Tree Planting to honor long time Tryon Creek volunteers

Friends' Executive Director David Cohen and OPRD's Park Manager John Mullen honor Linda Nash, who volunteered at Tryon Creek for six years

On Thursday, November 29th, the Friends of Tryon Creek and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department honored three long-time volunteers - Linda Nash (six years of service), Sandra Hoover (ten years of service), and Pete Browning (twenty years of service) - by planting trees to show our gratitude.

John and David honor Sandra Hoover, who volunteered at Tryon Creek for ten years

The Tree Planting event was the brainchild of Friends' Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator Sarah Kreisman who felt that these volunteers, now retired from service at Tryon Creek State Natural Area, should be recognized for their outstanding dedication and support over the years. "I can't think of a better way to honor these volunteers' extensive commitment to Tryon Creek than by planting a beautiful Western Red Cedar in the forest," says Kreisman. "These trees will live on in representation of their service for as long as this park exists."

Volunteer Pete Browning, who volunteered at Tryon Creek for 20 years, with wife Barb

The Friends of Tryon Creek thank Linda, Sandra and Pete for their incredible efforts over the years. We appreciate their hard work and loyalty and wish them well in their future endeavors.

Eagle Scout project benefits Tryon Creek State Natural Area

Construction preparations begin for Mitch Bernards' Eagle Scout project at Tryon Creek

Mitch Bernards has helped as an assistant counselor for the Friends of Tryon Creek day camps the last 3 summers.  He chose Tryon Creek State Park as the site for his Eagle Scout project: 16 steps on a slippery slope of the Lewis and Clark Trail, about 70 yards west of the paved pathway.  Here are notes from his father and a few photos from beginning to end. 

Building forms for the 16 steps...

The forms were made on a prior weekend with volunteers from Mitch’s Boy Scout troop. He finished installing the steps this weekend with troop volunteers and friends.

Step forms ready to go!

After measuring the site twice; with his grandfather and with his buddy Brian, Mitch built 12 full size steps. The 13^th was full width but the sides were shorter. Fourteen, 15 and 16 were narrower with the shorter sides.

Supply transportation begins...

Mitch looked pretty nervous and took time with the level and tape measure before scratching a pattern in the dirt and declaring where to dig.

Step construction progresses...



Carrying step forms to the park site...

Well – the 13^th step just happened to fit up to a root with its shorter sides. The measurement was for the rise. The step spacing adjusts as you go to match the grade and the run takes care of itself.

Carrying gravel to fill the step forms...

The next two needed to be trimmed to fit but he planned on that and we brought the tools. The insides of the steps were filled with gravel.

Eagle Scout project complete!

Mitch and his Construction Crew

 The park ranger, Dan Quigley was pretty complimentary. He asked who the project engineer was and Mitch proudly accepted the honors.

(Story submitted by Lanette Bernards)

A Walk Down Memory Lane at Tryon Creek

Steve Barton at Tryon Creek State Natural Area, November 2012

In 1966, when Steve Barton was in the 8^th grade, his family moved from Portland Heights to Lake Oswego’s SW Stampher Road, near the confluence of Tryon Creek and the Willamette River. Barton likens his experience growing up along Tryon Creek to that of young Huckleberry Finn: shortly after moving into the house on Stampher Road he became the proud owner of an old wooden rowboat and spent whole days exploring the creek while his parents were at work. A neighbor boy taught Barton how to tie flies and a budding fly fisherman was born. Fishing became a common theme of his expeditions as Barton caught salmon, steelhead, carp and suckers, and once nearly caught a huge sturgeon. He also came across Tryon Creek’s resident lamprey (one of which tried to wrap itself around his arm on their first encounter!).

Steve Barton loved spending time in the wild. Back in the ‘60’s there was no evidence that an urban population was just a few miles down the road from Tryon Creek: the forest was dense and the well maintained trails that wend through the park today were nowhere to be found.

Barton’s early kinship with nature inspired a lifelong ethic of stewardship in him. To this day he lives in a house whose backyard faces the forest, and owls and deer are common visitors. Barton has imparted that same stewardship ethic – a reverence for nature and desire to protect and preserve it – in his children, both grown.

The Friends thank Steve Barton for sharing his wonderful childhood story and the impression Tryon Creek and the forest made upon him.

Congratulations to Michael Barton, "Why I Love Tryon Creek State Natural Area" video contest winner

Michael Barton, with son Patrick, accepts award from Friends' Executive Director David Cohen

In August 2012 the Friends of Tryon Creek kicked off their first-ever video contest on the theme, “Why I Love Tryon Creek State Natural Area”. Entries were accepted through October 31^st and the Friends were struck by the fact that each entry, regardless of its content, captured the beauty, tranquility, inspiration and joy that one experiences in the forest at Tryon Creek.

Michael Barton, a regular park visitor who recently welcomed his new daughter into the world, won the contest, and on November 14^th he received congratulations from the Friends' Executive Director David Cohen. Cohen also presented Barton with a prize package valued at $370 featuring items from contest sponsors Columbia Sportswear, REI, Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, and Voodoo Doughnut, as well as a copy of “Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine”.  

