Kid friendly ivy pull: volunteering in the fight against invasive plants

Ivy pulls happen frequently here in Portland, yet I'd never volunteered at one before, and didn't guess they'd be a kid-friendly activity. But I was wrong.

Our elementary school's service club met at the lush Tryon Creek State Park Saturday to pull invasive English ivy. Our families were few but mighty. We came armed with water bottles and snacks. The organizers knew in advance we were a kid-heavy group, and had pre-sorted a selection of smallish work gloves. The weather smiled upon us, and we were greeted with a rain-free day and agreeable temps.


We hiked out to the work location, and had a brief discussion on what 'invasive' means and which plants and trees are threatened by the English ivy growing in this park, and many others in our country. We spied some lovely native trilliums in bloom (which are often snuffed out by ivy). The kids' pent-up spring break energy was well harnessed in pulling ivy. The ground was soft, and the vines came out easily. Many a kid claimed that she had found the longest vine in the world, a record which was broken many times that morning (although no one did end up calling the Guiness Book of World Records). They also found joy in how high the piles of ivy grew next to the trees where we placed them.


Like the best service club activities, the kids got to work and didn't need a whole lot of supervision, allowing the moms ample opportunities to chat and catch up (much needed after our week-long spring break). I got a kick out of overhearing a few kids say that they really liked pulling ivy since it seemed like a grown-up thing to do. Yet, when it was suggested we put on a fashion show integrating the hot spring look of ivy vines, the kids were all game: ivy crowns, bracelets, capes and scarves! Alas, I'd let my 5 year old start taking the pictures at that point, and the fashion show is recorded as a digital blur. Sigh.

After hiking back out of the park, our ivy pull leaders thanked us for our help and we ended the day as only a group of soccer-playing young'uns would think to do. With a cheer:

Two, four, six, eight!
Who do we appreciate?
Ivy pullers!

The trilliums say 'amen' to that!

Portlanders! Tryon Creek Park will host its annual Trillium Festival on April 10-11.

Natural discovery garden & worm composting @ Blue Lake

Blue Lake Regional Park now boasts a natural discovery garden located next to the water spray ground. Here's what the latest Metro Solid Waste and Recycling Newsletter has to say about it:

Children and grownups can experience the wonders of nature while learning how to garden naturally and organically. The garden is loaded with many plants to see, smell and touch. Many of them are native to the region, like huckleberry and coastal strawberry. Others include non-invasive exotics like chocolate cosmos and pineapple sage. All of the plants were selected to require little, if any, water, fertilizers and pesticides. The garden also features a compost exploration area, a digging area and a worm bin. In addition, two rain gardens capture water from the roof of a log gazebo to prevent pollution in our storm drain system and local rivers. The gazebo provides seating and shade, and large boulders and logs offer fun climbing opportunities for kids.

In addition, Metro is offering a free Worm Composting seminar this Saturday, August 18 at Blue Lake from 11am to noon. Children are welcome to attend, but call Metro to register first: 503-234-3000.

Three Rivers land restoration/work party on June 2

Here's a great invitation from Three Rivers Land Conservancy for National Family Recreation Day (June 2):

"Hey Enviromoms - My name is Melanie and I am the volunteer coordinator for Three Rivers Land Conservancy.  I heard about your group through a variety of people here at our offices.  I don't know the age of most of you kids, but I am putting together an event for June 2nd at our Keller Woodlands location.  June 2nd is National Family Recreation Day and I thought it would be great to get families to come out and help us restore some land.  Why not clean up the areas your family plays! The forests of Portland are places for families to hike, run, walk and teach each other about the importance of nature, keep them healthy for future generations!   The work parties run from 9am-12pm and the site is located .6 miles north of the Chart House on Terwilliger Blvd.  There are pull outs on both sides of the street for parking, look for the West Willamette Restoration banner and the Three Rivers Land Conservancy banner.  Let me know if anyone from your group would be interested in helping us out.  The weather should be good, and it is a nice way to spend a Saturday morning."

Please contact Melanie if you'd be interested in helping out!

SOLV Down by the Riverside on May 19

Coming Saturday to a river near you: it's SOLV's "Down by the Riverside" statewide beautification and enhancement project. You can help cleanup and beautify Oregon's watersheds on Saturday, May 19 from 9am to 1pm. In the Portland-Metro area there are 34 projects alone! Visit SOLV's web site or call 503-333-7658 for more information on where, when and how you can help.

Festival of the Birds @ Sellwood Park May 12

We've got a little robin nesting in our vine maple, just about eye level. My kids want to check on her hourly to make sure that the evil blue jays haven't come calling. I don't know a whole lot about birds (in fact, I'm not really sure it's a robin) so this weekend's Festival of Birds might be a good place to learn a little more. The festival celebrates migratory birds in our area and offers a host of activities for kids like bird feeder building, make your own binoculars, storytelling and the opportunity to see the Audubon Society's resident birds of prey up close. May 12, 10am-4pm @ Sellwood Park. Free!

