Environmental Services would like to thank the businesses and community organizations that have recently stepped up to partner as Green Street Stewards. Together with the many individual residents that are caring for green streets in their neighborhoods, these businesses and organizations are helping make Portland's watersheds healthier and our rivers cleaner. 

Unlike Portland's 2,300 miles of sewer pipe infrastructure that is underground and out of sight, green streets are part of Portland's storwmwater system that we see every day.  Community stewards help keep the green street facilities in their neighborhoods spiffed up and functioning well to manage the rain, with basic maintenance, weeding and trash pick up. Find out more about the Green Street Stewards program here, including upcoming trainings this spring.  It's an easy way to help keep your neighborhood looking sharp!

The Art of Stormwater exhibit is making its way around to local coffee shops and libraries this spring and summer.  The exhibit showcases many private property stormwater projects that were initiated by residents wanting to help the river by managing stormwater on site.  Private property retrofits are an important part of the Portland's solutions in the Tabor to the River Program area and other parts of town where there are stormwater problems.  Portland Community College –Sylvania, the Art Institute of Portland and Environmental Services partnered to create some of these beautiful photographs, which might provide inspiration for you as the rain falls outside! Look out for the exhibit at the following locations:  

• ·         February/March: Gregory Heights Library, 7921 NE Sandy
• ·         March: Café Au Play, 5633 SE Division
• ·         April/May: OHSU’s Family Medicine Richmond Clinic, 3930 SE Division
• ·         April/May: Holgate Library, 7905 SE Holgate
• ·         June: Whole Bowl, 4411 SE Hawthorne
• ·         July: New Seasons- 7 Corners, 1954 SE Division
• ·         August: Rain or Shine Coffee House, 5941 SE Division

This Saturday, March 2 is a watershed-wide volunteer restoration event for Johnson Creek.  Join community members at 12 different sites in the watershed for this opportunity to help improve conditions in the creek, which is home to native salmon, steelhead and other species.   Environmental Services is a partner of the Johnson Creek Watershed Council.  Working together, we're seeing improvements in the creek's water quality, habitat, and flooding.  On March 2, volunteer project sites will support stream restoration by Environmental Services at Crystal Springs, Tideman Johnson Park, Errol Creek and other areas. 

For more information and to register, visit the Johnson Creek Watershed Council's website: http://jcwc.org/watershed-wide-volunteer-restoration-event/ .

Veterans Creek, a tributary to Johnson Creek in southeast Portland, after restoration work in 2012.

The last year or so has been filled with good news about the East Lents Floodplain Restoration Project  along Johnson Creek.  Construction was completed this January, and the second phase of plantings by Environmental Services' Watershed Revegetation Program wrapped up in mid-February.  On top of the nearly 25,000 native trees and shrubs planted last year, Phase 2 added 24,052 more native tree and shrub seedlings and over 5,000 live pole cuttings of willow, dogwood, and ninebark (that makes yard work look easy!).  This spring, native wetland plants will be added, and next winter 16,000 more trees and shrubs will be planted.

Watershed restoration projects like this one help Oregon's nursery industry and other parts of our economy (see this report from Ecotrust).  All these native trees and shrubs will help fill in the natural area park, stabilize the restored stream banks, and shade the water for salmon and other native critters that live in and along Johnson Creek.  It might look like a bunch of little sticks right now, but just wait... 

(Want to contribute to the transformation of Johnson Creek? Join the Watershed Wide volunteer event this Saturday!)

A quick follow-up piece of news on the East Lents (Foster Floodplain Natural Area) project we posted about last week.  Environmental Services staff visiting the site the other day discovered several masses of Red-legged frog eggs. 

This is a great sign that native species are returning to this section of Johnson Creek as the water quality, habitat and hydrology of the watershed are being protected and improved. For more on why Red-legged frogs are particularly special, see the news about this charasmatic guy.