The Environmental Center

PPC Webinar | Policy Matters: Tracking Plastic Laws After Global Treaty Negotiations
2024-12-12 14:00 - 15:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
After two years of intense negotiations, the 5th and final planned session to agree on a UN Global Plastic Treaty is scheduled to conclude on December 1, 2024. The Treaty, once agreed, will have widespread implications for plastic law around the world, as well as the businesses, activists, journalists, lawyers, and many others working on plastic issues.
Join Plastic Pollution Coalition on December 12, 2024, for a discussion with legislative, advocacy, and media experts about the UN Plastic Treaty, and the importance of continuing to advance and track plastic policy at all levels. One critical tool to monitor progress and implementation is the Global Plastic Laws database and resource center, which we will also present.
Joining the discussion will be Dr. Jamala Djinn, Science/Policy Advisor, Break Free From Plastic; Jennifer Gleason, Law Program Director, Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide; Shane Trimmer, District Director at the U.S. House of Representatives – Office of Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02); and Joseph Winters, Staff Writer, Grist. The webinar will be moderated by Madison Dennis, Project Manager, Plastic Pollution Coalition.
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Date: Thurs., December 12
Time: 2-3:15 pm PT | 5-6:15 pm ET
Click here to convert to your timezone.

OLCV's Virtual Town Hall on the Environment with Senator Ron Wyden
2024-12-19 11:30 - 13:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Senator Ron Wyden has been a champion of OLCV’s conservation and environmental values in D.C., voicing their support for strong safeguards for our air, water, forests, wildlife, and communities. During OLCV’s Town Hall on the Environment with Senator Wyden, we’ll celebrate his leadership and learn about the latest news on a broad range of environmental issues, including benefits for Oregon powered by climate investments of the IRA, conservation efforts in progress, and threats to public lands in our state.

PPC Webinar | Microplastics Within Us: Are We Becoming Plastic People?
2025-01-15 14:00 - 15:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Microplastics have been found in our food and drinks; in Earth’s air, soils, and oceans; and inside of our bodies.
Join Plastic Pollution Coalition for a special webinar featuring scientific, advocacy, and media experts on January 15, 2025, to learn about how microplastics and plastic chemicals may impact the future of humanity, and what we as a society can do about the growing danger of microplastics—including protecting yourself and your loved ones. Sign up.

Professional Development for K–12 educators
2025-01-21 16:00 - 18:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Professional Development
This virtual workshop is for K–12 educators across multiple content areas. Confluence Professional Development’s purpose is to educate teachers in the pedagogy of Indigenous curriculum and lessons. It is to prepare adults, teachers, and educators with a more perceptive understanding of Native American lifeways, history, cultural traditions, and ecology that define our Native identity.
Over the two-day virtual workshop, the cohort will learn directly from Indigenous workshop facilitators/speakers and have the opportunity to think through Indigenous education concepts together using materials from Confluence Media Library, our publications, Columbia River Sites, and our work from Camp Confluence and Confluence in the Classroom. We will also show the parallels of our work at Confluence with Oregon’s Tribal History/Shared History and Washington’s Since Time Immemorial curriculums.
This cohort will meet on Zoom on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 at 4–6pm. Our theme this month is:
Voices of the River Volume 1: Stories to Be Told – Ancestors Always Present
Register HERE

How To Go Solar + Storage
2025-01-22 17:30 - 18:30 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Are you ready to take the first step in going solar?
In this free workshop, we will answer your questions about how solar energy and battery systems work, share information about incentives available, and help you take the first step to add solar to your home or business.
This workshop is free and open to everyone!

Green Energy Series #24: Electrical Panel Upgrades
2025-02-01 10:00 - 11:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
The free, monthly Green Energy Series takes a closer look at topics related to energy, solar + storage, and green technology.

Register Here!

A Year in the Life: Oregon’s Desert Owls
2025-02-04 18:00 - 19:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Join Oregon Natural Desert Association as they kick off their 2025 High Desert Speaker Series with an absorbing evening all about high desert owls. Paul Bannick, acclaimed author and wildlife photographer, will take you through four seasons in the lives of these owls to give you a better appreciation of what they need to survive and thrive in each season. With stunning, intimate images, Paul will bring the stories of these adorable yet fierce predators to life and reveal their unique roles in the high desert ecosystem from its driest lands to its ponderosa pine woodlands.

Tiny Titans: Insects of the High Desert
2025-02-20 19:00 - 20:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Get ready for an exciting exploration into the crucial role insects play in Oregon’s high desert. Oregon Natural Desert Association’s High Desert Speaker Series continues with Dr. Tara Cornelisse, invertebrate zoologist, as she provides insights into the fascinating butterflies, moths and beetles residing in eastern Oregon. Tara will examine the current state of insect populations, share facts and stories about key species in the high desert, and highlight why conserving the high desert is vital for the future of insect populations and the entire ecosystem.

Fossils and the Future: Lessons from Oregon’s Ecological Past
2025-03-12 19:00 - 20:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Spend an evening with Oregon Natural Desert Association as they continue the High Desert Speaker Series by uncovering the fossilized world of eastern Oregon. Dr. Samantha Hopkins, University of Oregon Professor and Earth Sciences Department Head, will take you on a journey through time as she reveals what Oregon’s high desert fossils tell us about the past, present and future. You’ll explore a few fossilized mammals of eastern Oregon and discover what these creatures tell us about the desert ecosystem 30 million years ago. Samantha will also explain how fossils reveal changes in ecosystems and communities over time and what those shifts can tell us about our future in a changing climate.

Beneath the Surface: Desert Mussels
2025-03-19 18:00 - 19:00 | 375 SW Powerhouse Dr Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Join Oregon Natural Desert Association for the final event of the High Desert Speaker Series as they dive beneath the surface of high desert streams and into the hidden world of mussels. Alexa Martinez, Wildlife Biologist at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, will shed light on the fascinating lives of native mollusks thriving in the waterways of eastern Oregon. Alexa will share the unique habitat of each mussel species and discuss how snowmelt feeds the watersheds that sustain these creatures. Come learn how these often-overlooked species play a critical role in maintaining the health of the desert ecosystems.

What's Recyclable Anyway? (and what the heck is the RMA?)
2025-11-18 18:00 - 19:30
Event: What’s recyclable anyway? (and what the heck is the RMA?)
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 18th 6-7:30pm
Location: Online (Zoom)
Did you know our consumption accounts for half of our emissions? Did you hear that Knott Landfill is close to full? Have you heard contradictory things about recycling and whether it matters?
This July, Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass a sweeping bill that modernizes Oregon’s recycling infrastructure, and makes producers responsible for their packaging (see our blog post for more information). Do you have questions about what has changed or what is about to change? Or maybe, are you skeptical that these changes will have any meaningful impact?
At our 4th annual America Recycles Day event, come get answers to all these questions and more by a panel of experts.
A big thanks to our panelists!
Panel:
Colin Teem, Materials Management – Eastern Region Specialist, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Rachel VanWoert, RMA Technical Assistant, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Susan Baker, Diversion and Franchise Services Manager, Deschutes County Solid Waste
Moderator: Kavi Chokshi, Rethink Waste Program Manager, The Environmental Center
Questions? Email kavi@envirocenter.org

Questions? Email kavi@envirocenter.org
