Meet Udara, our new Rethink Waste Program Manager!

July 19, 2021

The Rethink Waste Project has welcomed a new team member! Udara Abeysekera (she/her) will be the new Program Manager. Our previous Program Manager, Ani Kasch, is moving on to new work and her humor and passion for reducing waste is going to be missed. Udara moved to Central Oregon to be closer to family, […]

Green Spotlight: Rugged Thread

March 29, 2021

Repair!! It’s the key to a circular economy, y’all. In this day and age with planned obsolescence being the norm for everything from our cell phones to our appliances to our CLOTHING, we want to use our money to buy quality items that have more durability and combine that with excellent repair options. Never heard […]

Partner Spotlight: Friends of Malheur Refuge

October 22, 2020

(Header photo credit: Dan Streiffert) The Environmental Center is excited to announce a new Partner Group, Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) whose HQ is in Burns, Oregon. I got to speak with the Director, Janelle Wicks, to learn more about their work across Harney County and how Central Oregonians can participate in their […]

Our Growing Garden Team

August 31, 2020

After two years as a FoodCorps Service Member, we’re excited to announce that Tracy Ryan has joined our staff as a Garden & Nutrition Educator! Thanks in part to the Oregon Department of Education Farm to School Grant, we’re expanding our garden team for the upcoming school year. Tracy served at Three Rivers School in […]

Rethink Waste in and around your garden with Bend Urban Gardens

July 29, 2020

There is so much waste that can happen in backyard gardening: building materials, toxic chemicals from herbicides and pesticides, not to mention water, energy, and food waste potentials that can occur. I had a chance to sit down with a professional to learn about some best practices around waste reduction in the garden. From non-toxic […]

Volunteer Spotlight: Debra Burke

July 21, 2020

Meet Debra: 30+ Year Volunteer Debra’s life has been interwoven with The Environmental Center for several decades. But since March, our facility has been shut down to visitors and renters due to COVID-19, and most staff have been exclusively working from home. TEC’s physical office is a quieter place these days. After 31 years, […]

Less Wasted Food on Farms featuring Boundless Farmstead and Rainshadow Organics.

June 6, 2020

We in Central Oregon, despite our fame as a semi-desert, are incredibly lucky to have dozens of local food proprietors. From dairies to alpaca farms, from egg-specialists to vegetable gurus. If we’re intentional, we really can live off of only locally sourced food. That is special. Our national food supply chain has been tested and […]

Meet Tess: Our Newest Rockstar Team Member!

March 17, 2020

We are so excited to introduce you to Tess Freeman who has come on board at TEC to lead our DEQ Materials Management grant-funded Multifamily Recycling Project over the next year! Born and raised in Carbondale, Colorado, Tess became an Oregonian when she attended the U of O. She has lived in Bend for 5 […]

Welcome to the team, Priscilla!

January 21, 2020

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Priscilla Calleros, who recently joined TEC as our Membership & Outreach Manager at the start of the New Year! Priscilla comes to TEC with several years of event management experience and is skilled and passionate about building partnerships that make Central Oregon a better place to live, work and […]

New Youth Educator: Geneva Mayall

October 10, 2019

This August, we added a new member to our Youth Education team. Meet Geneva Mayall. She was born and raised in Central Oregon and graduated from Gonzaga University with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies and Biology. Geneva has worked with kids in a variety of scopes including teaching science labs, leading a walking school bus […]

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Category: Sustainable Spotlight