Urban Forestry

Help us maintain our recreational and educational facilities while having fun! This welcoming and relaxed volunteer experience features projects of every kind. We end the day with an activity; previous activities have included planting flower seeds to take home, weaving baskets from English ivy, building bird feeders, and guided hatchery tours. Kids must be age 7 or older to participate. Kids under age 16 must have a parent/guardian with them to volunteer. Kids ages 16-17 must have a parent/guardian sign them in at the beginning of the event.  To learn more and sign up contact Kaley McLachlan at volunteer@columbiasprings.org . 

We would like to invite you to this month's Rewilding Skill Series. The Rewilding Free Skills Series is a class & networking event that happens monthly, that usually occurs (but not always) on the last Saturday of the month. It is a place for social networking where people make new friends and hang out with old friends learning skills to connect us with humanity's ancestral past and more local and sustainable future. We ask for a $5 - $10 suggested donation with no one turned away.

Wherever cattails grow in the world, all the way across the Northern Hemisphere, humans have had a relationship with them. We'll be trying a few dishes and making a few crafts with the various parts of cattails. Come share what you know and learn some more! No experience or knowledge necessary!

We would like to invite you to this month's Rewilding Skill Series. The Rewilding Free Skills Series is a class & networking event that happens monthly, that usually occurs (but not always) on the last Saturday of the month. It is a place for social networking where people make new friends and hang out with old friends learning skills to connect us with humanity's ancestral past and more local and sustainable future. We ask for a $5 - $10 suggested donation with no one turned away.

This month's theme is Stinging Nettle and Other Spring Greens. In late winter and early spring, many edible greens begin to emerge. Let's celebrate them by learning about them, how to encourage their growth, what roles they play in ecology, how to process and prepare them, and of course, how to eat them and what nutritional value they bring! Come to learn and share what you know. Find us at Picnic Area F, furthest parking lot, on the bike path just passed the bathrooms on the Columbia River side.

Pollinators
Sunday February 28th, 1pm - 4pm
NE Portland, Vernon neighborhood
 
Pollinators serve an important role in our local food web. More specifically, we need them in order for our fruit trees to produce bountiful fruit sets! In this hands-on workshop, you will gain a basic understanding of bee-keeping, learn about the life of bees, how to construct mason bee habitats, and which plants are favorable for attracting pollinators. For the hands-on portion of this workshop, we'll be cleaning mason bee cocoons and assembling mason bee habitats that will be installed at our 2016 Community Orchard sites.  Additionally, every participant will get to take home cocoons, paper tubes for starter bee homes, and pollinator friendly flower seeds.

<<Click here to register now>>

About the instructors:

Jen Davis lives in Portland with her two kids and husband.  She is an artist, writer, filmmaker and urban farmer.  She grows 16 kinds of fruit, and nearly one half of her family's vegetable supply.  She also keeps ducks, and has raised Mason bees for ten years.  She teaches Mason bee workshops from home and at schools throughout the region.

 Madelyn Morris is a Portland-based educator and co-owns Mickelberry Gardens, LLC with her husband. The start-up company is developing a product line based on locally harvested herbs, raw honey, beeswax, and other hive products from the couple's steadily growing honeybee apiary in southeast Portland - where humane, ethical, and organic beekeeping methods are always utilized. Madelyn is happy to share her enthusiasm for honeybees and other pollinating insects, and promotes deepening our relationship with these fascinating and helpful creatures. www.mickelberrygardens.com

 The location address and other details will be provided after you register.

<<Click here to register now>>

Plant for the Planet Academy - Saturday, January 23rd

FREE for students ages 8-14; pre-registration required.

Plant for the Planet will host a free one-day academy for local students interested in taking action! Students will learn about the science of Climate Change & Recovery, how Climate Change impacts people everywhere, the importance and how-to of planting trees and effective presentation skills!

Register today, spots are limited! Go to http://www.columbiasprings.org/events/ to register as a student or volunteer.