Celebrating spring and community at the 32nd Annual Trillium Festival

The Friends of Tryon Creek, in partnership with OPRD, kick off spring each year with the Trillium Festival and Native and Hardy Plant Sale. Now in its 32nd year, the festival and plant sale takes place the weekend before Easter. This year, the event landed on March 31st and April 1st.

Festival goers from around the region (and a number from out of state) paid homage to the beauty of the forest, enjoyed the happenings (an amazing plant sale, garden art, craft and edibles artisans, live music, guided hikes, children's nature activities... the list goes on and on), and celebrated the joie de vivre that comes from spending time with one's community in a natural space.

Many thanks to everyone who came to Tryon Creek and made the Trillium Festival a lovely experience for all.

Color blooms at the Native and Hardy Plant Sale

Families enjoy nature activities in the classroom

Good clean fun (with a little dirt thrown in for good measure)!

A stroll in the forest

OPRD's Park Ranger Heather Durham shares information with the public

Belinda Underwood plays her lovely music

A big round of applause to festival sponsor Clif Kids! (Thanks also to the events' other sponsors: The Standard, REI, BES and the Oregonian)

An abundance of the Trillium Festival's namesake flower at the plant sale 

Visitors peruse the Spring Artisan Market

Friends Volunteer Bruce Rottink leads a guided nature hike

Many thanks to community partner PGE who shared great information about sustainable, renewable energy in our region

Community partner Master Gardeners shared their expertise with the public in the Nature Center

New Historic Oswego Iron Heritage Trail opens in Lake Oswego

History buffs, outdoor enthusiasts and anyone with curiosity about Oregon's past are sure to enjoy the newly unveiled historic Oswego Iron Heritage Trail.

The trail route follows the rail bed of the narrow gauge railroad that transported ore from the mines to the furnace and winds through existing streets and paths in Lake Oswego - including trails in Tryon Creek State Natural Area - taking adventurers on a tour of Oregon's iron industry. Featured sites include:

• The 1866 blast furnace in George Rogers Park
• The site of the 1888 furnace in Roehr Park
• The site of the pipe foundry in Foothills Park
• The Prosser iron mines in Iron Mountain Park (mines are no longer accessible)
• The Worker's Cottage on Wilbur Street
• The Oswego Pioneer Cemetary

When the path reaches Tryon Creek State Natural Area it passes an old Charcoal Pit that once produced fuel for the furnace.


This interpretive sign in Tryon Creek State Natural Area was created and funded by the Friends of Tryon Creek in partnership with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

(For more information and to view the entire collection of panels please visit http://lakeoswego.katu.com/news/community-spirit/455813-lake-oswego-unveils-historical-oswego-iron-heritage-trail)

Inside the Backyard Habitat Certification Program in Lake Oswego

In August 2011 the Friends of Tryon Creek partnered with the Audubon Society and Columbia Land Trust to bring the Backyard Habitat Certification Program (BHCP) to Lake Oswego. The program, previously launched with great success in the Portland area, empowers land owners to reduce storm water runoff and the use of natural resources while simultaneously providing wildlife habitat for native species and plants.

A typical site visit finds the Friends' Backyard Habitat Site Technician Heidi Brill meeting with a property owner and discussing ways the land can be restored by removing aggressive weeds, naturescaping with native plants, employing storm water management and promoting wildlife stewardship.

On a recent March Saturday, Heidi, the Friends' Education Director Matthew Collins, Columbia Land Trust's BHCP Program Manager Gaylen Beatty, and Audubon Society's Site Technician Michelle Bickley met with Boones' Way residents to introduce them to the program. The response was enthusiastic!

The Friends' Matthew Collins meets with resident Andrea Hinderhof who displays her Backyard Habitat sign, indicating the certification process is underway

Resident Bonnie Artmann and Columbia Land Trust's Gaylen Beatty

The Friends' Heidi Brill leads a discussion on the certification process with BHCP participants

Matthew Collins leads BHCP participants on a hike in Tryon Creek State Natural Area, providing information on native plants, habitat and the Tryon Creek watershed

Matthew Collins and BHCP participants at Tryon Creek State Natural Area

Once the Backyard Habitat Certification process is completed participants will achieve one of three certification levels: Silver, Gold or Platinum. And, they will have conservation and stewardship skills that enable them to protect and preserve their property in a whole new way.

Friends Host Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Event

The Friends of Tryon Creek were honored to host our Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Event in the Nature Center on February 16th, 2012. The evening kicked off with a discussion of the Friends' successes and accomplishments in 2011 with a big round of applause for our incredible volunteers whose contributions make our organization seem to be twice its actual size.

After the Annual Meeting, the Friends presented awards to individual volunteers and our community partners in recognition of their incredible support in 2011.

