Community News March 2016

Rain gardens – Weeds – Native plants

 

Rain gardens are landscape features that collect and treat runoff from places like driveways, rooftops, sidewalks and parking lots and resolve puddle problems. Learn step-by-step how to plan, design, and build your own rain garden. Determine the right size and location, how to build it, and advice on choosing plants that will thrive in it. The workshop includes a field trip to a nearby rain garden. Saturday March 12, 9 am – 1 pm.

Urban Weeds Workshop Weeds – control them before they control you. Join us for an after-work exploration of common garden and landscape weeds along with some other notorious plant invaders of the region.  Gain an understanding of how these aggressive plants take over and how to get the upper hand controlling their spread without turning to synthetic herbicides. Tuesday March 12, 6 – 8:30 pm

Landscaping with Native Plants Native plants attract birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and require less regular maintenance once established. Saturday April 2, 9 – 11:30 am.

These free workshops are taught by landscape professionals and designed to help you choose native plants well-suited for the unique conditions of your yard.

All workshops are at Southeast Uplift, 3534 SE Main St. Registration is required. Register at http://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops

 

Sort is the New Toss

 

By Bonita Davis, Master Recycler and Sunnyside resident

 

A beam of sun streaming through the window can be all it takes to signal the end of hibernation and the beginning of spring cleaning.  As excited as we can be over the first buds and the birds, the cobwebs and dust are another story.

First, what to do with clutter? Time to rethink the terms. This year, “sort” is the new “toss”.   Tossing is great for Frisbees and salads, but when applied to our possessions, it can result in sending a lot of useful reusable and recyclable material down the road to the landfill.

Sorting offers a lot of choice. Decide on how much has to go, and plan accordingly. Is this a job for a few bags, grocery boxes, or a truck?   Deciding what can be used by someone else can be a good place to begin.

Gather up clothing, toys, household goods, appliances, and whatever else you no longer want and tag it for reuse.  Watch the clutter pile go way down when you commit to passing on your stuff to the next new owner, whether selling or donating.

Not sure where to take your stuff?  Call the Metro Recycling Hotline, 503.234.3000 at, or go to www.orgonmetro.gov, Find A Recycler, and click on the ReUse tab.

Next, look no further than curbside recycling for plastic pots, empty paint cans, all kinds of paper, small amounts of metal, motor oil, lawn debris and more.

Those odd pieces of plastic film, rigid or bulky plastics can go to our local recycling depot, FarWest Recycling. Check out materials they accept at www.farwestrecycling.com.

Things with a cord, electronics, etc. can be recycled at www.freegeek.org. Odd and end craft, artsy, school or office supplies in the mix? Consider donating to SCRAP, www.scrappdx.org.

Bag up those plastic lids, Styrofoam, clamshell plastics and wine corks and take them back to a local grocery with a recycling program.

Make someone’s day by donating your unwanted lumber, house parts, or other useful materials.   Consider a donation to Habitat for Humanity, www.pdxrestore.org or the ReBuilding Center www.rebuildingcenter.org.

Lastly, stuff that must be handled with care – hazardous waste, cfc bulbs, lawn and household chemicals, used paint, and old gas canisters from the BBQ?  Learn what you can do about it.  Go to, www.oregonmetro.gov/tools-living/healthy-home/common-hazardous-products.

Turns out, you may not really have a lot of junk, after all.  Sorting it all out makes it possible to prevent sending “waste” to the landfill.

 

For recycle tips and a complete list of where to take it, check out the latest quarterly Curbsider, www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/555409.  Contact the Curbside Hotline at 503.823.7202. 

 

Climate Action

 

Support Your City’s Climate Action Plan: Let’s Learn More About This Sweeping Plan for Action

Tuesday, March 8, Michele Crim, Climate Action Program Manager for the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability will speak about the City/County Climate Action Plan, with an emphasis on implementation of the plan’s goals.

The event is free and open to the public and part of the monthly series “Let’s Talk Climate,” held at TaborSpace, SE 54th and Belmont at 7 pm.

Participants are encouraged to register at www.tinyurl.com/Climate-Action-Goals-PDX or by sending an e-mail to climaterenewal@yahoo.com.

 

Preserving trees

 

Due to recent public concern about increased development in Portland resulting in the removal of large healthy trees, City Council is holding a public hearing and formulating proposed amendments to strengthen regulations for large tree preservation.

