The STREAM~N Team celebrates its first successful months!
We had our first gatherings of STREAM~N Team participants at the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) at Clackamas Community College on June 7, July 5, and July 19, 2025, on Mt. Scott in Happy Valley on July 12, and at the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center on July 18. The Team has helped us choose and plan many more service/learning events, as described below.
During our very first event in June, our teens joined other volunteers for trail maintenance and habitat restoration by removing blackberry, holly, shiny geranium, and other aggressive species that compete with native plants. Another group created interactive environmental education materials with the ELC’s awesome team, including Director Heidi Blackwell, Ed.D, and her family.
On July 5, July 19, and Aug. 2, the Team took on the challenge of improving the ELC’s rain garden and surrounding area. We removed invasive weeds and added mulch to help increase native plant and wildlife biodiversity and improve how the garden collects and filters pollutants from runoff and rainwater. Thanks to everyone who came out to improve wildlife habitat, water quality, and the experience of ELC visitors!
On July 12 we enjoyed a tour and work party at Mt. Scott Headwaters Center for Built Environments in Happy Valley. It is a project of Rivers of Life Center (RLC) and Founder Jerry Herrmann, who also founded the ELC 50 years ago while he was a student at CCC. We learned about the natural and Indigenous history of the site and sampled steelhead cooked by an Indigenous expert (also named Jerry) using traditional cedar-smoked methods. We saw how they have been restoring the site and were able to help by adding mulch and straw around the many native and fruiting plants they have been adding to the site, as well as other trail maintenance work. RLC has also been adding berms to channel runoff for habitat and keep it away from nearby dwellings that had been flooding during seasonal storms. After a delicious lunch from Tamale Boy we gathered in the forest for team-building fun and planning of future projects.
On July 18 we had our first work party at the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center in Oregon City. The brand-new project is in development on bare land close to the ELC at the edge of Newell Creek Canyon. The canyon is a biodiversity hotspot and one of the largest intact forests in the Portland metro region, with salmon, trout, lamprey, 150 species of birds, 18 species of amphibians, beaver, and more!
On July 29 we toured Clackamas Community College, starting with Holden Industrial Technology Center (ITC). We learned about their robust maker space with drop-times from 6:00-9:30 on Fridays and their wide-variety of programs including Wildland Fire Management, Water and Environmental Technology, Electrician and Solar Technician pathways, Horticulture, Welding, CNC Machining and more.
We enjoyed a nature journaling workshop on August 2 after the ELC’s work party. Bethany Wray guided us through helpful techniques such as Comparison and others in this free “Quick Start Guide to Nature Journaling” by the Wild Wonder Foundation.
On August 9 the Team helped with water quality testing and removal of overgrown algae at the beautiful Oregon Garden in Silverton. They also tried to catch mosquito larvae and invasive bullfrogs–a near miss!–and participated in a “Helpful, Hungry, Bats” workshop led by Rick Reynolds, Co-Founder of STREAM~N Team. The workshop was part of the Garden University series and supported by bat skeletons, preserved bats, and other resources from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife. Tabitha “Tabby” Thompson and Gillian Rutten from the Garden provide wonderful support with the water quality testing and overall logistics.
On August 14 we toured TimberLab, the holistic mass timber design, engineering and construction company that built the spectacular new 9-acre roof at Portland International Airport. Production Engineer Maddie Bob and Foreman Juble Jones explained the complete process and how the buildings store carbon and resist fire. We learned about the many career opportunities and innovations such as wood-on-wood construction in a manner similar to building with Legos, and saw their amazing (and HUGE) CNC machines in action. The natural wood smell was wonderful, and the craftspeople we observed in action were inspiring.
Production Engineer Maddie Bob and Foreman Juble Jones explain the many innovations happening with mass timber design, production, and construction at Timberlab in Portland.
After the Timberlab experience, part of the Team enjoyed a nature adventure and service-learning at the nearby Whitaker Ponds Natural Area. We practiced indentifying the many species of native plants and wildlife found there, and wrapped up the experience by giving back to the beautiful environment by removing the invasive plants we found (and their thousands of seeds that were ready to spread)!
