Ready for more? Come and learn more about Biodiesel Vegetable Oil and their uses for Diesel Vehicles and More!! This workshop will be a one-day, weekend workshop where participants do a "hands-on" conversion of a diesel vehicle to run on Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) while learning many production aspects of the fascinating world of Bio-Diesel including titration and how to make a mini-batch of Methyl-Ester (ME). Please join us! If you have not  yet come to an Orientation or a Workshop---why not now? If you cannot come, please forward this on to friends, family, and other list serves!! Thanks so much for helping to get the word out!!!  PRE-REGISTRATION HIGHLY PREFERRED! See Ya There!! http://www.oregonbiodieselworkshop.com

We will be doing routine maintenance (weeding, etc.) in the small fruits display area at the Brentwood Garden. This is a great chance to learn about berries, kiwis, olives and other unusual but very edible small fruits.

We will be pulling weeds, mulching shrub beds and learning about other ways that you can get involved with Pesticide-Free Parks. Join us for a great day at Lair Hill.

An EDGE Garden Force volunteer removing weeds

Saturday August 27: We need green thumbs and extra hands.

We will be pulling weeds, mulching shrub beds and learning about other ways that you can get involved with Pesticide-Free Parks. Join us for a great day at Arbor Lodge Park. 

Community Design Workshop for Stormwater Management Project: Butler Promotions is partnering with the Sustainable Stormwater Management Group and the Community Watershed Stewardship Program at Environmental Services to construct a series of stormwater planters on their site at 2123 SE Division Street. As part of the project, there are two Community Design Workshops scheduled; as an opportunity for interested neighbors, artists and community members to offer creative input in the design of an artistic water feature to be integrated into the design of the planter. The workshops will take place on Tues. Aug.23rd and Tues. Aug. 30th, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. If interested or for more info, Please contact Dana by phone or email. This event is co-sponsored by Portland Environmental Services.

"Peak oil" is an increasingly familiar term, the point where extractions and distributions of the Earth's remaining oil and gas reserves start abruptly winding down, and the cheap fuel that runs American society begins to dry up.  The end of abundant energy and fuel supplies is coming very soon to a planet near you. Whether the crash will hit hard in the next couple years or unfold over the next couple of decades, it is clearly on its way.  New models of food production, social relationships, health services, work, play, and community will be necessary in order to transition beyond the peak of oil and natural gas production. Our friends from Try/On Life Community Farm will be on hand to share information and their experience working in community, focused on permaculture and social ecology for the post-carbon world. First Fridays are open to everyone; there is no charge, but donations are greatly appreciated!  Leashed dogs are okay this month, and we are right next to the off-leash area.  Please note that in October, we will be back at the Quaker Meeting House.

University of Portland volunteers to liberate trees from English ivy’s death grip! On September 3rd 2005, from 10am until Noon, over 600 volunteers from the No Ivy League and the University of Portland will rescue trees from English ivy (Hedera helix) along Forest Park's U.S. 30 boundary.  Six sites have been strategically selected as areas of ‘red alert’ where mature ivy seed threatens to spread to pristine areas.   Armed with loppers and handsaws, volunteers will cut ivy’s plans short to ensure the health of Forest Park’s native habitat! Ivy overwhelms native plants by growing over 3 feet per year.  Then, while the trees are dying ivy sets seed, forming an air-strike that has its sights set on Forest Park!  Ivy berries are poisonous to native song birds, but not to some hearty species like Starlings and English House Sparrows.  With the help of these birds, the ‘seeds of destruction’ sprout isolated ivy infections in Forest Park. In cooperation with the No Ivy League, U of P volunteers have the opportunity to free at least 1200 to 1500 trees from ivy's death grip!  September 3rd, 2005 will go down in history as a voracious victory in the fight against ivy!

Of Bikes, Birds, and Bond Measures - A Bike-Ride Celebration of 1995 Greenspaces Bond Measure Acquisitions in North Portland.  This is a special Wild on the Willamette trip to celebrate the successes of the 1995 Greenspaces Bond Measure and to point the way to a new bond measure in 2006.  Join Jim Labbe, Urban Conservationist and members of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance to bicycle from Portland's historic Peninsula Park to to 3,000-acre to Smith and Bybee Lakes natural area via the North Peninsula Crossing trail (a 1995 Bond Measure acquisition). We'll learn about the history of North Portland Parks, celebrate North Portland Bond Measure acquisitions since 1995, and discuss future prospects for expanded bike trails and natural area protection/restoration. We'll end at Smith & Bybee Lake just before sunset in time for a twilight walk and wildlife viewing. This ride is flat. You are responsible for bringing and maintaining your own bicycle.  Helmets are required; bike lights for a twilight return trip recommended.  Directions and otherdetails will be mailed to registrants.  Space is limited.
Register at www.audubonportland.org

Support Pesticide Free Parks in Portland!  Join Willamette Riverkeeper, Pesticide Free Partners and Portland Parks for our next work party at Sewallcrest Park.  Volunteers will be mulching, weeding and other light tasks to keep the park pesticide free.  Tools, gloves and refreshments are provided.

