Finding service, remembering a friend
OEC staff came together to volunteer our time for a cause we are all passionate about and in memory of our friend Phil, who died recently after a brave battle with cancer.
The economic climate, growing media attention, and commitment from President Obama and his United We Serve campaign are creating the perfect storm for a surge in volunteerism. Here at OEC, we are lucky to be blessed with the time, talent, and energy of so many dedicated volunteers. Last Thursday, it was our turn to volunteer.
OEC staff came together to volunteer our time for a cause we are all passionate about and in memory of our friend Phil, who died recently after a brave battle with cancer. Phil was an avid canoeist, and was passionate about protecting and caring for our rivers – to the point of having a “Heyduke lives” bumper sticker on his canoe.
After lunch, we jumped on our bikes and organized our carpools to help Willamette RiverKeeper and Portland Parks and Recreation with a restoration project at Stephens Creek, an area in Willamette Park. Stephen’s Creek was previously a straight pipe draining into the Willamette River, but since Portland Parks and Rec acquired the land its meander has been reinstated. The Stephens Creek confluence provides critical rearing and refuge habitat for native, endangered Chinook and coho salmon and steelhead trout, and for rainbow and cutthroat trout, and Pacific and brook lamprey. This project improved in-stream, stream bank, and floodplain wetland habitat. Although the area has improved vastly, it hosts many non-native invasive species. Our task: to help suppress and control the reed canary grass, an invasive species that has run rampant in the Stephen’s Creek area.
We arrived to a mound of woodchips and were directed to fill the wheelbarrows, cart the woodchips down a steep hill, and mulch over the previously cut reed canary grass around the new native tree plantings. After decimating the pile of woodchips within an hour, we spent the rest of the afternoon pulling additional reed canary (and getting stinging nettles in our arms!), stenciling the bike path with our artistic renditions of birds, frogs, salmon, and Phil and his family in a canoe, and enjoying each others’ company with an early potluck dinner.
Check out more photos from the event. And maybe consider something in memory of someone you might miss this summer.
