East side green teamers reflect on their year of service-learning…

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Written by Meghan Ballard, Green Team Program Coordinator.

Students from SOLVE’s Green Teams on the East Side of the Willamette River joined together last week to share their experiences and the lessons they have learned over the past year.  Hosted at Clackamas High School, students were able to hear about each others’ research and time spent at the creek.

Matthew Collins, Education Director for Friends of Tryon Creek, joined us to talk about the importance of volunteering and how it has personally impacted his life and career choices.    Check out all of the different ways you can volunteer with Friends of Tryon Creek!

Ashley, Lindsey, Joel and Tanner from Gladstone High School started off the student presentations with information about invasive species at Rinearson Creek.  Sam and Katie joined us to represent West Linn High School and their work with stream bioengineering at Abernethy Creek. Portland Lutheran School students Lydia, Rachel, Abi and Arianna
shared their experience with the fun, slimy and smelly salmon toss on the Sandy River. Alexis, Ben, Jesse and Ryan presented on behalf of Clackamas High School and they shared some very interesting findings about their macroinvertebrate surveys of Mount Scott and Rock Creeks.  Fernanda, Kennedy, and Jake from Rex Putnam High School put together a documentary of their work this year at Boardman Wetlands. And students from the Sabin-Schellenberg Technical School gave their perspective on several tools they’ve used this year on invasive removal at Rock Creek.

Charlie(SOLVE) also introduced something new this year, the Clackamas Student Stewardship Award!  This award recognizes a special student or group of students who go above and beyond our usual tasks and contribute something extraordinary to SOLVE and the overall work we do as a Green Team program.  This year’s award was given to three outstanding art students, Chanel Karbonski, Kristy Younglove, & Ashley-Jean Gonzalez who have done AMAZING work transforming litter pulled out of Phillips Creek into beautiful and educational artwork, including the Tom McCall portrait below!

THANK YOU to all of the stellar students and teachers we have had the honor and privilege of working with this year!  It has been one of our most successful Green Team years ever and we are so glad you all were able to share it with us.

Thank you to the following sponsors, partners and friends who attended the summit and for supporting our work:

• Clackamas County Water Environment Services
• Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District
• Oak Lodge Sanitary District
• Patrick Edwards, Portland State University
• Johnson Creek Watershed Council
• Friends of Trees
• Clackamas River Basin Council
• Friends of Tryon Creek

Amazing litter art!

Portland Lutheran’s Last Visit to Beaver Creek

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Friday was the last time this year’s Portland Lutheran Green Team visited Beaver Creek in Troutdale. These kids are definite SOLVE all-stars and super-friends as they have come out to the Beaver Creek site once a month since October, each time spending a total of 5 hours restoring/exploring/learning about their local creek and watershed (most of our Green Teams come out an hour at a time).

This final visit, students first spent a little bit of time putting some finishing touches on the restoration projects they had been working on at Beaver Creek. Some plants they had planted in March needed some protection from the aggressively invasive reed canary grass that was threatening to choke the young native trees and shrubs. Therefore they staked down some biodegradable coffee sacks at the base of these plants to give the native planted plants some breathing room. After this little bit of work, it was time for a little snack from mother nature. Students tried various greens growing around them in the riparian zone such as miners lettuce and invasive garlic mustard, some of the braver ones even tried raw stinging nettle! Then students went on their favorite hike along the creek. Along the way they distributed newsletters which the students had written about their work and experience at Beaver Creek to local residents. This way the local community could understand what kind of work Portland Lutheran has been doing and why it is important for the health of the watershed. The day closed with all students working on an individual research project at Beaver Creek. Taking all of their experience in the last school year at Beaver Creek, students came up with a research question about the creek and designed a method for testing it. Students collected their data and are still working on their results this week. I look forward to hearing what kinds of things they discovered about this stream!

SOLVE and Beaver Creek really appreciate all of the hard work and enthusiasm that Portland Lutheran has brought to their visits this past school year. They definitely left a lasting impact in their community, and we look forward to working with you again next year.

A Little Restoration Before Relaxation with Portland Lutheran

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For many schools in the Portland area, this week is spring break (wooo!) but before embarking on their week of vacation and relaxation, Portland Lutheran 7th and 8th graders came out for a visit to the beautiful Beaver Creek in Troutdale.

