The Environmental Center

Wednesday Morning Birders
2014-03-12 | Deschutes Brewery Public House, 1044 NW Bond St, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Join local birders every Wednesday for birding trips in Central Oregon.
Meet at Nancy P’s at designated time for each day. The group car pools, sharing expenses for gas, and taking turns driving.
Current plans for March are:
• March 12 – Millican Valley – 7 AM
• March 19 – Fort Rock, ALL DAY – 7 AM
• March 26 – Prineville Wastewater Ponds – 8 AM

Chasing Ice Film Screening
2014-03-11
Join the Juniper Group Sierra Club for a free film screening of Chasing Ice.
James Balog and his young team set out on a bold expedition to capture the receding of Iceland’s Solheim Glacier. Employing time-lapse photography over 3 years in harsh subzero Arctic conditions, we see undeniable evidence that these giants of ice are literally shrinking before our eyes. Winner of over 30 film festival awards, Chasing Ice delivers photography and adventure at its most spectacular.
6:30 pm gathering, 7:00 pm program
Free and open to the public.

Growing Vegetables Class, Advanced Level
2014-03-11
This class will go into detail how to grow the most common vegetables for the area, including tomatoes.
A two hour class for the community. Go here for details and here to sign up.
Call 541-548-6088 for more information

Camp Fire Alumni Open House
2014-03-11
Were you in Camp Fire as a kid? Come see what we’re doing at the Central Oregon council!
Drink tea, enjoy Camp Fire candies, tour the office, check out our historical books and photos, and share Camp Fire memories.
RSVP to info@campfireco.org.

Birding By Ear
2014-03-11
The East Cascades Audubon Society will be kicking off another season of Birding By Ear guided birdwalks in March. Dave Tracy will be leading walks each Tuesday thru mid-June and we look forward to seeing what migrants will be showing up over the course of the upcoming spring season.
We’ll meet at Sawyer Park along the Deschutes River starting at 8:00am.
Attendance is FREE and ALL AGES and skill levels are welcome to attend. Bring your binoculars and be prepared for chilly weather, so dress warm with gloves and appropriate footwear. Typical time and distances will vary, but generally the walk will from 1.5-3 miles long over the course of a 1.5-2 hour walk.
Our objective will be for all to have an enjoyable time and get to know our local birds better, by sight as well as by ear. We will focus early on getting to know the relatively small number of resident and wintering birds and then share the excitement as we note the arrival of neotropical migrant wrens, vireos, swallows, swifts and others. The morning chorus will fill the air with song over the next few months, and knowing the bird vocalizations adds another level of enjoyment and strengthens our connection to nature as we soak in this wonderful seasonal phenomenon.
Contact Dave Tracy for more information. Tel (541) 390-9931.
Visit the East Cascades Audubon Society’s website for more information.

Light Up The Night
2014-03-07, 2014-02-15
The Deschutes County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has teamed up with Commute Options for Central Oregon, the City of Bend, and the Road Users Safety Task Force to conduct several evening events to enhance the visibility of people walking and biking to motorists.
Each evening event will highlight the safety issue as well as provide critical gear to the community to eliminate these types of crashes.
Critical gear includes:
• front reflector
• rear reflector
• front head light
• highly visible clothing
• reflective tape
• reflective leg and arm bands
• flashing reflectors.
There are few nighttime related walking and biking crashes in Bend, however, most result in injury or death. In the five year period between 2006 and 2010 there were 19 nighttime bike riding crashes reported to the police. Ninety percent of these crashes involved a person riding on a bike while dressed completely in dark clothing on a bicycle that was completely invisible to the motorist that struck them. Similar statistics exist for nighttime walking crashes.
Through this campaign we wish to highlight the importance of night time safety habits while walking and biking in our community.

Spanish version, Growing Vegetables Class
2014-03-06
An introductory class on growing vegetables including climate, site selection, soil preparation, season extension, and crop selection given in Spanish.
Go to http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/garden-classes for more information.

Growing Vegetables Class, Introductory Level
2014-03-05
An introductory class on growing vegetables including climate, site selection, soil preparation, season extension and crop selection.
A two hour class for the community.

Green Team Movie Night: Gasland
2014-03-04
The Green Team will watch “GASLAND II” which was aired on HBO last July.
In this “explosive” follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film “GASLAND,” filmmaker Josh Fox takes a broader, deeper look at the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas and oil. The film argues that the gas industry’s portrayal of natural gas as a clean and safe alternative to oil is a myth and that tracked wells inevitably leak over time, contaminating water and air, hurting families, and endangering the earth’s climate with the potent greenhouse gas, methane. In addition the film looks at how the powerful oil and gas industries are in Fox’s words “contaminating our democracy”.

