Hello Everyone,
For four hours in October, I disappeared onto the Slough. I put a kayak in the water at Fairview Lake and paddled through Four Corners to the cross levee at 143rd Ave. The day started with a fine drizzle and ended in brilliant sunshine. We counted dozens of birds and found silent moments of reflection and moments of laughter. If it sounds idyllic and beautiful, it was. In those moments, I fell in love with the Slough and this watershed just a little bit more. I offer this story for two reasons: I hope you all get to enjoy and experience the Slough in this way, and if you have not, I invite you to join us at one of our upcoming events!
There is a lot happening over the next couple of months. We have public events for you to attend: owl prowls, a bird walk in Spanish, Slough Science talks, public education webinars, and Stewardship Saturdays. Behind the scenes, we have Slough School field trips and classroom lessons 4 to 5 days a week, partner events, and Healthy Industrial Land planning and plantings!
I am excited to announce that as a part of our end of the year fundraising campaign, CSWC is one of 225 total nonprofits and one of only 23 environmental nonprofits participating in Give!Guide this year! We have some cool incentives from our business partners and Give!Guide has some amazing Big Give Days this year. Check out our Give!Guide page (and perhaps one or two of our Community Partners as well) today!
We are trying to reach an overall goal of $50,000 by December 31st. I hope you will join us as a financial supporter of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council and make a donation today!
No matter how you support the work and mission CSWC, thank you.
Heather
Executive Director
PS: Please know that it is giving season, which means there will be an increase in the number of emails you will receive from CSWC over the next two months. I ask you to refrain from unsubscribing from our mailing list and know that come January, we will return to only sending you one or two emails a month with program and organization updates!
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From today through the end of December, please make a donation and help reach our Give!Guide goal of $25,000
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INCENTIVES INCLUDE:
A coupon for a free pint from Level Beer (donors age 21+)
AND MORE!
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A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR
GIVE!GUIDE PARTNERS!
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Partner Events this Month! |
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Partner Happy Hour
Wednesday, November 8 at Level Beer, 6-7:30pm
Do you work for an organization that partners with or is interested in partnering with Columbia Slough Watershed Council?
Please come join us to meet other partners and learn about CSWC! The Council works with a variety of organizations in Portland to help us acheive our mission of protecting and enhancing the Slough.
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Agency & Partner Roundtable
Monday, November 27, 1-2:30pm
This in-person event will introduce Government Agencies to our local Partner Organizations!
Please register if you work for a non-profit/organization that collaborates with CSWC or if you work for a government agency that collaborates with CSWC.
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Slough Science:
Freshwater Mussels
Wednesday, November 15, 5:30 - 7:30pm at Level Beer on NE 148th Ave
Freshwater mussels are amazing underwater architects and engineers that improve water quality and stream health for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife and actively shape the rivers, streams, and lakes in which they live.
This free speaker event will feature Zee Searles Mazzacano, an entomologist and invertebrate ecologist, talking about the life history and ecology of our native Western freshwater mussels, the challenges they face, and the ways in which we can help sustain them.
All are welcome, but spots are limited, so please register below!
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Slough School Portrait Project |
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Slough School has some serious programming going on this fall!
We have already partnered with a bunch of schools: Sitton, Woodland, De La Salle North, Faubion, Alliance at Meek, Helensview HS, NAYA Many Nations Academy, and there's more on the way as the school year rolls on.
One major project taking place this fall is I BELONG HERE - a partnership with Sitton Elementary, Blue Moon Camera, and Slough School, and funded by a grant from Regional Arts & Culture Council. The goal is for all 5th grade students to learn about portrait, analog photography, and showing themselves belonging in natural areas close to their school. Students have already used Instax cameras to take hundreds of instant photos of their peers in Pier Park and just this week shot over a THOUSAND 35mm photos at Whitaker Ponds. Blue Moon will be processing and printing all the film and photographs so that each student can curate their favorite color and black and white portrait. Students have a third portrait field trip coming up at Kelley Point Park with Holga medium format cameras. Art teacher Kym Condron-Lee has been showing examples of portraiture by local artist Intisar Abioto, and Blue Moon manager Renee Heister is inviting photographer Josue Rivas to meet the 5th grade and share his work at school next month.