Portland Peak Oil will be showing "Oil on Ice". Discussion to follow. Free and open to the public. 7-9pm, Wed. Sept. 7th at St. Francis Dining Hall - 1182 SE Pine, Portland. More about us here: http://www.portlandpeakoil.org

The Johnson Creek Watershed Council is delighted to invite you, your family and friends to our second annual Open House and Silent Auction on September 8, 2005 from 5-8pm in our creek side office! The evening’s activities will include enjoying delicious food and drinks, bidding on a wide array of quality auction items, being inspired by our keynote speaker - local author, Robin Cody, listening to fabulous live music performed by local bluegrass band, Rattlebone Hollow, and much, much more!

Help teach Oregon's youth about salmon and watesheds with Oregon Trout's Salmon Watch program, an award-winning education program that centers on streamside field trips to view spawning Chinook Salmon. In 2004, nearly 5200 students in 173 Oregon classroooms participated in the Salmon Watch program. Adult volunteers will attend a free half-day training workshop in August or September to learn more about water quality, aquatic insects, riparian zones, and working with kids.  Then, in the fall they will become "o-fish-ial" volunteer instructors, giving them the chance to share their knowledge with middle and high school students on a weekday field trip.

Ever wondered what kinds of incredible creatures lurk beneath the surface of Portland’s waterways?  So have we!  Join the Xerces Society and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council for a day of underwater exploration and education.  Experience the world of invertebrates while canoeing the placid waters of the Columbia Slough.  Be a part of this groundbreaking study and learn how to find and identify bugs and other watery wildlife.  No experience necessary, all ages welcome. 

Arborists in the Arboretum

Come see local area arborists demonstrate their work from the tree tops in Hoyt Arboretum!

This is the 20th year that area certified, professional arborists have come to Hoyt Arboretum to donate a day of care for the arboretum trees.  This is a rare opportunity to see first hand how tree-top work is done by the professionals.  Volunteer arborists include area government and municipal arborists, local arborculture businesses, and retired professionals. 

Help us clean up this Washington County gem! The Clean-up brigade will involve a 1-hour debris cleanup bagging trash from 10:30-11:30. The remainder of the day is packed with free lunch, door prizes, and free scheduled workshops and presentations for volunteers to enjoy! Carpools available from Flexcar*

Calling for Paddlers, Anglers and Clackamas River Lovers
3rd Annual Down the River Clean Up on the Clackamas
Sunday, September 11th 10:00 a.m.
eNRG Kayaking, the Clackamas River Basin Council, PSU Outdoor Program, the Oregon Kayak and Canoe Club, Next Adventure, Allstar Rafting and others are teaming up for a river clean up for non-motorized boaters.  Kayakers, canoeists, rafters and drift boaters are invited to join the fun. Volunteers will clean up a thirteen-mile stretch of the Clackamas River, from Barton Park to Clackamette Park on Sunday, September 11th. We have space in rafts available for those without boats, but space is limited. RSVP required! The event will stage at Carver Boat Ramp at 10 am. Sunday, September 11th and the day will conclude with a celebratory BBQ and raffle back at Carver Park around 4 p.m.
All volunteers need to RSVP. Easy online registration is at www.enrgkayaking.com/rivercleanup      Boaters will be assigned to a "pod" that will float together to clean up a mile and a half stretch along the Clackamas riverbank. Each pod will have a garbage scow to carry the trash to the take out. Assignments will be made the day of the event. Those who would like to help, but do not have a boat will be assigned to a raft with a raft captain. Full details available at the event website or by calling Jo Anne or Kristin (see contact information above).

Come and sample amazing food paired with great wine from local vineyards and support land conservation all at the same time.  Three Rivers Land Conservancy, a non-profit land trust located in Lake Oswego is holding its Third Annual Wine & Land Benefit on Sunday, Sept. 11th from 3-6 p.m. at a private residence in Lake Oswego.  This event features some of the top restaurants in the Portland area and best wine makers in the Willamette Valley.  All proceeds go towards Three Rivers' conservation efforts. 

Please join us at Resolutions Northwest for a fun Open House gathering in celebration of our recent move to Hollywood. Stop by and learn more about Resolutions Northwest.  In addition, we'll have drinks, light hors d'oeuvres, entertainment, and door prizes.

Portland Permaculture Institute

September 2005

Sept 17 Urban Tracking and Gleaning. Elective. This course adapts the craft of tracking to fit our urban place and time. It inlays tracking with principles and concepts of permaculture design. Information will be shared through a mix of charting and storytelling with resources include free boxes, scrap building material, food, open and green spaces, and community sharing. Instructor - Tony Deis. $45

Portland Community Gardens provides garden space and educational events within Portland's neighborhoods. Each month we are working in the common areas of a local garden -- pruning, planting, weeding, and more.

Join master builder Lydia Doleman of Flying Hammer Productions as she leads us through the world of strawbale construction. We are converting a corner of our 1930s barn into a small strawbale studio space. This project is a model of deconstruction, re-used materials, and re-creation of space. Lydia will be bringing her years of experience in creating affordable, creative, energy efficient structures. Her work includes everything from general contracting to light clay and strawbale construction, as well as natural plasters, earthen floors, workshop facilitation, presentations, and human habitat restoration.

"Peak oil" is becoming a familiar term, but its full implications are only just beginning to be considered.  Richard Heinberg's book "Powerdown" (New Society Publisher, 2004) documents the journey that has brought our culture to this point and the enormity of the changes that lie ahead.  If he is even half-way correct, as many analysts confirm, we are in for a wild and tumultuous ride.  Infomation, communication, and community will be our most important tools.