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2024 Newsletters
Click on the links below to read our 2024 monthly newsletters!
March 2024: New truck name reveal!
Slough Science, in-person Paddle Team Training, and Henrietta Awards.
February 2024: Get ready for Paddle Season!
Paddle team virtual webinar training, farewell to Max, and Partner Roundtable at Kennedy School.
January 2024: Happy New Year!
Save the date for Paddle Team Training! Plus, Explorando Planning Committee, and volunteer opportunities.
Newsletters: 2023 & Earlier
December 2023: Give!Guide, Book Reading of This Rough Magic
End of year fundraising is here! There are lots of ways to support the Council this month, including a book reading at Level Beer! Meet our Volunteer and Outreach Manager.
November 2023: Give!Guide begins!
Learn about our exciting Slough School programming, attend a Slough Science talk on freshwater mussels, and support us (with great perks!) as we kick off our Give!Guide end-of-year fundraising campaign!
October 2023: New Board members and fall fun!
Meet our four new Board members and come on out to Whitaker Ponds for an Owl Prowl, a Stewardship Saturday, or for trick-or-treating at Boo in the Slough!
September 2023: Mindfulness Events and Volunteer Appreciation Party
Join us this fall for our Nature Connection series in partnership with Temenos Rising and Through the Trees Collective!
August 2023: Biking events, Bat Walks, and more!
Join Bike the Levees, the Historic Vanport Bike Ride, or a Bat Walk this month!
July 2023: The Annual Great Slough Cleanup and more events
The Annual Great Slough Cleanup is on July 8th this year! We have to on-water sites and one on-land site for cleanup.
June 2023: Henrietta Award winners, Slough Science talks, bird walks, paddles, and more!
Join us for many fun free events as the school year ends and paddle season gets underway. Also read about our 2023 Henrietta Award winners!
May 2023: Slough Celebration is happening soon!
Earth Month flew by with lots of awesome events and ways to get involved! We had our first-ever collaboration beer, the Slough Slayer, on tap at Level Beer for Earth Day.
April 2023: Earth Month Events
We are taking part in the Earth Day Oregon fundraising campaign this year, and working with local businesses Level Beer, Earth Engineers, and Worn Path!
March 2023: Paddling the Slough & Henrietta Award Nominations
Heather is planning to paddle all of the Slough! Nominations for the Henrietta Award are now being accepted. See our volunteer, Paul Taylor’s, work in cleaning a section of the Slough!
February 2023: Stewardship Saturdays and more
Stewardship Saturdays are in full swing and its time to put some plants in the ground! Our upcoming paddle team training dates are listed. Slough Science this month will be about birds of the slough!
January 2023: New Staff and Slough Science Kickoff
Meet our full staff team, learn about public meetings, and check out our first Slough Science speaker event!
Read our Annual Report 2021-22!
Learn about our programs, partnerships, amazing volunteers, and accomplishments from the past fiscal year!
December 2022: More new staff & ways to give!
Help us welcome our new Outreach and Events Director, Amanda Gallegos, and Community Partnerships and Grants Manager, Maya Hurst-Mayr! Plus, join us for December stewardship events and help support our work by donating through Give!Guide!
November: New staff, programs, & giving season arrive!
Help us welcome our new Volunteer Coordinator, Kenny Symonds, read an update from our busy Slough School program, and help us ring in giving season with special incentives to donate to our Give!Guide campaign!
October: Stewardship season has begun!
Fall is here! Sign up for our October Owl Prowl, join us for Stewardship Saturdays, and learn all about purple martins!
September: Change is in the air
We are all getting ready and prepped for a fall season of stewardship and paddling events as well as the start of Slough School in late September, and are sad to say goodbye to Ryan Banning, our Community Partnerships and Events Director.
August: Join our team!
The Columbia Slough Watershed Council is looking for a dynamic and outgoing person to join us as our new Volunteer Coordinator! Plus, join us for more paddles and other summer events, and order plants for the Sparrowhawk Native Plant Sale.
July: Summer events galore!
Summer is in full swing! Join us for a Canoe on the Slough, a pierogi class before a paddle, a fundraising evening out for dinner at McMenamin's Kennedy School, or a morning of trash clean-up at the annual Great Slough Clean-Up!
June: Summer Paddles, Cleanups, & More!
We reflect on a fabulous Slough Celebration and a 100-species Birding-by-Bicycle Big Day in support of the Council, and share a variety of summer events, including public paddles and BIPOC paddles with POC Outdoors and Outdoor Afro!
May: Join us for the Slough celebration!
Come out on Saturday, May 21st, 2022 for a family-friendly afternoon of community, celebration, and outdoor adventures including free canoe and kayak rentals, guided birding and nature walks, restoration opportunities, educational activities, food & drink, and more!
April: Spring is upon us!
Spring is here, and that means lots of opportunities to get outside and enjoy nature with the Council! In April, join us for an Earth Day Celebration at Wilkes Creek Natural Area, a free spring bird walk, an international dark sky and bat night, and more!
March: New Recreational Outings and More
This spring, the Council will be offering seven forest bathing workshops at a variety of parks including Kelley Point Park, Smith & Bybee, and Hoyt Arboretum. Learn more about them and about our new Executive Director, Heather King, in this month’s newsletter!