Piper, Sorelle, Mason, Zach, Kite, Ariana, Angie, Mario, and Rick snap a quick selfie at the restored Whitaker Ponds Natural Area. Its ecosystem services clean runoff from the nearby roads and industrial area before the water enters the critically-important fish habitat of the Columbia River.
On August 14 the Team also attended the “Wild Mushrooms: Forage, Identify and Prepare” workshop with Tim Glassman, Ph.D. of the Oregon Mycological Society at the ELC. It was fascinating to learn about the many species and how to find and prepare them safely. The complex science of these fruiting bodies of fungi provided inspiration for engineering designs, such as how the natural polymer chitin provides their firm structure, even after prolonged cooking. What else might we use chitin for? Students are already using it to create a biodegradable alternative to plastic.
On August 16, Washo Shadowhawk from Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program joined our work party at the Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center. He helped us hack out invasive blackberry, then showed some of the Team how to setup and install a wildlife camera that they are generously loaning us to do research. The youth then installed the camera near Spady Creek, where they think wildlife are likely to pass by.
Washo Shadowhawk from Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots shows Mason, Jaclyn, Kite, Angie, and Mario how to set up the Browning motion-activated wildlife camera with night vision.
Wesley, Derek and Trevor work on building a composter from upcycled materials at the STREAM~N Center, while Piper and Kite clear out invasive plants.
Angie removes invasive Himalayan blackberry at the STREAM~N Center from under a Douglas fir tree. Now the tree will receive more water and nutients, and the Team has a shady spot to gather. 🙂
Later on August 16 we had a fascinating presentation about beekeeping and bees from the Bee-lieve Education Foundation at the ELC. Steve, Rex, and John shared about their wonderful mission and how to keep hives thriving. We didn’t realize beekeeping could be such a good career, too, since so many of our crops depend on pollination and bee populations are in decline.
Rex from the Bee-lieve Foundation inspires us to learn more about beekeeping with his demo hive, smoker, and fascinating details about bees. His important profession helps pollinate our crops and produces delicious local honey with health benefits.
On August 18 we visited Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery in the Columbia River Gorge. Carly and other pros from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service explained how they work with tribal communities and other partners–including spawning salmon!–to produce over 14 million eggs each year. The fish hatch from eggs and grow to a little larger than fingerling size before being released to the river, starting them on their epic migration to Alaska back.
Mario, Brady, Wesley, and Piper learn how eggs are extracted and quickly fertilized with milt in the spawning room at Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery, one of 6 federal hatcheries in the Columbia River Gorge.
On August 21 we visited Wildwood Recreation Site on the beautiful Wild & Scenic Salmon River in Welches. We explored the Cascade Streamwatch trail and installed interpretive signs that were created by our partner Engaging Every Student in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Years of federal job cuts have left the BLM short-staffed, so it felt good to team up to install the majority of the signs. We plan to visit again soon to finish the job–stay tuned!
Rick, Zach, Angie, Mario, Mason, Sorelle, and Piper take a quick selfie with some of the new interpretive signs they installed at the spectacular Wildwood Recreation Site in Welches, OR.
It took teamwork and tenacity to install the signs at Wildwood!
On August 22 we visited the Port Blakely Tree Farms and riparian restoration site in Molalla, OR. We helped restore fish habitat with live willow staking along the river, toured the site, and enjoyed activities led by their staff by their wonderful Community Outreach & Education Manager, Bonny Glendenning.
Wesley adds live willow stakes to the side of the creek at Port Blakely. What a fun service-learning activity for a hot day!
Mario and Angie explain their ideas about the social benefits of forests, part of the “Three-legged Stool of Sustainable Forestry,” along with economic and environmental benefits.
On Aug. 30 we helped with service-learning in the Composting Demonstration Garden of the Horticulture Dept. at Clackamas Community College. We cut back the vegetation that was overtaking the demo areas and signs, made the trails safer and more accessible for the many visitors that use the site (especially while cutting through to the nearby Oregon City Farmers Market), and mixed some of our cuttings with straw and damp soil to make compost. Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious pizza lunch while learning about three different methods of composting from our expert partner Jerry Herrmann and the Rivers of Life Center team. We discussed how recycling nutrients with the help of microorganisms and other tiny critters is critical for the health and productivity of natural and agricultural areas.
