycling your tree. Curbside recycling is available throughout most of our watershed, and fees and guidelines depend upon your jurisdiction. Check out Metro’s website for more information and watch a video on how to recycle your tree. Also, the Tualatin Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited will be running holiday tree drop-off stations at the old firehouse next to Royal Treatment Fly Fishing in West Linn and at NW Fly Fishing Outfitters in Portland on Saturday, January 2nd and Saturday, January 9th from 9:00am-4:00pm. Trees dropped off at these stations will be used to create salmon habitat in local rivers. Also, there is a $10 fee for tree drop-off that goes to support Trout Unlimited’s work.


THE SLOUGH'PER HERO AWARD GOES TO...

Each year, we honor one of our most daring and determined garbage-getters at Great Slough Clean Up, a watershed-wide event in which we all get together and pull trash by boat out of the Columbia Slough.

The highly prestigious "Slough'per Hero" award is bestowed upon one intrepid volunteer who stands out from the many as bold, scrappy, and just plain stubborn when it comes to hauling trash of all shapes and sizes out of the muddy shallows of the Slough.

This year, the Slough'per Hero award goes to...Lena from 55th Cascadia Scouts! Lena spared no effort in her tenacious pursuit of every piece of garbage, large or small, no matter how mired, that she came across on that momentous day of stewardship.
Thank you, Lena, for being an inspiration to all of us Slough stewards!

 

NEW CONTENT FOR THE MONTH

Recently, nationally recognized author Robin Wall Kimmerer, of Braiding Sweetgrass, gave a talk on how themes from her most recent book can offer lessons on moving towards a more just and sustainable future. How can we apply the concepts of reciprocity and humility both socially and ecologically? How can we change the lens through which we see the world to help ensure our collective survival and restore our relationship with the Earth and each other?  Watch the recording here and continue to follow The Confluence Project and their amazing work!

















TOGETHER FOR WATERSHEDS!  

Together for Watersheds is a group comprised of staff from regional organizations that are collaborating to bring you and your family quick nature-based content about (y)our watersheds. You can tune in for educational tidbits, at-home DIY projects, mini tours of sites throughout the watersheds in the area, and get to know the folks behind your watershed stewardship based organizations! Check out the latest video from Watershed Alliance as they take you on a tour of a restoration project along Burnt Bridge Creek that they've been restoring with community members for the last eighteen months. Watch the video here!





COLLABORATING WITH BEAVERS FOR A RESILIENT FUTURE

Join our friends at Johnson Creek Watershed Council and Co-Founder of the Beaver Coalition, Jakob Shockey, to learn about Beavers and how collaborating with beavers can help us create a more resilient future. This one hour talk will cover the basics of beaver and human connections and how we can create a better future together.  

Wednesday, December 9th @ 4:00pm - 5:00pm. Register here.