Habitat Restoration in Mt. Tabor Park
By Mary Kinnick
Friends of Mt. Tabor Park (FMTP) Weed Warriors (WW) have accomplished a great deal over the past 14 years.
They’ve removed acres of invasive species and replanted and mulched native species. This past year was the largest turnout ever of individual volunteers (347), many of whom returned to become regulars.
The group planted 1295 native plants and worked to remove invasive species in nearly 5 acres on the NE side of the park. Volunteers contributed 2345 hours, the equivalent of almost one full-time employee.
Crew leaders work with small groups of volunteers help them to work safely and effectively, stay highly motivated, and learn more about the importance of habitat restoration in the park.
They range from high-school age to retirees, levels of experience (from none at all to professionals working the environmental sector) and physical strength, all with a curiosity for learning and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to the community and Mt. Tabor Park.
In the past, most service projects have taken place in one or in adjacent areas of the park. Now Weed Warriors will spread across several areas of the park. Additional crew leaders will be needed to work with volunteers.
The leader training program has been strengthened over the last three years through a collaboration of the FMTP, Portland Parks and Recreation, and the Tabor to the River project of the Bureau of Environmental Services.
Training includes a two hour session where new leaders learn about the program, restoration techniques, safety practices, how to work with volunteers, and the invasive species most commonly removed.
Following the essentials, crew leaders go outside for a hands-on lesson in Mt. Tabor Park.
Crew leader trainings for the 2015 season are scheduled for February 28 and March 21 from 10 am – 2 pm. Lunch is available at both trainings.
The February training includes a native planting. Volunteer service projects take place the last Saturday of each month from March through October, and crew leaders are expected to be able to attend at least two of these events.
If your organization would like to volunteer on a regular basis (e.g. once a year or more), have one or two in your group train as crew leaders.
To get information and sign-up to be a crew leader, contact Alexa Todd via e-mail: alexatodd.fmtp@gmail.com. Check out www.taborfriends.org, see bottom of page and click on Weed Warriors).
Recycling Tip for February
By Bonita Davis
Certified Master Recycler Sunnyside Neighbor
February is the perfect time for cleaning out the medicine cabinet or that collection of home health and personal care items that are no longer being used.
Two resources can be very useful when cleaning out your supplies. First, is www.oregonmetro.gov, Tools + Living, Find A Recycler for specific information on safe disposal, or reuse and donation options close to your home.
The other is the Metro Recycling Hotline, 503.234.3000, that connects you to a resource person who can answer questions.
Prescription medications, including over-the-counter and samples, require safe storage and safe disposal. When discarding, follow the disposal guidelines available on the website (search for ‘pharmaceuticals’) or call the hotline.
Metro Central Hazardous Waste facility at 6161 NW 61st Ave. (503.234.3000) accepts expired or unwanted pharmaceuticals.
A closer option might be might be the drop boxes in the lobby of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s office at 12240 NE Glisan St. (503.261.2810) or Portland Police Precinct at 737 SE 106th Ave (503.823.4800)
Too many bath products and shampoos? A non-profit or shelter might be interested. Use the Find a Recycler tool to search for Personal Care Items and click on the donate/reuse tab to find a facility near you.
Programs will specify what products they can use and if they accept only unopened containers.
Used home health equipment such as walkers, canes, crutches, baths, chairs, lift recliners, and hospital beds are accepted at several local non-profits and businesses. Search for Medical Supply Equipment on the Find a Recycler tool.
Spring cleaning has begun!
Friends of
Mt Tabor
annual meeting
Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 19. The annual Meeting/Winter Program of the Friends of Mt Tabor Park begins at 7 pm and featured speaker is Kaitlin Lovell, who manages the City of Portland’s Science, Fish and Wildlife Division for the Bureau of Environmental Sciences.
Lovell is co-author of the recently adopted Climate Change Preparation Strategy and its companion, the Climate Change Risk and Vulnerabilities Assessment.
Don’t miss this interesting and informative presentation. The meeting will be held in the chapel of Western Seminary, SE 55th & SE Hawthorne, and doors open at 6:30 pm.
The business meeting, which includes the election of board members, begins at 7 pm followed by the presentation.
Atkinson Elementary School
5800 SE Division St
Open House for Prospective Parents
February 12, 6 pm to 8 pm
This is an open house. Find out what Atkinson has to offer students. Meet the staff, parents, students and learn about the opportunities and offerings Atkinson school provides K-5 students.
For information contact the school at 503.916.6333 or visit www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/atkinson.
Free spay/neuter services
The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon (FCCO) offers free spay/neuter services for feral and stray cats at its Portland clinic this February in honor of Spay/Neuter Awareness Month.
Now is the perfect time to spay/neuter cats to prevent litters of kittens in the spring, and to curb unwanted tom cat behaviors like spraying and fighting.
People who feed feral or stray cats qualify for this special offer, regardless of income or where they live. Services include spay/neuter surgery, vaccines, flea treatment, antibiotics, pain relief medication and an ear-tip for identification.
Surgeries are performed by licensed veterinarians and supported through donations from the community.