Zach mixes carbon-rich/carbohydrate-rich straw with nitrogen-rich green leaf material and damp soil (an inoculant that contains microorganisms and other decomposers) to make compost. It can be stirred often to mix in more oxygen for the aerobic method of producing compost, or covered and left to decompose through the anaerobic method, which can sometimes stink, but it also works!
Merritt prunes trees that are overtaking the composting demo areas and signs with a ratcheting lopper, while Rian powers through shrubs with a power hedge trimmer and Zach muscles out weeds from the trail with a pick maddock, his personal favorite tool. 🙂
STREAM~N Team members Rick, Natalia, Piper, Zach, and Merritt pose with our inspiring partners from Rivers of Life Center at the cleaned up Composting Demonstration Garden: Jerry Herrmann (back left), Rian, Ian, Xander, Michael, Jerry Miller, and Rashawn.
On the evening of Aug 30, some of the team also joined the Star Party at the ELC/CCC with Rose City Astronomers. The astronomer volunteers shared stunning views of the night sky with their telescopes and scientific insights into their observations.
On September 6 we helped enhance two large composting areas in the Community Garden at CCC by removing Himalayan blackberry and other troublesome plants as part of the Stewardship Saturday work party with the ELC. We discovered helpful insects, including ladybugs, in the areas being cleared, which we relocated to other areas. We also picked up plastic trash, including from an old fence, before it could turn into microplastics.
Mario, Rachel, Piper, and Zach team up with a SOLVE volunteer to load a massive pile of Himalayan blackberry plants on the truck at the ELC’s Community Garden, Clackamas Community College.
Merritt, Eloise, Piper, Kite, Mario, Angie, Sorelle, Rachel, Zach, Natalia, Rick, and Derek pose with a few other volunteers. We felt proud and invigorated after our successful work party–and tasty treats in honor of Kite!–in the ELC’s Community Garden. Kite leaves soon to start his freshman year at Oregon State University. He plans to pursue a career as a Wildlife Biologist/Zoologist and said he would stay connected and continue to help in our stewardship efforts as he is able. 🙂
On September 13 we visited Hopkins Demonstration Forest for service-learning, sustainable forestry, and sawmill education. We removed excess fuels from the forest floor that were left after mature Douglas fir trees died and were removed. Forest Engineer Peter Matzga, Ph.D., a Professor from Oregon State University Extension, explained how our work would help control the spread of wildfires and prevent them from becoming crown fires that could kill the trees and threaten the buildings at Hopkins. After a relaxing lunch in the beautiful native plant garden at Hopkins, Prof. Matzga demonstrated how the on-site sawmill was being used to process the wood from the trees that had died into lumber. Then we climbed the fire lookout tower for breathtaking views and a fun tour of the small museum on top that explains how the towers have been used for wildfire prevention/control.
Piper and team get a fun cardio workout while making Hopkins more fire safe.
Posing for a selfie at Hopkins Demonstration Forest in front of the huge brush pile we collected and cut up for low-emission combustion (and reduced wildfire risk): Rick, Peter, Derek, Nolan, Wes, Brady, Merritt, Piper, and Sorelle
Peter Matzga, Ph.D., demonstrates how to safely load huge sections of timber weighing 2,000-3,000 pounds onto the sawmill at Hopkins Demonstration Forest.
Forest Engineer Peter Matzga, Ph.D. preps us for a safe adventure to the top of the fire tower at Hopkins Demonstration Forest. He also explained the history and operation of fire tower and how technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and visual sensing that are transforming wildfire prevention and control.
On September 27 we completed the sign installation at Wildwood Recreation Site as part of National Public Lands Day. Then we explored more of the beautiful area, including the wetlands, and even saw quite a few big Chinook salmon returning to spawn!
Merritt, Zach, Sorelle, Natalia and Piper team up to install one of the new interpretive signs at Wildwood. We also discussed the content about forest and freshwater ecosystem ecology and explored the beautiful trails and wetlands. We even saw salmon spawning and a big pile of bear scat! We wondered if the bear had been feasting on salmon that had just returned from the ocean. The nutrients were starting to fertilize the trees and other native plants to help keep the forest healthy.
