March 2021: Green Team Updates
Green Team Updates Lake Oswego High School- Nate Foster The students of the LOHS Green Team have continued in their efforts since the last newsletter, with each committee contributing. The Native Plants committee has hosted two monthly ivy pulls after the planting...
The Soil Will Save Us- Book Review
Book Review: The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies Are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet by Kristen Ohlson Stephanie Wagner Thousands of years of poor farming and ranching practices - and, especially, modern industrial agriculture - have led...
PACIFIC YEW – Lost Treasure in the Forest?
by Denny Barnes, OLWC Board Member Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia) is a small inconspicuous understory tree. From 1993-2013, they were indiscriminately stripped from our forests to make the powerful anti-cancer drug Taxol. It took about six 100+-year-old Yews to make...
Mason Bee Fun!
Mason Bee Fun! Sharon Hawley, OLWC Volunteer Supporting native fauna, educating on the cycle of life, enlivening local flora, becoming comfortable with our small flying neighbors, and enjoying a daily active display of how nature works – a few of the reasons to...
Living With “Wildlife”
By Stephanie Wagner There goes another one! Ants in our bathroom! Teeny, tiny sugar ants waltzing along the bathtub. I am a huge believer in living with wildlife but I’m not sure I want to share my home with these outsiders. How can we live together and respect...
December 2020 Update: Lake Oswego High School Green Team
By Nate Foster, Lake Oswego High School Green Team Leadership For the past year, I have had the privilege of working with the Oswego Lake Watershed Council (OLWC) on their “Trees on Campus” project, in which they support ivy pulls and native planting events at local...
Discover Lake Oswego’s Winter Birds!
By Mary Ratcliff, OLWC Board Member Ruby-crowned Kinglet on a branch. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In Lake Oswego, observing birds in winter can be fun as we have an amazing variety of birds that come to winter. In addition to our beloved...
Fallen Leaves Find a Way Home
By Sharon Hawley, OLWC Volunteer My yards have always allowed me to “dispose” of leaves without banishing them offsite. I didn’t set out intentionally to make it so – but rather somewhat backed into behaviors that I now accept as a good way to handle the annual...
Out of Thin Air – Trees and Climate Action
By Stephanie Wagner “OMG - I get it!” exclaimed Mona as she grabbed my arm, “Trees grow out of thin air!” We were walking the trails at Tryon Creek as part of a workshop for elementary school teachers exploring why “Trees are Terrific”. That morning, we had been...
Lessons on Resilience
In times of turmoil, fear, and uncertainty, it can be helpful to turn to the natural world for answers. If you can, try to have a moment with nature today. Let us all learn resilience, how to thrive under difficult circumstances, and how to maintain some beauty and whimsy in our lives at the same time. Let us all be a little bit more like Douglas spirea.