Volunteer or participate in SOLV IT, Sat. April 28

Click here for volunteer opportunities or to see whether your neighborhood has a clean-up scheduled.

On Saturday, April 28th, thousands of volunteers will converge on approximately 100 project sites in the greater Portland metropolitan area and work together to SOLV IT.

SOLV IT, presented by Portland General Electric, focuses on cleaning illegal dumpsites, beautifying and enhancing neighborhoods and public spaces, restoring watersheds, and much more. In the past seventeen years, SOLV IT volunteers have removed more than 6,400 tons of debris from illegal dumpsites, neighborhoods and natural areas.

Trillium Festival on March 31

My husband prefers grassy lawns, and the geometry and orderliness of a formal French garden. Me, I prefer a more romantic and flowery English garden. Native has never really been in our repertoire. But we're opening our minds to native plants this year.

That's why you'll find us at the Trillium Festival on March 31, at Tryon Creek. This free event features guided nature hikes, children's crafts, live music performances, storytelling, photography, local authors, refreshments and a native plant sale.

Hope to see you there.

Hey Rover, meet me over at the doggie loo in 5 minutes

Have you heard about the Gabriel Park doggie loo? It's funny because I had been thinking about what happens to doggie doo a lot lately. We do not have a dog, but of course since Portland is dog-town USA, we always see dog walkers with their ubiquitous plastic poop bags in their hands. And it got me to wondering what they do with those bags...

To give you a little background, let me take you back 5 years to the infant care class I took at Providence St. Vincent when my first daughter was due. The biggest thing I got out of that class was a real shocker. Apparently, there is fine print on the disposable diaper boxes that says you should shake the baby poop out of the diaper and flush it in the toilet before disposing of the soiled diaper.  Now I can't say that I've done that with every single diaper. But I've made a heroic effort of this dirty job lately. My toddler has taken a great interest in potty training, and now we always flush the poop, so that she makes the connection that poop goes in the potty.

So that brings me back to the dog poop. Now I want you to consider a truly awesome figure: 5 tons That is the amount of dog poop that was going in trash bins at Gabriel Park each summer prior to the installation of the dog loo. Then garbage trucks were taking those stinky loads to our landfills. Not a good place for raw sewage.

Let's do our part. Go that extra mile. Put poop in it's place. No if's, and's or but's about it. But be sure and wash your hands really well afterwards.

(Originally published on ReadySetMom.com)

Upcoming Nature Walks

Guided nature walks are a great way to get outdoors and get you and your kids a little exercise. Here are a few that are coming up:

Ladybug Nature Walks by Portland Parks & Rec
Love, love, love these walks (and so do my kids).
- October 6 at Marshall Park in SW
- October 13 at Forest Park
- October 20 at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge (this should be a good one)
- October 27 at Laurelhurst Park
- November 3 at Hoyt Arboretum
Walks start at 10am and last 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Check the PP&R Web site for directions and see my earlier entry for more commentary on these walks.

Green Walks by Portland Parks & Rec
Can't make Friday Ladybug Walks? Then check out info at the PP&R site on these Saturday walks, which are also appropriate for families:
- October 7 at Hoyt Arboretum
- October 14 at Oaks Bottom
- October 21 at Whitaker Ponds
- October 28 at Ainsworth Linear Arboretum
Walks start at 10am and last an hour

Backyard Bird Shop Kid's Nature Walks
Love these stores and am betting the walks are great fun.
- October 22 at Tualatin Hills Nature Park, 10-Noon
call the Beaverton store at 503-626-0949 for reservations
- November 12 at Mary S. Young State Park, 10-Noon
call the Lake Oswego store at 503-635-2044 for reservations
Here's a blurb from the lastest Backyard Bird Shop newsletter:
Child educator and naturalist Elaine Murphy will introduce the plants and animals that live in temperate rainforests. You'll take a close look at the forest life using bug boxes, magnifiers, a field microscope and a bird-spotting scope. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED! These are free walks and children must be accompanied by an adult.

(Note: Originally published/posted by Heather on ReadySetMom.com)

Ladybug Nature Hikes by Portland Parks and Recreation

I took the kids to our first Ladybug Hike a few weeks ago at Elk Rock Island in Milwaukie. Never heard of it? Neither had I, but it's fantastic. The guides passed out ladybug backpacks chock full with magnifying glasses, specimen cups, animal masks (for getting into character) and other goodies appropriate for a walk in nature. There were lots of big rocks that the kids had to climb over to get through the hike, but they did great and we all had fun. I knew it was a success when my daughter, who is usually squeamish about insects, mollusks and the like, threw a tantrum when she couldn't stay longer and catch more snails.

There are only seven hikes left this year, so try to get to one! The next hike is this Friday, September 22 from 10 - 11:30 at Leach Botanical Garden, and it costs $2 per child. If you are considering bringing a baby jogger, check the hike schedule to see if the trail is stroller-friendly.

(Note: Originally published/posted by Heather on ReadySetMom.com)