Tree For All Partners Protecting Public Health

For more than a decade, Tree for All partners have worked to develop the strong, active relationships necessary to achieve watershed health. These functional cross-sector alliances have proven crucial to effectively address the large-scale ecological issues facing our region.

Tree for All partners recognize that there is more to watershed health than ecological health alone, however—and the events of 2020 brought that truth home. When COVID-19 arrived in Oregon, followed months later by an unprecedented wildfire season, partners came together with the health community to help address some of Washington County’s most urgent needs.

The “People Protecting People” project provides personal protective equipment to Business Recovery Centers, agricultural workers, and community-based organizations including food banks and shelters.

In July, partners began delivering KN95 masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, and disinfectant wipes to distribution hubs. Recently, the project team has focused on expanding distribution by targeting the employees of sectors identified as high-risk for COVID transmission, such as assisted living facilities and food processing plants.

Highlights include: 

• 200,000 masks for agricultural workers

• 250,000 masks for COVID Business Recovery Centers

• 300,000 masks for community-based organizations

• 100,000 masks for TriMet passengers

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) delivered to all 10 Washington County Farmers Markets (200+ vendors served)

• Prepositioned PPE distributed for grape harvest at all 31 vineyards in Washington County

• Masks for all 800 Washington County Meals on Wheels participants

• An agricultural distribution event at Tualatin River Farm (100,000 masks in one day)

• All nine Washington County Chambers of Commerce served

The People Protecting People project would not have been possible without the partnership of the Washington County Emergency Operations Center & Health Department, the Washington County Visitors Association, Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, TriMet, Centro Cultural, the Muslim Educational Trust, the Farm Services Agency, the Oregon Child Development Coalition, Natural Resources Conservation Services, OSU Cooperative Extension, the Oregon Food Bank, Business Recovery Centers, among many other generous partners.

“We did not know there was going to be historic fires, but the deliveries reached us at the perfect time, just as the smoke from the fires was beginning. Of all the masks we distributed during the worst of the smoke no one had sufficient KN95 (or equivalent) masks provided to them, so it made a huge difference”

— Parker Berger / Western Farmworkers Association

Wapato pump rehabilitation aids resource management for wildlife and water quality

With old pump removal and new pump installation complete, Tree for All partners continue to make progress toward the public opening of Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Gaston, OR. The public/private partnership will protect one of Oregon’s highest-value wetland resources, critical to the health of the Tualatin River Watershed and a place of high cultural significance to the region’s tribes.

The new pedestrian bridge will connect downtown Gaston to more than five miles of trails.

A regional asset public health, as well as environmental and economic health, Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge protects clean drinking water and will provide public access to nature via five miles of trails in addition to world-class birdwatching opportunities.

One of the key components of the Wapato Lake restoration project is the rehabilitation of aging pumping infrastructure. In June 2020, the lake’s primary pumping facility, originally installed in the 1930s, was removed.

Removal of the old pump station (summer 2020).

New pumps will manage water levels in the lakebed to support a mosaic of wetland habitats and protect municipal and agricultural water supplies. Last week, the first new pump was installed.

Installation of the new pump (autumn 2020).

Upgrades to critical infrastructure at the site were made possible by multiple partners including: the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Joint Water Commission, the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District and Intel Corporation.

Installation of the a new pump (autumn 2020).

Fall tree plantings continue with extra precautions

This family spent a Saturday in October planting trees at Jackson Bottom Wetland.

For years, Tree for All partner Friends of Trees has gathered, supplied and trained thousands of volunteers at its community tree planting events. Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, important watershed restoration work continues. 

Friends of Trees is offering several opportunities for community members to get their hands dirty planting native trees and shrubs throughout the Tualatin River Watershed. “We are trying to hold these events in as safe a way as possible for all participants to come out,” said Logan Lauvray, Friends of Trees’ Green Space Program Manager.

Among the Covid-19 precautions for this year’s planting season:

• This year, planting events are limited to 20 community members and up to five staff from Friends of Trees and partners. 

• Because space is limited at each event, Friends of Trees asks volunteers to register ahead of time through its website. 

• In order to ensure the health and safety of all participants and staff, Friends of Trees requires that all volunteers wear masks and maintain social distance from those outside of their group. 

• Self-serve granola bars and bottled water will be provided, but volunteers are encouraged to reduce waste by bringing their own water bottles from home.

All tree planting events through December are now posted. More opportunities in the new year will be added soon.

Visit the Friends of Trees planting calendar to learn more and sign up.

Twenty-five Friends of Trees volunteers and staff met at Jackson Bottom Wetland on October 3 to plant native trees and shrubs.

Construction continues at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Construction activities continue to move ahead fast and furious at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Two new bridges are near completion. The first provides improved, safer access to Wapato's pumphouses, which themselves have been demolished in advance of their long-anticipated replacement.  The second bridge, for pedestrian use, is adjacent to downtown Gaston and will be the primary access point for the Refuge and the new trail system. Nearby, meanwhile, work has started on a parking lot, and next will come the entrance lane.

An opening date for the refuge has yet to be established, but partners hope to welcome visitors to the site later this year. Stay tuned for updates!

Connecting to birds, nature without leaving home

Portland Audubon, a longtime Tree for All partner, hasn’t skipped a beat during the Stay at Home order. They’re developing tools and activities and adapting their regular programming to allow people of all ages and birdwatching experience to connect with birds, each other, and nature without leaving home.

Portland Audubon’s classes for adults have been adapted for distance learning. Current offerings include a Birding by Ear series, Bird Identification Classes focusing on different species, a special Birding from Home series and more.

They’ve also adapted their Nature Adventure Club to feature cool experiments, weird nature facts and hands-on activities that kids can do at home with nothing more than paper, some markers and their powers of observation.

Photo by Mick Thompson

Backyard BioBlitz

When: Every Tuesday
Where: Your yard or neighborhood

With so many people sheltering in place and paying more attention to their yards and neighborhoods, we are seeing a huge increase in people reporting wildlife sightings. We thought this would be a great opportunity to learn more about the wildlife that shares our urban landscape!

How Does the Backyard BioBlitz work? Each Tuesday throughout the spring and summer, Audubon Society is asking people to track and report the wildlife that they see around their homes and neighborhoods. They have created an easy to fill out Google form with check boxes for birds, mammals and insects.

Photo by Mick Thompson

Ask a Birder!

When: Every Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Where: Facebook Live

Join Portland Audubon’s Brodie Cass Talbott, Greg Smith and some of the Portland Metro area’s most innovative birders for this weekly, interactive video-cast. Catch up on what’s happening in migration this week, get the lowdown on recent rare bird sightings, and learn along as our master birders break down your trickiest bird IDs!

Have a question for our birding experts?

Send in your own bird photos, audio clips or questions to BirdNerd@audubonportland.org by Sunday night to hear them answered on the show, or log in during the show to leave a comment on the Facebook Live video.

PS: You don’t need to have a Facebook account to tune in. Just head to the Facebook page at the start time and enjoy!