OSU Cascades Site Plan Open House
2014-02-28, 2014-02-27
Site Plan for Phase I of OSU-Cascades expansion
Public Meeting
Oregon State University – Cascades is proposing to develop a
10.44 acre parcel located at 1500 SW Chandler Avenue, Bend,
OR 97702, northwest of the intersection of SW Chandler Avenue
and SW Century Drive. The site, currently zoned (CL) Limited
Commercial, will include approximately 138,000 sf of academic,
residential, and retail development along with site development
amenities which include pathways for pedestrians and bicycles,
access roadways, parking and public plazas. These facilities are
anticipated to be completed by fall 2015 to support the current
undergraduate OSU-Cascades population plus an additional 300
students for the expansion to a four-year university.
Where: Cascades Hall, Rm. 117-118
COCC Campus
2600 NW College Way, Bend, OR
Accommodations for disabilities may be made by calling 541-322-3100.

COTA Membership Meeting
2014-02-27
COTA welcomes everyone to meet the newly elected Board of Directors. There are a number of new faces and a long list of new ideas to discuss.
Biketoberfest details will be finalized in the coming weeks and we welcome input. What is the best way to utilize 150+ volunteers?
COTA seeks Committee members – The workload is substantial and we are looking for help in several areas; website, membership software, communications, education (to name a few). Many hands make light work, and yes, the world is run by those who show up!

Alone in the Wilderness Film Screening
2014-02-27
On February 27 the Deschutes National Forest and Discover Your Forest will host another wilderness movie event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act.
The event also will feature Forest Service trails specialist, Chris Sabo, who will discuss the use of primitive tools to maintain facilities and trails in congressionally designated Wildernesses.Alone in the Wilderness, is a documentary about Dick Proenneke who spent decades in the Alaskan backcountry.
The film is a simple account of Proenneke’s day-to-day explorations and activities in the backcountry, and the constant chain of nature’s events that kept him company. Admission is free and the room holds 80 people. Seating will be done on a first come, first serve basis and people attending the movie will not be allowed to hold seats. Groups should plan to arrive together.
This is the second event in a series of Wilderness themed movies to celebrate the historic 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act. As a primary sponsor of the Wilderness series, Discover Your Forest will be accepting donations to help support their programs.Discover Your Forest is a local non-profit supporting the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Crooked River Grassland.
The Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 3, 1964 after having passed through Congress with bipartisan support. The original Act created approximately 9 million acres of Wilderness in 13 states. Since its passing, 109,511,966 acres have been designated as Wilderness in 44 states and Puerto Rico.

Lunch with LandWatch: Off Road Vehicle Impacts
2014-02-25
Wilderness guide, ecologist, and writer, George Wuerthner, will be discussing the impacts of Off Road Vehicles on public lands. George is the author of Thrillcraft: the Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation.
Please RSVP here.

Telluride MountainFilm on Tour
2014-02-21 - 2014-02-22
Save The Date: Telluride MountainFilm on Tour
February 27 & 28 at The Tower Theatre
MountainFilm on Tour features the best films from the world-renowned film festival in Telluride, Colorado. MountainFilm is dedicated to educating, inspiring and motivating audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving, adventures worth pursuing and conversations worth sustaining. All proceeds benefit The Environmental Center. Watch a teaser trailer!
Tickets are $20 in advance, $23 at the door (careful – this event often sells out!) and $35 for both nights. Get your tickets online now at The Tower Theatre.
Different films each night! Check out the film lineup here.

Poop, Money and the Environment: What’s the Connection?
2014-02-20
Come learn more about what’s up with Bend’s Sewer Collection System Master Plan from members of the citizen’s advisory committee (unofficially the “Poop Committee”) charged with developing a recommendation for the City Council.
What might the plan look like, how much might it cost, and why is it important to environmental protection in Bend? Advisory committee members Mike Riley, Wes Price, Nathan Boddie, as well as Assistant City Manager Jon Skidmore will present and answer questions.
Join OLCV staff and volunteers, fellow community members, elected officials, and local candidates who care about Protecting Oregon’s air, water, land and wildlife, for Pints and Politics on the 3rd Thursday of the month.