Attend a public hearing
 Thursday March 3, 2 pm at Portland City Council Chambers 1221 SW 4th Ave #110.

They will be taking into consideration several proposals created by multiple City Bureaus and Commissions.

 

Division Hardware celebration events

 

Division Hardware’s remodel celebration is four events:

Saturday March 5 Benjamin Moore Painting Party, 7 pm. Bring your own item to paint. Hors d’oeuvres served and automatic grand prize entry, a limited so please register.

Saturday March 12 Family Toolbox Making, 7 pm. Build and decorate tool boxes, limited spaces for  one child, one adult, grand prize entry.

Saturday March 19 Community Celebration, 10 am – 2 pm, vendors, demonstrations, light refreshments.

Saturday, March 26 Grand Reception Celebration, 7 – 11 pm. Open to the public, local band, vendors, Grand Prize drawing.

Division Hardware is at 3734 SE Division St. 503.235.8309

 

Crew leaders needed

 

Mt. Tabor Park Weed Warriors Crew Leader Training is scheduled for Saturday, March 12, from 10 am – 2 pm with lunch provided

Friends of Mt. Tabor Park Weed Warriors are volunteers who remove invasive plant species and restore native habitat to the park.

There are restoration parties from 9 am–noon the last Saturday of every month, March – October, and Crew Leaders help facilitate volunteer work. Crew Leaders are truly the heroes of Mt. Tabor restoration.

Being a Crew Leader means:

  • Underthe guidance of the Stewardship Coordinator, helping manage small groups of volunteers to remove invasive vegetation
  • Beinga role model for volunteers: working safely, efficiently, and teaching tool use as needed
  • Answeringquestions, sharing stories, or identifying plants to educate and enhance volunteers’ experience
  • Creatingan inclusive culture for all volunteers
  • Typically, working with at least one other Crew Leader per group
  • Committingto volunteer for at least two restoration parties per year

 

Interested? Contact Stasia Honnold at fmtp.weedwarriors@gmail.com to register.

 

Making Powell saferpowells-small

 

Families for a Safer Powell is a new coalition of PTAs, Neighborhood Associations, Businesses and individuals located near Powell Blvd.

The goal of the group is to increase safety and accessibility on and around Powell.

They formed as a subcommittee of the Cleveland High School PTA through concerns about nearby motor vehicle traffic.

The eleven-block campus area (from the Baseball Field on 22nd and Powell to the Football Field on 33rd) has seen several recent fatalities and has a regular and troubled safety history for the students and staff.

The subcommittee determined the most significant contributor to the lack of safety on Powell is a road design that prioritizes vehicle speed at the cost of of safety and livability.  It decided that the problem must be tackled holistically rather than focusing on just the area near Cleveland.

Safer Powell advocates for speed-limit reduction as well as increased accessibility people of all ages, ability and mode of transport. The organization recently weighed in on Portland’s comprehensive plan along with the Brooklyn Action Corps board. Both groups asked the City to change Powell Blvd.’s designation away from its current automobile-oriented design that divides and pollutes our neighborhoods.

The group hopes that the Powell-Division Bus Rapid Transit project can be an opportunity to re-vision the thoroughfare to better suit the needs of the community.

Safer Powell has active support from a variety of individuals and the tacit support of several different neighborhood committees, businesses, and civic leaders. A petition to get official support is being circulated currently.

If you wish to learn more or get involved as an individual, business, or organization contact former Sellwood-Westmoreland parent and volunteer, Dan Kaufman at 503.267.2862, or email dan@pdxk.com .

 

Memory Cafe opens in Montavilla

 

Saints Peter & Paul Episcopal Church, 247 SE 82nd Ave., host a free monthly Memory Café for individuals with early to moderate Alzheimer’s and their care partners beginning Tuesday, March  8from 11 am to 12:30 pm. Monthly gatherings are opportunities for sharing stories, socializing with others and having fun together.

Coffee, tea and light snacks will be provided. The Memory Café is meant to provide people with dementia a safe and comfortable place to gather where the symptoms and stresses of Alzheimer’s are understood and accepted.

Memory Cafés began in Europe and have slowly spread throughout the United States. Marla McGarry Lawrence  and Mary Mark are the co-coordinators of the new Memory Café at Saints Peter & Paul.