The morning was spent working on a community newsletter that we hope to pass out to the residents living next to and around Beaver Creek. Students composed poetry, essays, and drawings about their experience working at Beaver Creek. We will compile some of these pieces together into a newsletter so that the neighbors understand what Portland Lutheran has been doing at this site, why, and to encourage the local community to get engaged. We look forward to passing these out the next time Portland Lutheran comes.

Students also sampled the creek to see what kinds of aquatic macroinvertebrates are living there this time of year. (aquatic meaning water dwelling, macro meaning large enough to see without a microscope, invertebrate meaning a creature without a backbone, essentially a bug) Portland Lutheran also did this in September, during their first visit to the site. Back then, the stream was ankle-deep and it was easy to sample from the bottom of the stream. This time, the creek was more than chest deep and flowing very swiftly due to the rain and snowfall Troutdale recently has been having. Therefore we were unable to get samples from the bottom of the stream, but instead we sampled from what was living among the grass on the side of the stream. Despite the swift current and the murky water we still found a lot of life including mayflies, worms, water boatmen, a young crayfish, and minnows (okay so minnows are not technically invertebrates, but still cool!).

In the afternoon, everybody grabbed a shovel and hiked upstream about a half a mile to plant some trees at a restoration site along the creek that Portland Lutheran hadn’t visited yet. At this site, Beaver Creek flows through a beautiful canyon with small waterfalls and lots of lush plant-life. This Green Team of master planters got nearly 100 plants planted in record time and so we spent the rest of the time we had exploring and hiking around this beautiful site. Flowers were blooming, birds were singing; it was obvious spring had sprung.

What a wonderful beginning to spring break.

Portland Lutheran: Master Trackers

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Portland Lutheran brought the sunshine to Beaver Creek in Troutdale, yet again this past Friday and they really took advantage of this beautiful weather by spending the entire day outside.

When they arrived, the water level of the creek, which can vary by the tens of feet, was low enough that they had the chance to do some unique activities. Since there was a lot of exposed sand and mud from the high water, there a record of all the wildlife that has been enjoying Beaver Creek (and enjoying the restoration efforts that groups like the Portland Lutheran Green Team have been doing) through all the animal tracks. About 93% of Oregon’s wildlife use riparian zones such as the one around Beaver Creek at one point in their life cycle, so we get excited whenever we have a chance to see who has been visiting our sites. Portland Lutheran students had the opportunity to make plaster casts of some of the prints that they could take back to the classroom and study further. From their observations, it appears that the beaver population is appropriately very active at Beaver Creek, as most of the prints they found were made by these xylophagous rodents.

Beaver Tracks!

When they weren’t searching for tracks, students planted trees, most notably, willow, in terraces on the bank that had been underwater during previous visits. The willow they planted can survive being completely submerged, and their root structures will be helpful in preventing the terraces from eroding away during high water events. Students also had the chance to start doing maintenance on the plants they had planted earlier in the year by mulching them. Putting a ring of mulch around newly planted plants will protect them from weeds growing right next to them, as well as provide protection from keeping the plants from being dried out in the summer – something especially important in the sandy soil at Beaver Creek.

As always we were very impressed with the students’ hard work, and their great attitudes during the 5 hours they spent out at Beaver Creek.

From Garbage to Art!

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Once again, Portland Lutheran School brought sunshine, energy and enthusiasm to Beaver Creek today.  Students started their morning off collecting a substantial amount of litter from the banks of Beaver Creek, collecting over 10 large bags.  This effort stopped litter in its tracks, preventing it from flowing downstream to the Sandy River then the Columbia River and eventually to the Pacific Ocean.  Some students also saw two beaver out and about probably repairing a damaged dam from recent flooding!

As students sorted their litter findings they made a discovery – an overwhelming amount consisted of plastics!  Plastics are a real problem for wildlife at Beaver Creek, including our resident beaver family.  Birds and other wildlife mistake cigarette butts, bottle caps, and small plastic pieces for food that they are unable to digest, causing them to feel full when in fact they could be malnourished.