On Oct. 18 we enjoyed teaming up at the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center in Oregon City. We finished building the composter with two hinged doors from mostly upcycled materials, cleared a mound of blackberry, and planted a Douglass fir tree, which we named simply “Doug.” 🙂
On October 25 we enjoyed helping with the “Pick or Treat” fun educational/service event in partnership with Oregon City Parks Foundation, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Rivers of Life Center, and other partners. We engaged all ages with activities about bats in honor of Bat Week, enjoyed tasty food, and connected with other groups working to steward our lands and waters, while building community.
On Nov. 1 we had a special Stewardship Saturday for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at the ELC. We planted native shrubs and wildflower seeds and added much to reduce erosion, feed nutrients to the plants over time, and retain water. After the work party we warmed up with a Mexican lunch and some hot chocolate and sweet treats for Dia de los Muertos. We also created art and socialized as part of the festivities.
On Nov. 8 we had fun planting native shrubs and trees at the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center in Oregon City.
Kate, Sorelle, Merritt, and Rick celebrate the planting of “Twiggy,” a red-twig dogwood (red-osier dogwood, Cornus sericea), at the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center.
On Nov. 15 we teamed up with Rivers of Life Center for environmental engineering and maintenance of the back areas of the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) at Clackamas Community College that serve as wildlife habitat. We removed pesky plants and pruned to create more wildlife habitat, and mulch to help with weed control, water retention, and soil biological function, and more. Let’s see what we can accomplish together for wildlife, people, water quality, and more! Jerry Herrmann, ELC’s founder, also explained about the process of designing and building the ELC. Didi Dahlsrud, Chair of Oregon City Parks Foundation, also explained how we can help with their Heritage Tree initiative while we enjoyed a pizza lunch together.
Sorelle and Paula in the area they cleared around young trees and shrubs at the ELC.
On Nov. 22 we joined the Celebration of Jane Goodall’s life and legacy at the beautiful Oregon Garden in Silverton. It was organized by our partner Washo Shadowhawk, the local coordinator for Jane Goodall Institute’s international Roots & Shoots program. It included service-learning to restore native oak savanna and build bat boxes, project sharing, and more.
Runa, Huso, Angie, and Mario pose in the native oak savanna they helped to restore by removing ecologically disruptive plants. Some of the ancient trees are over 400 years old!
On Dec. 6 we enjoyed another work party at our home base, the ELC in Oregon City, for Stewardship Saturday. The Team chose from projects including bridge maintenance, removing pesky plants, and mulching around beautiful native plants. We also worked together to move tools and supplies from the old Smucker’s Building next to the ELC, scheduled to be demolished at the end of the month.
The STREAM~N Team had a blast joining forces with Erin Cole and some of her students from Oregon City High School for the Stewardship Saturday work party in December.
Piper and Zach add mulch around Oregon grape and vine maple after pesky weeds were removed.
On Dec. 13 we teamed up with Greater Oregon City Watershed Council for a live staking riparian restoration work party at Abernethy Creek City Park. Volunteer coordinator Kira Smith and Executive Director Tom Gaskill taught us about the importance of the work in that area of the flood plain that had been completely submerged in the 1996 Flood. The native plant stakes we cut and installed on the streamside will grow to help reduce the risk, enhance wildlife habitat, and control erosion that is degrading the salmon habitat. Afterwards, we walked to the Corner 14 Foodcarts for a festive gathering and meal, where we learned more about everyone’s hopes and dreams for the future. 🙂
Natalia, Trevor, Brady, Kira, Sorelle, Nika, Krista, Derek and Rick feeling good after installing live native shrub and tree stakes next to Abernethy Creek in Oregon City.
On January 10, 2026 we had fun at another Stewardship Saturday service-learning work party at the ELC. We helped rejuvenate the ELC’s Community Garden, including clearing paths, adding lots of mulch, and measuring new rented plots. Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch together, go to know each other better, and discussed ideas for STREAM~N Team and career pathway explorations in the coming year.
Part of the January 2026 ELC Community Garden work party group squeezes in along one of the paths we restored.
English holly is no match for Manwell, Angel, and a pick mattock!
Ariana clears out some thimbleberry that was taking over part of the ELC’s rain garden. Even beautiful native plants need to be balanced out sometimes.
