Your source for stories, insights, and updates about the Oswego Lake Watershed and the work of the Oswego Lake Watershed Council. Here you’ll find many of our newsletter articles, event highlights, project updates, and information to help you learn about and protect our local environment.
Village on the Lake – Lily Bay Restoration Project
Our first year of restoration at this site resulted in significant improvements across one acre of the nine-acre natural area. This acre contained the most critical habitat: a small, perennial creek that flows into Lily Bay.
Youth Sustainability Collective Blog
The Youth Sustainability Collective (YSC) is excited to introduce our monthly blog series. Each month, we’ll share updates, stories, and how we havebeen impacting the LO community.
Spotlight on White Rock Larkspur: Delphinium leucophaeum
OLWC intern Roxana Sotelo Laureano's project not only advances our understanding of White Rock Larkspur but also demonstrates the value of hands-on, student-led conservation work.
A Story of Oaks: Connecting with Trees Across Generations
An oak tree is not just a tree. It is a memory and a connector. Take the time to get to know an oak tree in your neighborhood. How long has this tree been here? What can I learn from this tree? What can I do to care for it? How can I make sure future generations are able to benefit from the shade and acorns it provides? How can I thank this tree and appreciate it?
Hands-On Learning and Habitat Restoration: OLWC Engages Students This Fall
This fall, the Oswego Lake Watershed Council (OLWC) has been hard at work connecting students of all ages with the natural world through hands-on learning and stewardship. From second graders discovering the magic of water to high school students restoring habitat for beavers, OLWC’s education programs are helping young people understand how healthy watersheds sustain thriving communities.
The Niche of Urban Habitat
The urban world that humans create can have a range of disruptions to the surrounding natural systems. The removal of vegetation, construction of buildings, infrastructure, altered waterways, fragmented habitat, pollution, noise, and light. While we can find ways to mitigate the negative impacts and use more environmentally friendly approaches, the fact remains that our presence has an impact.
An Ode to Our Oaks
Prior to the conversion of land for farming and development, the Willamette Valley was a vast garden of oak prairies, stewarded by the indigenous nations, tended with cycles of fire and regrowth. The habitat held, and pockets still hold, a unique diversity of plant and animal species found nowhere else. Species coevolved in a landscape dominated by the keystone oaks. Without these trees a whole system of other species would fade away.
Community Science in Action: The 2025 Soil Your Undies Challenge
A playful project with a powerful message about the importance of soil health.
This spring, the Oswego Lake Watershed Council invited residents to take part in a hands-on experiment with a quirky name and a serious purpose: the Soil Your Undies Challenge.
Making the Most of the Rain: Our Journey to a Thriving Urban Habitat
Rain, rain, go away... is that how you feel during the long Pacific Northwest rainy season? If so, I encourage you to see that rain not as an inconvenience but as an opportunity. With the right approach, you can harness rainfall to support your landscape through water features, rain barrels, and rain gardens.
Beavers: Nature’s Engineers at Work
Beavers may be best known for their dams, but these remarkable animals are increasingly recognized as powerful partners in restoring ecosystems. Learn how beavers shape resilient landscapes—without machines, chemicals, or blueprints.
Seed Libraries: The Contents are Growing
Libraries, long known for sowing ideas, are now helping the community sow seeds and build a community around seed sharing. Lake Oswego now has at least two seed libraries, one run by the Lake Oswego Public Library and the other by Friends of Tryon Creek.
Getting to Know a Soil Creature – The Nematode
Healthy soil supports a myriad of creatures and they in turn help support healthy soil. To name a few: nematodes, ...
No results found.