Oregon Climate Action Plan Town Hall
2020-10-14 | Deschutes Brewery Public House, 1044 NW Bond St, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
Make Your Voice Heard!
We need your help protecting the Oregon Climate Action Plan (OCAP) from the fossil fuel industry! In two weeks, join Oregon League of Conservation Voters for a virtual town hall hosted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and speak up in support of a strong climate action plan! Sign up here!
After Governor Brown signed the Oregon Climate Action Plan last March, state agencies have begun making plans to implement it and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This is great—except, some of these plans are not strong enough, and polluting industries are trying to weaken them even further. The fossil fuel industry will stop at nothing to save themselves, even if it means destroying our planet and putting our communities at risk.
That’s where we come in. This is a climate crisis—a climate emergency, and we’re seeing the effects firsthand during this intense wildfire season. We have no time to waste! We need to make sure that the Oregon Climate Action Plan is as strong as possible for future generations. Please join one of the Department of Environmental Quality’s virtual town halls and drown out the voices of big polluters!

Webcast: Western Oregon Mushrooms
2020-10-14
Is it raining yet? In this presentation, mushroom expert Bruce Newhouse will guide us in looking over, under, around and through western Oregon for fungi, and get to know a few and what roles they have – especially in our forests. We’ll get familiar with the words “mycorrhizal, saprobic and parasitic” and have some fun along the way. There will be some focus at the end on hunting, cooking and preserving edible fungi, since that is of such great interest to a lot of people.

Smithsonian Food History Weekend | Food Futures: Striving For Justice
2020-10-15 - 2020-10-17
The 2020 Smithsonian Food History Weekend and Gala from Home program will feature the voices of leaders involved in the myriad aspects of the food system—from agriculture, to restaurant kitchens and food banks across the country. Virtual gatherings will encourage people to share their stories of resilience in the wake of unprecedented economic, cultural, and public health pandemics. Explore models for food production and learn about grassroots efforts across the country that have responded to these crises.

Building Resilient Food Systems for Global Food Security and Nutrition
2020-10-15
Join for a World Food Prize side event co-hosted by the FAO North America and the Alliance to End Hunger to learn about the actions needed to promote more resilient and sustainable food systems.

Decluttering with the KonMari Method: COCC Continuing Education
2020-10-15, 2020-10-22
COCC’s Continuing Education Program is running a 5-class series with Marie Kondo’s trademarked method of decluttering expanded from her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. One method of reducing waste and being environmentally friendly can be to minimize the amount of stuff that surrounds you. It can help your mind, your wallet, and your life.
What sparks joy for you?
Tidy Your Space. Spark Joy. Transform Your Life. The KonMari Method™ is the art of simplifying and organizing your home by choosing to keep the physical items that bring you joy and letting go of the rest with gratitude. Join Melissa Jean, a Certified Platinum KonMari Consultant, as she leads you through the philosophy, practice and practical application of tidying up your life and space using this method. This session will focus on books and students will spend time during class tidying up their own bookcases. Registration includes a 15-minute one-on-one session with Melissa after the class is over.
Focus areas with dates listed below. Classes taught online via Zoom, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm

Clothing – Oct 8
Books – Oct 15
Papers – Oct 22
Komono (Miscellaneous Items) – Oct 29
Sentimental Items & Mementos – Nov 5

Learn more about Melissa here.

Ponderosa Pine Seedling Sale
2020-10-15
Fall is the perfect time to plant a Ponderosa Pine tree. Seedlings will be available in various sizes and range from one to four years old. Seedlings are cared for by local students and have been acclimated to a Central Oregon environment. Proceeds of the seedling sale benefit Project Ponderosa’s environmental education and habitat restoration programs. Detailed planting instructions with special tips to optimize success are included with all purchases. Nature Center admission is not required to purchase trees.
Learn more about Project Ponderosa and how to get involved here.

Indigenous Perspectives on Earth and Sky, Featuring Chad Kālepa Baybayan
2020-10-15
Born and raised on Maui, Chad Kālepa Baybayan first sailed on Hōkūleʻa in 1975, a traditionally designed reconstruction of a double-hulled deep-sea oceanic voyaging canoe. He has since sailed on major voyages throughout the Pacific and in 2014 participated as captain and navigator on the Mālama Honua Worldwide voyage, a 47,000 nautical mile journey around the world that visited 26 countries and stopped at 85 ports. He currently serves as the Navigator in Residence at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i developing wayfinding activities, curriculum materials, and conducting outreach. In 2007, his teacher, Master Navigator Mau Piailug, on the tiny Micronesian atoll of Satawal, initiated Kālepa into the order of Pwo, a three thousand year old society of deep-sea navigators.