FCCO has humane live traps available to catch cats that are too wild to be handled. Many caregivers who bring cats to the clinics have never trapped a cat before, but with training from staff members, a majority catch every cat they’re feeding.
The nonprofit’s goal is to spay/neuter at least 450 stray and feral cats in February. Since its founding in 1995, the clinic has spayed/neutered more than 72,000 cats.
February weekday clinics are held Wednesday through Friday. There’s a special Sunday clinic on February 15. They all take place at the FCCO’s North Portland clinic, located near the Legacy Emanuel Hospital, is
Call 503.797.2606 or www.feralcats.com to make an appointment.
The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, a 501c3 organization supported solely through donations, is a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program for feral and stray cats living in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
LWV Economic Development Discussion
Portland Economic Development Panel Discussion sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Portland is a free, public event to be held Tuesday, February 10, from 7 – 9 pm in the Multnomah County Building, Board Rm, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
A two-year League study on Portland Economic Development, will be available at this meeting.
Panelists include: John Russell, owner of Russell Development Company, real estate development. Mr Russell is the recipient of the 2012 Nohad A. Toulan Urban Pioneer Award for Public Service; Ray Espana, Housing Development Director for Native American Youth and Family Association and a Commissioner on the Portland Housing Bureau Advisory Commission; Chris Harder, Economic Development Director, Portland Development Commission.
2015 marks 95 years of the League of Women Voters. There will be a social time with refreshments. See lwvpdx.org for more.
Powell-Division Transit Workshop
Traveling between Gresham and Portland could get faster, easier and safer in one of the region’s busiest transit corridors. Do you ride the bus? Thousands of people depend on the 4-Division and 9-Powell buses. Are you one of them? Share your experiences in the corridor.
What you like to see happen at major destinations, such as 82nd Avenue or Mt. Hood Community College? Do you live or work here? What would make Powell and Division better for you? Talk to staff and learn about the project at the upcoming workshops February 28. SE, E. Portland at Fubonn, 2850 SE 82nd Ave. Hands on workshop, 11 am to 1 pm, drop in open house: 10:30 am to 1:30 pm.
EarthTalk–Are antibiotics overused?
The development and widespread adoption of so-called antibiotics – drugs that kill bacteria and thereby reduce infection –has helped billions of people live longer, healthier lives. All this tinkering with nature hasn’t come without a cost. The more we rely on antibiotics, the more bacteria develop resistance to them, which makes treating infections that much more challenging.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overuse of antibiotics by humans, such as for the mistreatment of viral infections, means these important drugs are less effective for all of us. Besides the toll on health, researchers estimate that antibiotic resistance causes Americans upwards of $20 billion in additional healthcare costs every year stemming from the treatment of otherwise preventable infections.
A bigger issue, though, is our growing reliance on feeding antibiotics to livestock for growth promotion, weight gain and to treat, control and prevent disease. This increasingly common practice is a significant factor in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which the FDA acknowledges can get passed onto humans who eat food from treated animals. The non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) reports the majority of the ground beef and ground turkey sold in the typical American grocery store contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Last year, 26 animal pharmaceutical companies voluntarily complied with an FDA request to re-label medically important antibiotics used in food-producing animals to warn against using them for growth promotion and weight gain. They also recommended that medically-important antibiotics be prescribed by licensed veterinarians and only to treat, control and prevent disease.
“We need to be selective about the drugs we use in animals and when we use them,” says William Flynn of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Antimicrobial resistance may not be completely preventable, but we need to do what we can to slow it down.”
Still some worry that the FDA’s action doesn’t go far enough, given that farmers will still be able to administer antibiotics to their livestock for disease prevention. The fact that more livestock operations are switching over to Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) whereby animals are confined in crowded enclosures (instead of allowed to graze at pasture) means antibiotics will play an increasingly important role in disease prevention.
For its part, the FDA argues that since veterinarians need to authorize antibiotic use for disease prevention, farmers and ranchers are less likely to overuse antibiotics for their livestock populations. The same can be said about doctors’ limiting the prescription of antibiotics for their human patients, but only time will tell whether such restraint is enough in the fast evolving arms race between bacteria and our antibiotics.
Consumers can do their part by avoiding antibiotic medications unless absolutely necessary and eating less meat (or giving it up entirely) to help reduce demand.
EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E – The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com.
Free Fix-It Fair
The Fix-It Fair is a free City of Portland event where you can learn simple and effective ways to save money at home and stay healthy this winter and beyond.
Featuring exhibits from community partners, and an extensive schedule of workshops held throughout the day, experts will talk about water, energy savings, personal health and healthcare, food and nutrition, community resources, recycling and yard care, lead testing and more.
¡Clases en español! Special workshops taught in Spanish are offered too. Free professional childcare and lunch are provided at each fair.
The Fix-It Fair is Saturday February 21, at David Douglas High School 1001 SE 135th Ave. • 9:30 am – 3 pm
To receive information and reminders on upcoming fairs, e-mail fixitfair@portlandoregon.gov.