2011 Volunteer Awards
-Highest Volunteer Hours - Phil Hamilton
-Individual Volunteer of the Year - Bruce Rottink
-Trail Host Volunteer of the Year - Steve Trapp
-Special Events Volunteer of the Year - Laura Dobyns
-Interpretative Volunteer of the Year - Linda Folkestad
-Nature Center Host Volunteer of the Year - Kari Harrison
-Education Volunteer of the Year - Roland Begin
-Stewardship Volunteer of the Year - Carl Axelsen
-Youth Volunteer of the Year - Atticus Kleen
-Rising Star Volunteer of the Year - Jillian Jackson

2011 Partner Awards
-Trillium Coffee
-Columbia Land Trust/Audubon Society
-Lake Oswego School District
-The Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation

It was a wonderful evening and a good time was truly had by all. The volunteers were very gracious and many shared inspiring stories about their connection to the park, reminding us all how very lucky we are to be a part of this place.

Phil Hamilton (left) accepts award for Highest Volunteer Hours from FOTC Executive Director David Cohen

Bruce Rottink (left) accepts award for Individual Volunteer of the Year, presented by Executive Director David Cohen

Lara Christensen and John Gray, of the Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation. The Friends presented John Gray with a 2011 Partner Award.

(from left) FOTC Education Director Matthew Collins, Columbia Land Trust's Gaylen Beatty, Audubon Society's Nikkie West, Executive Director David Cohen and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Kreisman. Gaylen and Nikkie accepted the 2011 Partner Award on behalf of the Columbia Land Trust and the Audubon Society of Portland

Friends' Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Kreisman shared the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"What is success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
That is to have succeeded."

Truer words were never spoken.

The Friends invite you to join us for another fantastic year in 2012! www.tryonfriends.org

Nature Center library at Tryon Creek

Did you know that there is a small library located in the Kraft Room at Tryon Creek's Nature Center? We have approximately 1000 titles ranging from the Peterson field guide to picture books for children on hand for your perusal. They are not available for check-out but are sure to enhance your experience here at the park as they bolster your knowledge about local flora and fauna, region and park history, and more.

Our collection has recently been organized and cataloged online at LibraryThing.com. Check out our profile at www.librarything.com/profile/TryonCreek and browse the library here: www.librarything.com/catalog/TryonCreek. We hope that you will find this new resource helpful and easy to use. We are still in the early phases of shaping our library and would love any feedback regarding your experience.

The Friends are grateful to our volunteer librarian, Amber Stranstalien, for her hard work getting the library organized and accessible online.

The Friends host Chili Cook-off 2012!

FOTC Executive Director David Cohen and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Kreisman present Chili Master 2012 Award to winners, sisters Julia and Rachel Weirnick

Each winter the Friends of Tryon Creek look forward to hosting our Chili Cook-off, and not just because we love to sample the many savory entries (although we enjoy that part too!). Our organization is fortunate to have a strong base of supporters and we like nothing more than bringing everyone together as a community.

This year's Chili Cook-off took place on Saturday, January 14th. There were fifteen contenders for the vaunted title of Chili Master 2012. Each pot of chili was deliciously unique (great care clearly went into the preparation of every recipe) and the public's response was fantastic with 80 - 100 people turning out to cast their vote, sample the offerings and enjoy wine and tasty beer from Rockbottom Brewery.

Our volunteers were terrific (as usual! We are so grateful for their ongoing support). Special thanks go to our volunteer chili chefs for sharing their favorite recipes with the public; to Ann Meub who contributed her amazing dessert for everyone to enjoy; to Bob Snyder whose beautiful handmade cutting boards were awarded to Chili Chef winners; and to Karen Jorgensen who played the acoustic guitar and sang for us.

Tryon Creek's Fungi Forest

On a chilly Sunday in November, Fort Stevens Park Ranger and mushroom expert Dane Osis paid Tryon Creek a visit. He lead a group discussion and hike focusing on the mushrooms that grow in the park...

Multiple mushroom varieties are happy to share the same living quarters...

The honey mushroom was a group favorite...

Close-up of a bird's nest fungi...

Mushrooms are a source of fascination. They truly are marvels of our world and are in a class all their own (although technically it's called a "kingdom" rather than class, as all living things are organized into large basic groups called kingdoms). We are able to see only the "fruit" of the fungus - the rest of it, the living body, is a web that is generally hidden from view in the soil, wood or other food source. Fungi use many different things for food: Some are decomposers that consume dead organic material like leaves; others consume living organisms, some of which cause disease such as athlete's foot and ringworm. Fungi can also be useful, such as the yeasts that are used to make bread, wine and beer.

Many thanks to Ranger Osis for sharing Tryon Creek's mycological marvels with us!