The Environmental Center

Transplanting Forest Seedlings
2020-10-18 | Deschutes Brewery Public House, 1044 NW Bond St, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
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.

Decluttering with the KonMari Method: COCC Continuing Education
2020-10-22, 2020-10-29
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.

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

Bend COTA Work Events
2020-10-22, 2020-10-29
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.

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

2020 Planet Forward Virtual Summit
2020-10-23, 2020-10-30
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.

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, 2020-11-02
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

Chuush Fund Webinar
2020-10-27
Since May of 2019, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs has been under an emergency disaster declaration due to immediate health threats resulting from a 14” water main line break in the Shitike Creek. Because of deferred maintenance over several decades, Tribal members are facing rolling water outages and “boil water” notices across Oregon’s largest reservation with no relief in sight.
In the short term, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, with MRG Foundation support, created The Chúush Fund, which accepts contributions from foundations and individuals to directly benefit the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs as they work to restore their access to and infrastructure for clean water.
Join the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, MRG Foundation, Blue Mountain Land Trust, Columbia Land Trust, Columbia Riverkeeper, Deschutes Land Trust, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon, and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility for a special webinar on the Chúush Fund.

Gravel Biking in Skyline Forest
2020-10-27
The Land Trust is partnering with Dirty Freehub to host a virtual webinar and Q & A session on gravel riding in Skyline Forest. Join Brad Chalfant, Founding Director of the Land Trust who also has a rich connection to cycling in Central Oregon. He was one of the founders of COTA (Central Oregon Trail Alliance) and is an avid cyclist (including gravel!). The Q&A will be facilitated by Kevin English, Co-Founder of Dirty Freehub and then there will be an open Q&A for all. Click here for more details and to register.

Climate Justice - Electrification and equity
2020-10-28
Join Electrify Now, Community Energy Project, Solar Oregon, Passive House Northwest, New Buildings Institute, Zero Energy Project, Renewable Hydrogen Alliance and The Environmental Center for a webinar devoted to exploring how to electrify equitably.
Front line communities are most effected by climate change and the pollution from fossil fuels. They are also in danger of being left behind by some energy transformation efforts. Our panel will discuss why it is important to lead with equitable solutions that prioritize the most vulnerable people in our communities and what are the steps we can take to make electrification equitable.

Vaccines: History, Science & Ethics
2020-10-28
Since the development of smallpox vaccines in the eighteenth century, vaccination against illness has been the subject of both scientific pursuit and ethical debate. Many of these questions–relating to efficacy, risk and equitable access–have returned to the public eye in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This talk attempts to address these questions in a neutral and informative manner.

Wild Webcast: Gear Up! With Next Adventure and BIPOC Camp Kits
2020-10-28
Earlier this year Mo Jackson spent their savings on providing free camping gear for BIPOC (Black & Indigenous People of Color) who needed it, with a desire to connect more people to the outdoors. Local outdoor outfitter Next Adventure got wind of the initiative, now called BIPOC Camp Kits, and jumped at the opportunity to help. With support from the retailer and individual donations, over 200 camping kits were assembled and shipped to BIPOC folks across the Pacific Northwest in August. But the story doesn’t end there!
In this webcast you’ll hear about this exciting and ongoing partnership between BIPOC Camping Kits and Next Adventure, see behind-the-scenes footage of the kits, and hear different perspectives about outdoor and gear accessibility, and advocating for public lands.

Virtual Lecture: Bats of the Pacific Northwest
2020-10-28
Bat populations are notoriously difficult to study and much remains to be revealed. The Northwestern Bat Hub at OSU-Cascades seeks to study bats and their extinction risks, especially in light of a changing environment. Join Bat Hub Coordinator, Rogelio Rodriguez, for a look at the diversity of bats of the Pacific Northwest and what his research group has learned about them over the years.
This virtual lecture will be presented live via Zoom. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and passcode to access the lecture.

State of the City
2020-10-29
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 Bend Mayor Sally Russell & City Manager Eric King

RIGGED Virtual Screening w/ National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center
2020-10-29
RIGGED: The Voter Suppression Playbook is an award-winning documentary that exposes the nefarious tactics used to suppress the vote and serves to spark discussion on the actions needed to protect our democracy. Shot principally during the 2016 election, the film tracks a systematic, decade-long effort to reverse the impact of the growing demographic tide of non-white and younger voters who helped elect President Barack Obama in 2008. It details a variety of voter suppression “plays,” or tactics, ranging from the purging of voting rolls and passing of new, restrictive voter ID laws to gerrymandering and voter intimidation. The film includes revealing interviews with Republican strategists detailing how the voter suppression game is played as well as cogent insights from leading voting rights advocates, law professors and Democratic strategists. It is narrated by Tony & Emmy award-winning actor, Jeffrey Wright.

Honoring Native American Heritage Month at COCC
2020-11-04
Jefferson Greene, of the Columbia River Institute for Indigenous Development Foundation, will present “Keeping Customs Thriving” via Zoom: https://cocc.zoom.us/j/98718548116. Greene, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, will discuss means of sustaining culture through language, cultural harvesting, song, dance and story.