If special accommodation, interpretation or translation are needed, call 503.823.4309, the TTY at 503.823.6868 or the Oregon Relay Service at 800.735.2900.
Ash Wednesday service, 7 pm, February 18, Presbyterian Church of Laurelhurst, 935 NE 33rd, 503.232.9129.
Tabor Heights United Methodist Church offers worship services on Ash Wednesday February 18 to begin the Lenten season: 1 pm with a 30 minute liturgy discussion afterward) and 7 pm. “We’re Not Alone – Preparation for Life after Encountering Jesus” on Sundays February 22 – March 29 at 9:30 am.
CONSTRUCTIVE WALLOWING – Friday, February. 13, 2 pm. Have you ever had a difficult or unpleasant conversation with someone, then spent hours replaying it in your head? Hosford-Abernethy-based psychotherapist Tina Gilbertson, author of Constructive Wallowing, offers a fix for this annoying problem in her free talk at the Central Library. Registration required. Info at multcolib.org/events/constructive-wallowing
Creative Writing Class for Adults AND Teens – Write from prompts that may lead to new stories, poems and other creative pieces. Mondays, January 5 – March 9, 6:30 – 8 pm. TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont. $12 to drop in for a class or $80 for all 8 weeks. All experience levels are welcome to join this supportive group. Taught by Pushcart-nominee Linda Ferguson. For information, email ljdferguson@gmail.com.
THe NATIONAL Do Not Call Registry – Here is the link: www.donotcall.gov.
TED Talks, We Talk: Connected but Alone?–Thursday February 12, 6:30 – 7:30 pm at Belmont Regional Library, 1038 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd, As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other? Sherry Turkle studies how our devices and online personas are redefining human connection and communication and asks us to think about the new kinds of connection we want to have. Watch a video and stay for a conversation afterwards. For more programs and information drop in and see us or give us a call 503.988.5382, or online www.multcolib.org. Library programs are always free of charge.
OPEN LABYRINTH the first Thursday of every month. The next one will be February 5, 7 – 9 pm at Sunnyside Church, SE 35th & Yamhill.
The Hawthorne Laughter Club meets Sundays from 4 to 5 pm. Volunteer facilitators use playful exercises to stimulate laughter, interspersed with mindful breathing. Sessions end with laughter meditation. A $5-$10 donation is requested to cover studio costs but no one is turned away. Hawthorne Wellness Center – Movement Studio (Rear Building) 3942 SE Hawthorne Blvd. www.portlandlaughteryoga.com/hawthorne-laughter-club
Winter Stock-up/Montavilla Farmers Market expands its season with Winter Stock-Up Markets. These Markets are only two-hours, 11am – 1 pm, and are intended to provide customers with a farm/producer-direct meet-up point once a month during the winter season. The next market is Sunday, February 8. Expect to see the EBT/Debit Token program still available. Find what’s seasonal, local, fresh, and direct in a quick and easy one-stop shopping market. MFM provides a venue for vendors to connect with regular customers of the Market, supporting pre-arranged sales, bulk buying, CSA pick-ups and regular monthly farm/producer deliveries to our site.
Franklin High School’s Annual Auction, Saturday, February 21, 6 pm – 10 pm, at the Ambridge Event Center. This year’s theme is “A Night in Havana.” Buy your ticket at franklin.schoolauction.net/2015. Dollars raised benefit academics, the arts, athletics, and more.
SE Area Art Walk–February 28/March 1. Go on a free, self-guided tour by visiting the studios, home workspaces, galleries, host homes and businesses within the boundaries of SE 9th – SE 41st & Hawthorne to Powell Blvd. Go to: seportlandartwalk.com for more information and see the front page of our GO section this month..
Worst Day of the Year Bike Ride – February 28. Ride with 3,000 other fun-loving people for the Worst Day of the Year Ride presented by Laughing Planet Cafe. Ride either 15 miles around downtown Portland or explore the West Side with the 46 mile Challenge Course. Gather for an after party at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub. To register go to: worstdayride.com
What Moves You? Tell Your Portland Story
What brought you to Portland? What has kept you here? Researchers at Portland State University’s Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, College of Urban and Public Affairs want to hear your Portland story.
Their survey, is called “What Moves You? Tell Your Portland Story”.
What can this research tell us about Portland? Roughly two-thirds of the region and state’s population growth is the result of net in-migration.
Given that migration brings together people of various backgrounds, political viewpoints, age, race/ethnicity, and culture,, improving understanding of who is moving here today will better prepare us for understanding what Portland will look like tomorrow.
Portland migrants place strong value on the region’s natural amenities (e.g. climate, access to the Gorge), bicycle and regional transit infrastructure, and economic opportunity, but also consistently cite opportunities for social/community engagement as important factors as well.
After completing the survey, you will be invited to a presentation of the results and findings.
The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and is completely confidential. It asks why people chose to move to Portland, why they have stayed, and what they value most in place to live and work.
Go to: tinyurl.com/k4s5cp8 If you have questions or would like more information, email Jason Jurjevich at jjason@pdx.edu or Greg Schrock at gschrock@pdx.edu.