The Great Tide of Humanity: Race & Gender Reform in 19th Century
2020-10-15
Join The Nancy R. Chandler Visiting Scholar Program (VSP) of the Central Oregon Community College for a lively evening where Concord, Massachusetts historians and social rights activists come together to talk about the 19th century revolution that was fought with a pen and continues to capture the hearts and minds of social reformers today.

Salmon in Central Oregon
2020-10-15

Bend COTA Work Events
2020-10-15, 2020-10-22
When: Thursday Aug 11, Tuesday Aug 16, Tuesday Aug 23 and Tuesday Aug 30, 5:15 to Dusk
Where: Meet at the old Ray’s parking lot, NE corner of Simpson Ave and Century Drive in Bend
Worksite: Varies
There’s only one thing better than mountain biking in Bend, OR and that’s riding in Bend, knowing that you helped build and maintain the trails you love.
Please bring a hydration pack with water and a snack.
Be sure to bring appropriate layers to accommodate whatever the weather may be.
Questions? contact@cotamtb.com
All COTA trail work events require the following safety measures:
All participants are required to have the following protective clothing and equipment:

Sturdy shoes or boots
Gloves
Eye protection with clear or light colored lens
Long pants

Due to COTA’s insurance requirements and the inherent dangers of trail work, we must implement the following policy regarding children at work events:

For anyone 14 years of age or younger, we require one parent, guardian, or responsible adult for supervision of every four kids attending any COTA trail work events.
All minors under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian available to sign our waiver.

Anyone who arrives for a work event may be turned away if he/she cannot meet the above requirements.

Defending Democracy: Interrupting Voter Intimidation and Misinformation
2020-10-15
As rumors fly about who can and can’t vote by mail, and threats to a safe and fair election escalate, rural Oregonians are taking action to defend democracy, build community, and ensure that everyone who can vote does indeed vote!
Join us to strategize about:
-How we can counter disinformation with accurate details on who can vote and how.
-What we can do to make sure ballot drop boxes and post offices remain accessible and safe for our neighbors to drop off their ballots.
-How we can effectively de-escalate and respond to threats and intimidation tactics.

2020 Planet Forward Virtual Summit
2020-10-16, 2020-10-23
Climate change is the story of our generation, and what defines that story is how we tell it — and the action we take because of it. All around the world, new voices — emerging as powerful changemakers — are running against the clock to prevent irreversible shifts to our global climate.
These are the new activists, innovators, policymakers and others who inspire audiences to take action in their local communities. But, how do they drive their audiences to this critical point?
​At the 2020 Planet Forward Virtual Summit, the focus is on environmental equity, inclusion, institutional change — and the narratives around them. Learn how the best environmental change agents use storytelling to transform their audiences from passive listeners to engaged doers.

Sakari Farms Potato Harvest
2020-10-17
Offer Sakari Farms a few helping hands this Saturday as they wrap up their 2020 growing season with a Potato Harvest! These healthy/organic Potatoes will be heading up to Warm Springs!

Transplanting Forest Seedlings
2020-10-18
Join Lee Stevenson, founder of Project Ponderosa, for a hands-on workshop to learn how to identify and transplant a variety of native forest seedlings, including Grand Fir, White Fir, Mountain Hemlock, Snowbush, Manzanita, Mahala Mat, Kinnikinnnick, Paintbrush and more. You’ll learn where to find these native species locally and how to successfully collect and incorporate them into your own landscape.
The first half of the program will take place outdoors in the amphitheater and then the group will travel to one or more locations near Sunriver (within 10 miles) for plant collection. Please bring your own pots/containers, work gloves, and shovel if you have. Participants should also obtain a free Forest Products Free Use Permit from the U.S. Forest Service (if possible) if they wish to collect transplants during the field trip.
This program is limited to 10 participants and early registration is recommended. Masks are required throughout the program. Review COVID-19 safety protocols HERE.