McGarry-Lawrence says, “Both my mother and Mary Mark’s mother suffered from Alzheimer’s-related illnesses so we know how challenging the disease is. But we also know how important it was for our moms to experience joy and to feel included.”

 

 

Reservations are strongly encouraged. Call the church at 503.254.8168. For information, call Deacon Marla McGarry-Lawrence at 503.803.0028.

 

Culinary Breeding Network: bridging the gap between breeders and eaters

 

The Multnomah County Master Gardener speaker series present Lane Selman, Oregon State University, agricultural researcher, and creator of the Culinary Breeding Network, as she shares about the work being done with organic farmers and plant breeders to develop new vegetable varieties, and the innovative collaborative Culinary Breeding Network. The event is March 8, 7 pm at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St. 503.445.4608.

Plant breeders are decision makers. When a plant breeder crosses two different plants of the same species, the generations after are widely diverse. Different traits within the two parents’ genetics show up in each offspring, creating a spectrum of variation not unlike the differences in siblings, including different flavors, shapes, sizes and colors.

The plant breeder decides which to keep and which to discard and often, these decisions are made without much outside input. The Culinary Breeding Network was created to bring plant breeders together with fresh market farmers, chefs, produce buyers, food journalists and other leaders in the food community to bridge the gap between breeders and eaters with a goal of developing higher quality, more relevant and desirable vegetable cultivars.

Free event.  All welcome. • www.multnomahmastergardeners.org

 

Business Beat

 

PORTLAND STYLE CHEESECAKE & DESSERT CO. offers a new way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Owner Kim Haines has added 3” cheesecakes, available in five popular flavors: Classic Vanilla, Double Lemon, Pumpkin Gingersnap, Double Chocolate and Marionberry.  There are four 3” cake flavors: Coconut Dream, Double Chocolate, Caramel Pumpkin and Double Lemon. They are available at Zupan’s, 3301 SE Belmont St.; New Seasons, 4034 SE Hawthorne Blvd. and 4500 SE Woodstock Blvd.; and Fred Meyer, 3805 SE Hawthorne Blvd.  Special orders are available with three days’ notice. The company will have a pick-up retail site at its 2,500-square-foot SE Portland headquarters, at 1232 SE Oak St. Call 503.235.1415 and visit the company website, www.pscheesecake.com, for more information.

 

FOUR FOOTED FIT OPENS IN SE – Neighborhood pets have an exciting new choice for pet care.  Four Footed Fit offers a unique spin on services for pets. By way of introduction, new clients will receive a 10 percent discount on services booked during March and April. Info@FourFootFit.com or www.FourFootedFit.com.

 

FRIENDS OF MT. TABOR PARK ANNUAL MEETING – Mark your calendars for the Tuesday, March 15, 7 – 8:30 pm. This year’s featured speaker is Kevin Robinson, director of the Adult Soap Box Derby, held each summer in Mt. Tabor Park. Robinson will give a lively presentation about the Adult Soap Box Derby with lots of visuals. Doors open at 6:30 pm at Western Seminary (SE 55th & SE Hawthorne, the Chapel). The Annual Meeting begins at 7 pm followed by the Kevin’s presentation. There’s a free Mt. Tabor Park Tree Identification Walk Sunday, March 20 at 2 pm. Meet at the Visitor Center in the main parking lot, rain or shine. Bob Rogers leads guests on a walk to identify many species of trees found in the park. Mt. Tabor Park Weed Warriors Work Party, Saturday, March 26 from 9 am – noon.

 

FRIENDS OF BUCKMAN POOL SURVEY – You may have heard that Buckman Pool, the only Parks facility in inner SE,  is slated to be closed once again.  Friends of Buckman Pool goal is to promote the pool, and they will be soliciting responses to an online survey about the pool. Please look for the link to the survey on our facebook page, Friends of Buckman Pool. For questions about the survey or the pool, contact buckmanpool@gmail.com.

 

27TH ANNUAL TULIP SALE BENEFITS OREGON SYMPHONY – Mt Tabor Friends of the Oregon Symphony are holding their Annual Tulip Sale March 24 and 25. Call to order now or pick up at 5631 SE Madison (across from Western Seminary) 9 am to 3 pm.