From the Surfrider Foundation:

Rain or overwatering flushes plastic litter through a storm drain system or directly to creeks, streams and rivers that lead to the ocean.  After plastics enter the marine environment they slowly photodegrade into smaller pieces that marine life can mistake for food, sometimes with fatal results.  Ocean gyres concentrate plastic pollution in five main areas of the world’s ocean and various research groups are bringing back alarming data documenting plastics impacts.

Find out some ways you can rise above plastics here.

Students didn’t stop there!  Then they created some works of art by cutting up litter into small pieces and glueing them to a canvas.  Lastly, students removed blackberry and planted 50 native trees and shrubs!

Thank you Portland Lutheran!  Our two new beaver friends really appreciate you helping out their home!

The finished stream!

Working in a Winter Windyland

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First: a song inspired by Friday’s experience:

Oh the leaves, they’re a-blowin’                                                                               Beaver Creek, she’s a-flowin’                                                                                     When the gusts become great                                                                                          It’s hard to walk straight                                                                                          Working in our winter windyland!

When the 30 seventh and eighth graders from Portland Lutheran School came out to Beaver Creek for their monthly Green Team event, they were treated to some delicious December sunshine. They were also treated to another meteorological phenomenon (and the likely cause of the sunshine), the infamous Columbia Gorge East Winds.

This chilly wind blows from the east when eastern Oregon gets colder than it does here in the west and essentually turns the Columbia Gorge into a winter wind tunnel. The winds dissapate as they hit Portland and the Willamette, but in eastern Portland cities, such as Troutdale, where our Beaver Creek site is located, you can really feel the force of these unique winds. And boy did Portland Lutheran have a windy experience on Friday! But they didn’t come out to Beaver Creek to have personal experiences with gusts, they came to help restore the creek, and braved the burly weather to do so.

Portland Lutheran shrugged off the gale around them and were able to get a lot done. Students created living stakes out of freshly harvested willow branches and pounded them into the bare banks of the creek. They’ve essentually created clones of the willow trees as these stakes will grow into new trees with their roots providing much needed stability for the stream bank and their canopy providing much needed shade for the water. Meanwhile other students were constructing and placing out cages around young recently planted trees at the site. Beaver Creek is aptly named and these cages will protect the young saplings from any large rodents looking for a quick snack, until the trees get large enough to handle a little gnawing. Students also spent some working on a project of mapping out the stream.

Despite the blustery weather, Portland Lutheran students were troopers throughout the day and really got a lot of work done. We at SOLV thank you all for your good humor and hard work, and so does Beaver Creek. Until next time, we’ll be singing:

On the stream bank we can stake some willow                                                            And pretend that they are fully grown                                                                          Look how the big old branches sway and billow                                                           And shade the water flowing down below!

Reflections on the river

During our salmon tosses this year, Green Team staff had students take a moment and really reflect on their experience.  Students were given the two writing prompts below.  Here are two creative reflections that will be submitted to Honoring Our River.

1.  From the salmon’s point of view… Describe your journey upstream.
What are some barriers or challenges you face?

It Is Time

I am small

Tightly packed in a pomegranate red sphere

It is time

Everything is big and cold

So hungry

I eat in a crazed manner

Growing, growing

A notion, an urging comes to my mind

It is time

Current batters me as I swim

The goal ahead seems far away

Waterfalls loom ahead and I jump

Toiling again and again

Suddenly the current stops

It is time

Exploring the ocean

A great watery expanse of life

Full of relatives

Fish of every kind!

No time to talk

It is time

-7th grade student, Portland Lutheran School

2.   You are a salmon real estate agent.  Write an ad for the stream we
were at yesterday.  What makes that stream pristine, healthy and desirable
for other salmon to move there?

Moving to the Clackamas

All other fish quiver,

When they hear about the Clackamas River.

With water so cold, and nutrients galore,

What better place for your eggs to store?

The water is covered with shade,

So your eggs will have it made.

The setting so beautiful and bright,

You know everything will be all right.

So swim upriver today,

And rejoice, because you’re on your way.

-12th grade student, Clackamas High School

Portland Lutheran Students Swing, Slice, Smear, and Scribble about Salmon

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While all of us were enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast this weekend, the Eagle Creek riparian ecosystem was also enjoying a feast of nutrients, thanks to the 30 7th and 8th graders from Portland Lutheran School who came out to the Mt. Hood National Forest on a pre-holiday salmon toss.