Virtual Farmer Chats: Food and Racial Justice.
2020-10-19
Explore some of the emergent themes from previous talks including land access, equitable treatment in government programs and services to help farmers, building your local community, and the possibility of a statewide farmer-ally directory. This is also a space for the agricultural community to discuss current events as they relate to this topic, and how folks can get involved. FOFF welcome farmers, farm workers and agricultural producers of all kinds to this conversation.

Community Tree Planting
2020-10-20
Help reforest our community! Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory will be planting Ponderosa seedlings throughout Sunriver and would love your help.
For more details or to volunteer for this event, email: programs@snco.org.

Environmental Justice Shared Learning Space
2020-10-20
Central Oregon Womxn in Conservation is offering a focused space to help people hold themselves accountable in what is intended to be a primarily self-led learning experience around justice and equity within conservation. COWC will be convening monthly, from 6:00-7:30pm on:
Call 1: Tuesday, October 20
Call 2: Tuesday, November 17
Call 3: Tuesday, December 15
Call 4: Tuesday, January 19
Call 5: Tuesday, February 16

Cascadia: The Next Big Earthquake and Tsunami
2020-10-20
A major earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone will have far-reaching impacts throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Central Oregon. Are we prepared for an event like this? Join Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory in conversation with Dr. Daniele McKay to discuss how an event like this could affect us in Central Oregon and review the history of earthquakes in Oregon.

Crisis and Opportunity: The Oncoming Renewable Energy Revolution
2020-10-22
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Oregon (OLLI-UO) is pleased to announce a timely virtual lecture with Dr. John Perona, PhD, LLM, Professor of Environmental Biochemistry, Portland State University and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Oregon Health & Science University. Please email osher@uoregon.edu to receive the Zoom meeting link.
Dr. John Perona examines new work by climate scientists that suggests that we are on track to avoid the worst-case climate change scenarios. As tragic as it has been, the coronavirus pandemic has clearly shown how greenhouse gas emissions depend on lifestyle. The economic recovery from the pandemic now offers huge opportunities for boosting investments in decarbonization, effectively resetting the entire energy economy.
We look at the present state of the climate and examine the major U.S. initiatives plotting roadmaps for the renewable energy transition over the next three decades. Citizens can play a key role in advocating and supporting aggressive policies for deep decarbonization. Join us this Thursday to learn more.

CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY: THE ONCOMING RENEWABLE ENERGY REVOLUTION
2020-10-22
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Oregon (OLLI-UO) is pleased to announce a timely virtual lecture with Dr. John Perona, PhD, LLM, Professor of Environmental Biochemistry, Portland State University and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Oregon Health & Science University.
Dr. John Perona examines new work by climate scientists that suggests that we are on track to avoid the worst-case climate change scenarios. As tragic as it has been, the coronavirus pandemic has clearly shown how greenhouse gas emissions depend on lifestyle. The economic recovery from the pandemic now offers huge opportunities for boosting investments in decarbonization, effectively resetting the entire energy economy.
We look at the present state of the climate and examine the major U.S. initiatives plotting roadmaps for the renewable energy transition over the next three decades. Citizens can play a key role in advocating and supporting aggressive policies for deep decarbonization. Join this Thursday to learn more.
EMAIL: osher@uoregon.edu to receive the Zoom meeting ID

InFARMation: Equitable Food Access - How to Contribute to Oregon’s Food Sovereignty Network
2020-10-22
Now that you’ve gathered a few ideas from listening to the experience and needs of BIPOC Farmers, where do you fit in? What can you do that’s tangible, meaningful, and immediate beyond the basics of communicating with your representatives and singing a petition? FoFF will explore practical examples of financially sustainable ways to make locally farmed food more accessible in our community this season and next. Learn from the farmers and organizations on the ground what actionable steps you can take to further build capacity to achieve a more Equitable Food Economy. Together we can work towards strengthening and broadening the solidarity economy and rework our social structures from the ground up.
*All are welcome to this session of Small Farms School.
Speakers: Michelle Week, Good Rain Farm; Malcom Hoover, Black Futures Farm; and Spring Alaska Olson, Sakari Botanicals

Food systems in the time of COVID-19: North American perspectives on how the FAO can contribute to greater resilience
2020-10-23
COVID-19 has disrupted nearly every element of every food system on earth. From international commodity markets to local cooperatives, from consumption patterns to transport protocols, from access to farm labour to reforming the retail sector – the pandemic is stress-testing every element of global and local food systems.
The FAO defines resilience as, “the ability to prevent disasters and crises as well as to anticipate, absorb, accommodate or recover from them in a timely, efficient and sustainable manner”.
How have food systems fared through this crisis?
Join senior government officials from Canada and the U.S., as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society mechanisms of the U.N. Committee on World Food Security and senior leaders from the FAO to discuss these issues and more .

