stewardship

Council Creek is home to beaver, Red-shouldered hawks, crayfish and native fish. Volunteers will be planting this 6 acre wetland restoration site with native willow, Oregon ash, as well as native shrubs including red-osier dogwood and douglas spirea.Volunteers will also be installing coffee bags as weed barriers, placing mice guards around trees, and mulching. Native plants will help to filter stormwater, and support fish and wildlife habitat.

Register online here: http://solveoregon.org/get-involved/events/council-creek-february-commun...

Ma Olsen ran a small grocery store in downtown Linnton for much of the first half of the twentieth century. During the Depression she forgave bills, feeding folks in need. Her store was bulldozed in the early 60s, along with most of the buildings lining St Helens Road in Linnton, to widen the highway from two lanes to four. Not long after this Nora "Ma" Olsen, while crossing the highway, was hit, and killed by a car. A plaque, bench, and a Benson Bubbler were placed where the back of her store had been, and that swath of hill was named Ma Olsen's Garden. Forty-five years after her death, the steep hillside that was her Garden was overgrown with ivy, blackberry, and a tangle of fallen trees. We removed the thick green shroud that covered the garden and planted hundreds of native shrubs and flowers of over fifty species. Most of the five block long, seventy-five foot wide sliver of land, of which the Garden is the southern tip, remained buried under invasives. Why not extend the project north, since Linnton as "hanging garden" was the goal to begin with? So we roll along, the past two winters extending the garden another block, planting as we go. It's gnarly work, with established ivy, blackberry, vinca and laurel on rocky, steep, uneven slopes. Uncovering old stone walls, terraces, mundane and weird trash heaps, and poison oak keeps the work interesting, sometimes too much so. We're incubating plans for an tongue-in-cheek sculpture/Dr. Seuss garden in this section. We should be able to polish off the remaining weeds this winter, but we need an infusion of help and laughter. Activities include: Invasive Plant Removal.

Register online here: http://solveoregon.org/get-involved/events/ma-olsens-garden-extension-fe...

Join us and Friends of the Columbia Children's Arboretum in our work to continue restoration on this unique property. Volunteers will have the opportunity to assist in invasive plant removal and native plant planting This event runs rain or shine! Be sure to dress for the weather and bring water, rain gear and sturdy shoes. Snacks, tools, training and gloves will be provided. Registration is requested. This is a great group volunteering opportunity! The Columbia Slough Watershed Council is happy to help your company or organization schedule your next employee community service day. Please contact us if you're planning on attending this event with more than 5 people. Activities include: Native Planting, Maintenance & Monitoring.

Register online here: http://solveoregon.org/get-involved/events/stewardship-saturday-columbia...

Join this fun Eagle Scout project to plant 1,000 native shrubs along the Waterhouse Trail. Please come help the continuing restoration of this natural neighborhood trailside with native plants. The benefits of your efforts are clean water, decreased erosion, and improved wildlife & human habitat. To celebrate our accomplishments, we will have pizza for dinner. If you want to make a day of digging in the Oregon soil, arrive early for Part I from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Hot cocoa will be served to start off the morning plus pizza for lunch! (Please see Waterhouse Trail Eagle Scout Project - Part I for details and registration.)

Register online here: http://solveoregon.org/get-involved/events/waterhouse-trail-eagle-scout-...

Forest Glen Park is located in Forest Grove. The park follows a small tributary stream of Gales Creek, and important stream for salmon habitat in the Tualatin River watershed. Volunteers will be planting both native trees and shrubs along the stream corridor. Native trees being planted include western red cedar, douglas fir and red alder. Native vegetation provides shade to the stream, prevents erosion and supports fish and wildlife habitat.Volunteers will plant native plants and mulch.

Register online here: http://solveoregon.org/get-involved/events/forest-glen-park-community-pl...