Birders Night: Northern Goshawk
2014-02-20
Join Master Falconer and High Desert Museum Natural History Curator, John Goodell as he give us a closer look at the Northern Goshawk, it’s habitat, natural history and population status as one of the most secretive diurnal raptors in Central Oregon.
John will be bringing a live goshawk to provide an up close and personal encounter during which you’ll also learn some little-known facts about goshawk behavior, prey, and amazing hunting strategies. John is a wildlife biologist with over 20 years’ experience conducting wildlife research and monitoring efforts throughout the western U.S. He has a particular interest in passerine and raptor conservation and wildlife habitat restoration.
Join ECAS at 6:30pm for social time and treats. A discussion covering local birding and birding events starts at 7:00pm, and the Goshawk program runs from about 7:30pm to 8:30pm.
ECAS members, friends, neighbors and central Oregon visitors are all welcome to Birder’s Night.

Wolves in the Land of Salmon
2014-02-19
February Nature Night with the Deschutes Land Trust
Long considered an icon of the wild, wolves capture our imagination and spark controversy. Their return to the mountains, old-growth forests and wild coastlines of the Pacific Northwest renews age-old questions about the value of wildlands and wildlife.
Join tracker, photographer, and author David Moskowitz for an evening of stunning photography and stories from wild landscapes across the Pacific Northwest about the life history, ecology, and conservation of our region’s apex carnivore.
This presentation is free, but you must get your ticket online: deschuteslandtrust.org/events.

Slow Food High Desert Potluck
2014-02-18
This month’s Slow Food High Desert potluck will showcase episodes of Julie Child’s cooking show “The French Chef” and talking about cooking and food.
Please bring a dish to share and personal place settings (plate and utensils).
You don’t have to be a Slow Food member to participate! Bring your friends and family and make it a social event!
This is a no charge event, but donations are welcome. No RSVP necessary.

Joining the Race for The Sun: A Solar Workshop for Builders, Architects and Designers
2014-02-18
As the word gets out that solar is become more cost effective, it is becoming more and more common that homeowners, designers, and builders, are looking into options for pursuing solar on new construction projects.
This workshop will go over how you can incorporate solar into your professional portfolio so you can offer it to your clients with confidence. Learn about the most popular solar technologies used in Oregon, how to design a good solar roof, how to design for solar on a net-zero home, emergency back-up options, and the current incentives that are available for homeowners to go solar.
RSVP by Sunday, February 16th.
Presented by:
Joe Mazzarella, Sunlight Solar Energy
Matt Douglas, Earth Advantage
Misti Nelmes, Energy Trust of Oregon
CCB Continuing Ed credits available (Series B).

Wolves: Social Ecology and Implications for Management
2014-02-11
Presenter: George Wuerthner, Ecologist and Author
Wolves hold a special fascination for humans. Find out more about the history of wolf recovery and the potential for wolf recovery in Oregon. The social interactions of wolves, how humans view wolf behavior and respond to it have important implications for their re-establishment. Ecologist and author George Wuerthner will discuss these issues and how current wolf management contributes to greater human conflicts.
Free and open to the public.

Fledgling Fun – Sage Grouse
2014-02-10
Join Mary Yanalcanlin for an exploration of our local birds geared towards grades K-5 (though all ages are welcome).
This session, focusing on the endangered Sage Grouse, is from 3:45-5:15 PM, doors open at 3:15pm. Fledglings (kids) must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Will Durst's BOOMERAGING: From LSD to OMG
2014-02-09
Written and Performed by Will Durst, with KPOV’s Celeste Franklin opening.
BoomerAging is a tribute to the joys, achievements and looming terrors that accompany being a member of the Baby Boom Generation.
It assesses their still vibrant role in today’s youth – obsessed society and celebrates them for refusing to grow old in the face of changing times, gravity and the reflection that greets them daily in the mirror. Utilizing technology specifically designed not to spook the target audience (overhead projector) Durst will explore the Boomers’ revolutions, evolutions and explain how best to embrace the encroaching wrinkles. He also promises to shamelessly stroke the egos and pat the hands of the self- described Most Important Generation of All Time through show segments entitled Racing From The Shadow Of A Mushroom Cloud. The Blinking VCR. Hey You Punks, Get Off My Wireless Router. The Brightside of Extreme Maturation. From Summer Of Love To Winter Of Our Disbelief. Everything You Wanted To Know About Decrepitude But Were Afraid To Ask & Hope I Die Before I… Oh, Too Late.
A Benefit for KPOV, 88.9 FM.
Tickets on sale in mid-January.

Green Team Movie Night
2014-02-04
Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” presents the life of the marine biologist and nature author whose book “Silent Spring” sounded the alarm that launched the environmental movement.
Bill Moyers Journal, “Rachel Carson, Nature’s Guardian” intertwines excerpts of Kaiulani Lee’s one-woman play “A Sense of Wonder” about Carson’s life with interviews of the actress and historical footage of Carson’s life.
Free. Questions? Call Nancy Merrick: 541-815-6504.