Scientists have discovered that a hefty percentage of the nutrients in riparian zones in western Oregon is marine based and brought there by salmon who swim up the streams to spawn and die. Despite the fact that the area around Eagle Creek is still fairly pristine, salmon runs in these streams aren’t nearly as high as they historically were. This is mostly because of overfishing and habitat degradation, dams, and pollution in areas downstream. SOLV Green Teams are trying to improve those downstream urbanized degraded habitats the rest of the year. However, this time of year we like to help out these riparian zones in the upper streams by tossing hatchery salmon carcasses into the streams to mimic what was going on historically, and cycle nutrients back into this system.

We met biologist Jeff from the Oregon department of Fish and Wildlife, and Russ Plaeger from the Sandy River Basin Council up near Zigzag, at beautiful Eagle Creek last Wednesday for the toss. When we arrived at the snowy location, the excited Portland Lutheran students jumped out of their cars and were so excited to start tossing fish, they started practicing by tossing a few snowballs around. Once warmed up, we opened the large tote full of fish, and students immediately got to work tossing the large smelly, awkward, slippery, heavy fish carcasses into the creek. While all of this was going on, another group of students used the opportunity of having these fascinating specimens to do a dissection, lead by Gina (SOLV). Students got to see the fascinating inner-workings of the fish and see how different (and similar) they are to our own piping and plumbing.

After we had tossed 3 giant totes of fish into the stream, everyone headed back downhill back to campus for lunch. But the day’s salmon adventures weren’t over yet. After lunch students had the opportunity to try out Japanese fish printing, or Gyotaku, with some of the salmon we had saved for that purpose. All the 7th and 8th graders were enjoying the beautiful art they were creating, while all the rest of the Portland Lutheran students in the building were enjoying the very distinct and ever strengthening perfume the salmon carcasses were gassing off. Students also spent some time reflecting on their day with the Salmon by both writing and drawing some pieces that may end up in Honoring our Rivers next year!

SOLV appreciates all of the enthusiasm and humor that Portland Lutheran showed on Wednesday despite the weather and strong odors, you guys definitely earned your Thanksgiving turkeys! Eagle Creek thanks you for its thanksgiving fest as well!

Did we ofishially manage to get through this entire post without any salmon related puns? I know, I minnnow, but we found they were wearing quite fin and the sheer SCALE of that endeavor is pretty roeful. Wait, what? Who put those in there?!? Just when I thought everything was going swimmingly…

Beaver Creek has 100 brand new native plants!

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Portland Lutheran School Green Team joined us at Beaver Creek ALL day today.  35 very enthusiastic students jumped aboard a TriMet bus and made their way from the school to Gresham to the creek for a sunny fun-filled day.  Students planted 100 new native trees and shrubs to create shade, habitat and to help filter toxins for Beaver Creek.

Some students even took a trip down a beaver “slide” to see what it’s like to be a beaver at Beaver Creek!

Students also helped clear invasive Armenian(formerly known as Himalayan) Blackberry from around some natives planted by volunteers last year!  Students competed with each other for the biggest root award!

With teacher, Mr. Tarbell, students learned all about stream mapping techniques and tested pH, temperature and conductivity of Beaver Creek.

Thanks so much Portland Lutheran!  We’ll see you next month for a fishy adventure up the Sandy River!

Portland Lutheran brings the sunshine!

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Today students from Portland Lutheran School joined us at Beaver Creek, bringing the sunshine with them!  In the morning, students heard all about what makes a stream healthy.  Then, students sat stream-side in groups to draw Beaver Creek, assessing both the healthy aspects of the stream and identifying areas needing help.

After relaxing in the sunny weather enjoying lunch by the Sandy River, Charlie(SOLV) lead students on a tour of Beaver Creek’s plant-life and played a game of riparian metaphors.  Students also got to sample the stream for macroinvertebrates with Meghan and Gina.  Students learned all about how these indicator insects are impacted by water quality in the stream.  Students identified black fly larva, snails and many crayfish in the stream.

Thank you so much Portland Lutheran for a fun-filled day.  We are excited to see you next month down at the creek!