 

TABOR VIEW HEALTH AND WELLNESS FREE MARCH CLASSES, 6018 SE Stark St. March 12, 1 – 2:30 pm: Intro to Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Therapy for pain, chronic fatigue, inflammation and more presented by Andrea Peruzzi, LAC. March 12, 3 – 4:30 pm “Swing into Spring”. Free Essential Oils Class to get your body and mind ready for the upcoming sunny months. March 26, 3 – 4:30 pm. Cooking with Oils.” Free class that explains how, when and why to use essential oils in your cooking. Food tasting and fun presented by Sadie Kane.

 

THE 4TH ANNUAL AYURVEDIC HEALTH FAIR hosted at Taborspace March 19 from 10 am – 4 pm. A free event highlighting local Ayurvedic resources, and including expert guest speakers, music, traditional Indian food, and vendors. The purpose of this event is a fundraiser for Taking Care Portland, a community supported cancer survivorship program. Taking Care Portland and the Institute of Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy are offering complimentary yoga therapy every Monday in March, 7 – 8:30 pm at Taborspace. Pre-registration is required, donations encouraged. March 26, the Taking Care Sound Tribe will be hosting a sound therapy/guided meditation concert and benefit in the Sanctuary at Taborspace (snacks provided after). Tickets are $10 pre-registration/$15 at the door.www.ayurvedichealthfair.com 503.313.1888

 

THE COW THAT WENT OINK –  Abby McKinnon, Portland Child & Family Counseling, will be reading the book and leading a kid and adult friendly discussion and art project around mindful decision making and social development. The event takes place at Beanstalk Montavilla, 8021 SE Stark, Sunday, March 13 at 2 pm. For information about Abby or to schedule a free consultation goto www.portlandchildfamilycounseling.com, call 503.317.8761.

 

LEAD POISONING PREVENTION WORKSHOP – Free workshop where participants learn how to prevent lead exposure in their home. Great for households with children or pregnant women in housing older than 1978, or those concerned about lead exposure. Qualified participants receive a free kit of safety and testing supplies. Register for the workshop at www.communityenergyproject.org or call 503.284.6827×109. Tues, March 15 , 6 – 7:30 pm – Community Energy Project,  2900 SE Stark St, Suite A.

 

CONCUSSION SIGNS and symptoms may persist for weeks, months or years affecting brain functions like balance, reading, comprehension, computer use, memory, emotions and sleep patterns. Are you suffering from a traumatic brain injury? Author, speaker and researcher in concussion evaluation and treatment, Dr. Todd Turnbull hosts a free seminar on concussion evaluation and treatment. During this 1 hour workshop, Turnbull shares current research about concussion evaluation tools including vision and balance testing. Workshops hosted at Turnbull Clinic 3205 SE 13th Ave. Suite 300.  Tuesday March 8 and Thursday March 10 at 7 pm. Limited seating, reserve today at www.DrToddTurnbull.com or call 503.805.3865.

 

BRIDGER PTA HOSTS ANNUAL AUCTION, Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 5:30 pm at Madeleine School & Parish, 3240 NE 23rd Ave. The auction is open to the public and the price of admission is $40 per person. Visit www.bridgerpta.schoolauction.net/auction2016 to browse auction items and purchase tickets.

 

NORSE HALL OBSERVES ST. PATRICK’S DAY EARLY WITH A VIKING BREAKFAST. Did you know that Dublin, Ireland, started out as a Viking settlement? Start your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations early at the Norse Hall Grieg Lodge Viking Breakfast Sunday, March 13 from 8:30 am to 1 pm. All-you-can-eat pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages, lingonberry jam and lots of coffee. $7 for adults, $4 for children 5 to 12, and children under 5 are free. There’s a Children’s Nordic Story Time scheduled in the library at 10 am. The Norse Hall – Grieg Lodge  is at 111 NE Couch St.  Please note that the March 13 Viking Breakfast is the same day as the Shamrock Run downtown.

 

ZEN RABBIT RESCUE monthly Meeting at Courtyard at Mt Tabor, 60th SE Division, March 20, 3:45 – 5 pm. Topics include bunny yoga,natural health, agility course, etc. Come earlier to do bunny therapy. Check website for info www.zenrabbit.org

 

ULSTER IRISH SEMINAR –  Discover Your Irish and Scots-Irish Roots Saturday, March 12, 9 am – 4:30 pm, 5440 SE Kellogg Creek Drive. Speakers include Ulster Historical Foundation’s very own, Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan. To register go to http://www.gfo.org/seminar/, info@gfo.org, or call The Genealogical Forum of Oregon  at 503.963.1932.

 

 

Community News March 2016

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