Written by Monica Hescheles, Volunteer Program Manager
A huge thank you to all of the volunteers that showed up and dedicated their Saturday to the 25th Annual Watershed Wide Event on March 4th. Despite a rather dreary forecast, we lucked out with mostly dry skies and only a few wind gusts. It was a beautiful day that showcased the power of community!
This was my first Watershed Wide Event and I was so impressed by the amount of work you all are capable of. We spread out at 10 different sites throughout the watershed from Damascus all the way to Milwaukie. 280 volunteers came out and together you all planted over 5000 native plants, mulched hundreds more, spread 20lbs of wildflower seeds and picked up over 100 cubic feet of trash. All of which will benefit the many inhabitants of the Johnson Creek Watershed. We could not have this kind of impact without a community of people working together. We have so much gratitude to everyone that participated!
A huge thank you to our event partners who helped organize and lead sites including the City of Gresham, Portland Parks & Recreation, Friends of Trees, North Clackamas Parks and Recreation, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Friends of Tideman Johnson and Clackamas Adopt-a-Road program. I also want to thank the 30 Creek Crew leaders, a group of incredible volunteers that came early, stayed late and lead many groups in planting, mulching and litter cleanup. This event would not be possible without the collaboration from all of these partners and volunteers.
This big of an impact would also not be possible without our generous funders including: The Mintkeski Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, Clackamas County’s Water Environment Services, Portland General Electric, East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District, Multnomah County Transportation Division, Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District, Portland Parks & Recreation, City of Gresham, and Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services.
Rugg Road – Damascus
Photos by Marlee Eckman. Volunteers helped to pick up trash along JCWC’s adopted road.
7th St. Bridge – Gresham
Photos by Caz Zyvatkauskas. City of Gresham worked with volunteers, including a group from Timber Lake Job Corps, to plant bare root and live stake plants in a riparian and floodplain wetland next to Johnson Creek. Spanish translation was available by Cecilia Nunez-Rodriguez.
Centennial School District Mitchell Creek – Gresham
Photos by Bruce MacGregor. Volunteers, including a group from the Ethiopian and Eritrean Cultural and Resource Center, planted and mulched native plants near a long-term restoration project on Mitchell Creek, a tributary to Johnson Creek.
Mitchell Creek – Pleasant Valley
Photos by Harrison Layer, Nate Mann and Jacob Neal. Friends of Trees and Portland Parks & Rec led volunteers, including a group from PGE, to plant and mulch native plants along a different section of Mitchell Creek.
Foster Floodplain – Portland
Photos by Erin Riddle @klikconcepts. Portland Parks & Rec led volunteers in planting and mulching native plants.
Luther Road – Portland
Photos by Kristina Weis and Nicholas Cook. Volunteers worked with North Clackamas Parks & Recreation to harvest and plant live willow stakes, spread wildflower seeds and pick up litter.
Tideman Johnson – Portland
Photos by Elizabeth Brosig and Tari Gunstone. Friends of Tideman Johnson and Portland Parks & Rec worked with volunteers to remove invasive plants, mulch previously planted plants and pick up up litter.
Brookside Apartments – Milwaukie
Photos by Elizabeth Brosig. Volunteers worked at the Brookside Apartments along Johnson Creek to install native plants.
OLCC- Milwaukie
Photos by Daniel Newberry. Volunteers dug through some old blackberry and planted native plants along Johnson Creek, at the same site that hosted the first every grant-funded volunteer project for JCWC in 1996.