The Friends appreciate the efforts of all who submitted entries and wish them luck next year.

                             "Let Me Show You", Michael Barton's winning video contest entry

As the trees give up their leaves, give youself the gift of a nature walk

Today has been the first chilly day we’ve had in the Portland area in quite some time. The air is brisk, the sky clear, and the leaves falling from Tryon Creek’s trees are every imaginable shade of yellow, orange, red, and brown. They litter the ground, swirl and twirl in the creek’s water as they make their slow journey to the Willamette River, and provide a mosaic underfoot that reminds one just how verdant, how living, the natural world is, even at the time of year when plants and animals prepare to sleep for the winter.

As leaves and other fall foliage biodegrade throughout the park, nutrients and habitat for insects, worms and other park critters is created. The forest is its own perfect recycling center and is both complex and simple in its form and function.

As the “season of giving” draws near, it is our sincere hope that everyone takes time from the rigors of modern life to take a walk in the nearest park or wild space. Witnessing the changing of the seasons before our very eyes; breathing in fresh, clean air; and experiencing the calming effect that one enjoys when communing with nature… these are timeless gifts that each one of us should give ourselves.

Water World

In the mornings I run along the forested part of Terwilliger in southwest Portland. About twice a year, people wearing haz-mat suits spray herbicide in the park to kill invasive plants. Within a day or two of the spraying session the sidewalk is littered with the corpses of small animals such as moles and mice.

I have noticed this phenomenon over the last few years but it wasn’t until a recent run that it occurred to me that, in the same area where the sprayers were required to wear protective gear, including face masks, I was clad only in shorts and a t-shirt.

If the chemicals being used are harmful enough to warrant protective clothing and kill rodents, what does this mean for the health of our water supply?

We in the Pacific Northwest enjoy unusually temperate and mild weather, and in a typical year we experience months of rain. As that rain falls on land it seeps into groundwater carrying whatever particulates it comes in contact with along with it.

The likelihood of herbicidal residue being carried to our water supply through the watershed is high.

As I contemplated the mortality rate of rodents I also felt a rush of gratitude for organizations like the Friends of Tryon Creek, who I work for, that strive to do something to combat the problem of water quality degradation.

Piles of ivy pulled by Friends' volunteers

The Friends’ environmental education and stewardship programs are intended to connect people to the natural world by engaging them with hands-on opportunities to explore our relationship to the planet. Surely “We are all connected”, seeing as how we are just as much a part of nature as the tree that blossoms in the spring, the bird that flies south for the winter, and the mole that seeks cover along Terwilliger Boulevard. To truly appreciate that fact means understanding that our actions impact the world around us in an immediate sense, and those same actions can affect us down the road.

I circle back to the issue of water quality. Spraying herbicide impedes weed encroachment – while adding toxic chemicals to our ground water. That reality inspires the Friends to explore ways to keep our watershed healthy, such as inviting volunteers to pull ivy in the park every Saturday (elbow grease is a great alternative to chemicals!) and bringing the Backyard Habitat Certification Program to Lake Oswego. The BHCP gives property owners the tools to provide habitat for wildlife, reduce water usage and the need for chemical applications, and use native plants to reduce the amount of pollution in runoff to waterways and streams.

Tryon Creek in early Summer

With guidance from organizations like the Friends, significant action to improve the health and quality of our environment is within reach. Visit www.tryonfriends.org to learn more.

Community makes National Public Lands Day a smashing success at Tryon Creek

Lewis and Clark students and community members mug for the camera before hitting the trail to pull ivy

Saturday, September 29th, was National Public Lands Day. It is the largest volunteer event of its kind in the country, as thousands of volunteers show their support of public lands by participating in stewardship activities from coast to coast. The Friends of Tryon Creek were pleased to host just such an event at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. Volunteers rolled their sleeves up and got their hands dirty pulling ivy in the park from 9 a.m. to noon.

REI's Gayle Hoybook distributes free tees to volunteers.

REI was a great supporter of the event. In addition to providing stewardship volunteers with awesome free t-shirts, they served snacks and beverages (to keep their strength up. Those ivy pulls are a lot of work!). The Friends' tip our hats to REI and their strong support for the Friends' environmental stewardship and conservation programs.

3rd & 4th grade Girl Scouts lend a hand doing stewardship at Tryon Creek

Volunteers big and small lent a hand at the event, including Girl Scouts from Troop# 45660 who attend Arco Iris Spanish Immersion Charter School in Beaverton. Their troop leader, Regan Schutz, noted that her group "had a lovely time, and our guide was amazing.  The girls were really interested in learning more about why English Ivy is so destructive to our forests, and they absolutely put their best glove forward when we got down to pulling!  It's amazing how empowering it is to actually get down and work--easy to forget what it's like to be 8 and 9 years old.  Working together for something bigger than themselves, I really felt a shift that day in our (relatively new) troop!" Way to go, Girl Scouts!

The National Public Lands Day stewardship effort at Tryon Creek was very successful. "We had a fantastic turnout of volunteers", says Sarah Kreisman, Volunteer Coordinator for the Friends of Tryon Creek. "It is so wonderful to see how much our community values their public lands."

Thanks Volunteers! We couldn't do it without you!