If you want to see the portraits, they will be on display at the I BELONG HERE portrait show, January 25, at Sitton Elementary's art night!
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PGE Project Zero - Internship in Review |
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This year we welcomed two PGE Project Zero interns, Bob Gergen and Elliot McManus, onto our staff. They joined the team just in time for the busy paddling season back in June, have helped with Stewardship sites throughout the watershed, and are now down to their final few weeks of the program. We are so thankful for all that they contributed to the community and to our team over these last few months! |
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"I’ve learned a lot about the Columbia Slough, and the communities that live, work, and play within it. I have loved learning about the plants and animals of the Slough, such as doing macroinvertebrate sampling with Johnson Creek Watershed Council and doing cleanups to protect Slough critters from pollution. But I think my best takeaway from the experience so far has been learning from and working with the diverse communities of people of the Slough, and getting to know them and helping them get to know a piece of nature right here in their neighborhood that they might not have even realized was there. I was born here in Portland and I wasn’t much aware at all about the Slough until this internship, and now I can’t believe I never knew!"
-- Elliot McManus
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"I started at the Columbia Slough Watershed Council in June through PGE Project Zero. My time here has been fun and everyone is nice and understanding. On my very first day we were doing a cleanup and we ran into a blind beaver, which was sad, but there was a plus side to that story. It showed me that the work the Columbia Slough does is very important."
-- Bob Gergen
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Seeking Designer for Columbia Slough
Mapping Project
We're updating our Paddlers Access Guide and seeking a designer to hire and support this project!
This new map pamphlet will be distributed at CSWC events and to community partners, providing Slough information, bike routes, park information, and animal and plant identification details. This job requires a firm or individual to work with CSWC staff and our GIS coordinator from mid-November 2023 through late January 2024.
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Join the CSWC for a slough of events this fall to help improve the watersheds important natural resources. Register or find out more information about CSWC events on our website.
Monday, November 6, 5:45 - 7:30PM
Join CSWC, local organization Birdhers, and resident owl expert Elaine Murphy for a free outdoor night walk at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park. This event is for womxn, queer, non-binary and trans people of all ages.
Tuesday, November 7, 5:45 - 7:30 PM
Join CSWC, local organization Birdhers, and resident owl expert Elaine Murphy for a free outdoor night walk at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park. This event is for womxn, queer, non-binary and trans people of all ages.
Wednesday, November 8, 6 - 7:30 PM
Do you work for an organization that partners with or is interested in partnering with Columbia Slough Watershed Council? Please come join us to meet other partners and learn about CSWC!
Sunday, November 12, 9 - 11AM
Únete a una caminata con Columbia Slough Watershed Council y Loco Por La Aventura para ver aves en el parque Kelley Point Park. Este evento es gratuito y abierto para todas las edades. Será guiado por observadores locales de aves: Ryan Gilpin y Melissa Orozco (de Educate Ya); todo el evento será en español.
Monday, November 13, 6 - 7:30 PM
Join CSWC and resident owl expert Elaine Murphy for a free outdoor night walk at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park. This event is for all people of all ages.
Tuesday, November 14, 6PM - 7PM
We invite you to our upcoming Flood Safe Columbia River Webinar! In partnership with CSWC, this session will cover information on the flood control infrastructure that protects our region from floods and offer a Q&A with panelists.
Wednesday, November 15, 5:30 - 7:30 PM
This free speaker event will feature Zee Searles Mazzacano, an entomologist and invertebrate ecologist, talking about the life history and ecology of our native Western freshwater mussels, the challenges they face, and how we can help sustain them.
Saturday, November 18, 9AM - 12PM
Join CSWC, SOLVE, Portland General Electric, and Gresham Public Schools for a day of stewardship at a budding environmental education space at Clear Creek Middle School. We will pull English ivy and manage Himalayan blackberry to support native vegetation at this educational space for CCMS ecology students.
Monday, November 27, 1 - 2:30 PM
Join us for an in-person event to introduce Government Agencies to our local partner organizations! Please register if you work for a non-profit/organization that collaborates with CSWC or if you work for a government agency that collaborates with CSWC.
Monday, November 27, 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Our meetings are open to the public! Join us this month to get involved with the Council’s behind-the-scenes operations. This meeting will be held virtually over Zoom.
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