Celebrate Farm to School on October 26 with Local Carrots
2020-10-26
What: Pick up a free school lunch – homemade chicken noodle soup featuring local carrots!
Where: Your neighborhood school- Find your nearest Bend-LaPine School serving Grab & Go meals
National Farm to School Month is a celebration of the farm to school efforts that are being made nationwide. We invite you to celebrate with us locally by picking up a free school lunch at your child’s school (or even closer neighborhood school) on Monday October 26 featuring carrots grown by Sakari Farms, right here in Central Oregon.
Lunches are free for any children 0-18, and $4 for adults. Bend-La Pine has a central kitchen where they cook many menu items from scratch, including fresh baked bread daily. The menu item will be from scratch chicken noodle soup. Bend La-Pine participates in farm to school throughout the year purchasing many Oregon grown crops and products. Show your support for local food and farmers by planning to get a school meal for your child on Monday October 26!
Sakari Farms is a Native American tribal farm located in Tumalo, Oregon. Spring Alaska Schreiner, the owner and operator, comes from Inupiaq lineage, bringing a unique perspective and knowledge on food systems. She serves on numerous regional and national level boards and committees, and is an advocate for local farmers and tribal members. She offers organically grown vegetables, flowers, seeds, and value added products at her farm. Learn more at SakariBotanicals.com
Along with the meals, we’ll have 2 flyers available for families to take home, with info about the farmer, carrots, and a beautiful carrot coloring page that you won’t want to miss. In fact we’re so excited about this coloring page, that everyone who posts their finished work will be entered to win a $10 gift card to Central Oregon Locavore (where many of Spring’s Sakari Botanicals products can be found!)
Learn more about Sakari Farms, Bend-La Pine’s Farm to School program and this event on our latest blog.

Virtual Book Club on The Fate of Food
2020-10-26
We hope you will join The Nancy R. Chandler Visiting Scholar Program (VSP) of the Central Oregon Community College Foundation for a virtual book conversations around Amanda Little’s book, The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World. The book conversations will meet prior to Little’s virtual presentation on November 9 and will be facilitated by COCC Health and Human Performance Associate Professor, Owen Murphy.

Grazing, Soils, & Pastures: An Intensive 3-night Online Workshop
2020-10-26 - 2020-10-28
This is a very down-to-earth workshop on forages, grazing, pastures, & soils. You’ll learn how to set up a grazing system, how forages grow, what makes a good pasture, when to open the gate and when to move animals off a pasture, how to soil test, fertilize, and lime your pastures. Three evenings of intensive online instruction from a leader in the grazing field. This class is suitable for folks just starting out in the grazing world, and people with a bit more experience who are working on rehabbing a pasture, or re-vamping their system.

A PIELC (Public Interest Environmental Law) Conference Zoom panel
2020-10-27
A PIELC (Public Interest Environmental Law) Conference Zoom panel: Collaborative Governance Solutions to Salmon Restoration in the Columbia River Basin. Recent articles have declared, “Courts can’t keep Columbia and Snake River salmon from the edge of extinction.” These articles call on a “political fix” to recover Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead. The panel will discuss recent efforts to create the political fix, initiatives to bring key stakeholders to the table to craft a solution that is then delivered to legislative and executive branch leadership for implementation. Tribal, State, and Federal entities will discuss: Yakima Basin Integrated Plan; Idaho Governor’s Salmon Workgroup; Southern Resident Orca Task Force; and Columbia Basin Partnership.
Follow this link to join the free event.

State of the County
2020-10-27
You’re invited to join the Bend Chamber, in partnership with Cascade Insurance Center and Mid Oregon Credit Union, for annual updates on the State of the County and State of the City.
You’ll gain critical insights into how Deschutes County and the City of Bend are tackling the tough challenges facing Central Oregon. Discussions include: updates on each agency’s COVID response, economic vitality, burgeoning growth and its impacts on transportation, housing and other vital services.
With Deschutes County Commissioners
Patti Adair, Tony DeBone & Phil Henderson