Announcing our New Executive Director, Heather King!
After an extensive recruiting effort that attracted nationwide attention, we are pleased to announce the hire of our next Executive Director, Heather King! Heather joins us with 15 years of experience serving the nonprofit sector, and will be starting with the Council in March.
February: Highlighting Community Leaders and Community Events
In honor of Black History Month, we share two stories of community leaders and change agents within the Columbia watershed who are working to build meaningful connections between BIPOC communities and the outdoors, and who we are honored to work with. Plus, we invite you to our community events!
January: New Year, New Partnerships, New Programs!
As we enter 2022, hear about our new programs and partnerships and learn how you can help us expand access to the outdoors. Also, we bid Rachel, our Volunteer Coordinator, a fond farewell, and look ahead to a host of Stewardship Saturdays and other exciting events in the new year.
Read our 2020-21 Annual Report!
We’re excited to share our 2020-2021 annual report with you! This report features some of our new partnerships and programs, summarizes the work of our stewardship, events, volunteer, and education programs, and includes a message from our Board Chair and Interim Executive Director.
December News: We’re hiring a new Executive Director!
Help us find a new Executive Director to lead the Council! Plus, learn about former Council Executive Director Chuck Sam III’s confirmation as the first Native American director of the National Park Service, view our new annual report, and sign up for a winter bird walk.
November News: Welcoming winter, rethinking Thanksgiving
Read on for opportunities to get outside in the watershed this fall, learn about the Columbia Slough as an EPA success story, and approach the history of Thanksgiving with the Indigenous Solidarity Network’s Rethinking Thanksgiving toolkit.
October News: New Birder in Town!
This October, meet our volunteer bird and nature walk leader Ryan Gilpin, and sign up for our family-friendly Owl Prowl and bird walk events!
September News: Welcome to our new Interim Executive Director
In this newsletter, meet our new Interim Executive Director, Nick Hardigg. Plus, learn more about fall events, former CSWC executive director’s Chuck Sam’s nomination for National Park Service director, volunteer Paul Taylor’s amazing contributions to the Slough, and more.
August News: Bird walks, paddles, Slough School, and more!
Learn about several ways to engage with the Slough in our August newsletter. And if you speak Spanish, check out our Bilingual Paddle Leaders program!
July News: New Interns and Leadership Changes at the Council
The Council staff is seeing some big changes! We welcome our new interns, Chin and Lizzy, and bid our Executive Director, Cathy, goodbye as she moves on to another position.
June News: Aquifer Adventure is back - and online!
Learn about groundwater and our drinking water system in Portland in English, Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese! Plus, learn about Slough School in our Education Spotlight and sign up for our summer paddles and cleanup events.
May News: Spring Webinars and Summer Paddles!
Look back at our spring webinars and get ready for summer paddle events! Join our paddle team or attend our Mother’s Day bird walk!
April News: Many ways to celebrate Earth Day!
Celebrate Earth Day and Earth Week by supporting organizations engaged in climate justice work, learning about the Green New Deal, attending our flooding and climate change webinar, and more!
March News: Slough House Party
Learn about our upcoming DIY Slough House Party fundraiser, a Stewardship Saturday with the Blueprint Foundation and Professor Stanley Harrison, the inside scoop on trees and tree-planting in Portland, and other exciting events.
February News: Introducing New Webinar Series
Learn about our 3-part lecture webinar series on the history, culture, and ecology of flooding, join us for a February bird walk, and learn about more local opportunities in the watershed!
January News: Action Alert & Stewardship Saturdays
Take action on an upcoming DEQ air quality permit, join us outside for local stewardship work, and learn about our upcoming webinar series!
December News from the Slough!
Take a moment to share your wishes for the watershed, get an inside peek into wildlife activity at Whitaker Ponds, and learn more about our winter webinar offerings!
November News from the Slough!
Join us for a special winter webinar on turtles and Slough wildlife ecology, come volunteer at Stewardship Saturdays, and learn about our summer and fall 2020 paddle program impacts.
Help us Celebrate this Year's Henrietta Award Winners!
Learn about this year’s Henrietta Award winners, October’s Owl Prowl and plant walk with the Native American Youth and Family Center, and more events and opportunities!
Slough News in September
In this newsletter, learn about urban heat islands and Slough aquatics from our new blog posts, sign up for September bird and plant walks, meet our new interns, and more!
New Website, New Staff, New Programs!
The Columbia Slough Watershed Council is thrilled to announce that we officially have a new website!
Hats off to Everyone for a Successful Virtual Gala!
The Council officially completed its 1st-ever virtual Gala, and we wanted to take a moment to personally thank everyone who made this moment such a success.
A Time for Self Reflection & Action
We at the Columbia Slough Watershed Council express our solidarity with those who are fighting for justice, and protesting the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and the countless other individuals within the Black community who have been murdered in the streets, in parks, and in their homes by police officers.
Join the virtual party, it's time to celebrate!
We are just 15 minutes away from getting this show on the road! All you need to do is head over to our website at 5:30pm and let the fun begin. Thanks again for all of your support, we hope you enjoy the Gala!
Newsletter Archive
Interested in past news from the Columbia Slough Watershed Council? Click below.