Preston and Jacob smooth out mulch in ELC’s rain garden. Mulching helps protect top soil, retain moisture, slow runoff, and add more carbon to the soil to benefit plants and reduce the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
Bryce takes a peace break from working as a biodiversity warrior for native plants and wildlife.
Angel powers out a patch of blackberry and other weeds.
Angel, Manwell, and Bryce carry out a load of invasive plants for disposal so they can’t resprout.
Wesley standing in an area he cleared on Mt. Scott where invasive Himalayan blackberry had been trying to take over.
Natalia and Bre keep trails open and safe by removing thorny Himalayan blackberry and other pesky plants.
Derek, Zac, and Preston get a good workout spreading mulch around young native plants to control retain moisture and control weeds.
Quinn and Quaid bringing new life to the ELC’s rain garden.
Sorelle, Delilah, Kite, and Wesley team up for trail maintenance at Mt. Scott Headwaters Center for Built Environments in Happy Valley.
Zachary uses a pick mattock to clear out space for more biodiversity in the ELC’s rain garden.
Kite provides community service with a smile in the ELC’s rain garden.
Passing around Indigenous artifacts while learning about the fascinating natural and human history of Mt. Scott from expert Jerry Herrmann.
Ariana and Mason tell us about cleaning up a massive discovery of trash in the Sandy River delta. Thankfully, they only found a small amount at the ELC! However, there were literally tons of peach pits and other waste that had to be removed from the site over the ELC’s 50-year history, part of it’s legacy as an old industrial site for Smucker’s (The JM Smucker Co.).
Wesley enjoys a good mulching workout. The ELC’s rain garden appreciated it, too…
Derek and team take a break to learn about pollinator-friendly trees, shrubs, and forbs from the ELC’s Sarah Bidwell.
Brady and Kite help put a dent in the out-of-control blackberry at the edge of Newell Creek Canyon, an important biodiversity hotspot with many species of fish, amphibians, birds, mammals, and other wildlife.
Preston standing at the entrance to the Mt. Scott site where a huge pile of mulch once stood.
Testing for determinants of water quality, such as nitrates and phosphates, from different locations at the Oregon Garden. The Garden helps to further clean and cool municipal waste water before it is returned to the river.
Delilah and Sorelle clear out trouble maker plants from around reeds and sedges in the ELC’s beautiful rain garden.
Mason tackles highly invasive–and toxic!–tansy ragwort.
Touring the site of the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center in Oregon City before we get to work removing invasive plants from around the diverse native plants already on site. We were grateful to Rivers of Life Center–another Oregon Youth Corps team–for offering to help.
Quaid and Zach share their observations of Oregon grape in a “Botany Blitz” activity.
Manwell vs. challenging Himalayan (Armenian) blackberry
Preston gets ready to hand off the spinning Buzz Ring to Jonah and Kite during our trip to Mt. Scott Headwaters Center for Built Environments.
Jerry Herrmann, Jordan Strange, and Xander provided valuable safetry training during our visit to Mt. Scott.
The Team enjoys learning along the ELC’s beautiful wetlands and trails.
Merritt, Nolan, Wes, Sorelle, Piper, and Brady investigates the interesting tools used for wildfire prevention and wilderness survival in the little museum at the top of the fire tower at Hopkins Demonstration Forest.
Maythe, Quinn, and Jemma get crafty creating spinners with hidden details to teach kids about trees and other native plants.
Delilah and Sorelle pose with Rachel from the ELC and a particulary pesky root ball.
Angel, Manwell, and Gavin chill for a moment after loading the truck.
Trevor and Wes team up to plant native shrubs at the Environmental Learning Center on November 1 for Stewardship Saturday.
Sorelle and Natalia create art for the Dia de los Muertos celebration at the ELC, while they warm up after planting on the very rainy November day. The event was co-organized by Paula, an exchange student from Mexico studying at Oregon City High School, who was proud to share this important part of Mexican culture.
Mario and other STREAM~N Team members speak about their work and motivations at the Jane Goodall Celebration and service day at the Oregon Garden.
Runa and Huso put the finishing touches on a bat box they built during the Jane Goodall Celebration.
Wes and Nolan paint canvas leaves that will be part of a big tree in Tanzania celebrating the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall, including her reforesting initiatives there and around the world.
Thistle and other pesky plants are no match for Manwell, Delilah, and fun tools like STREAM~N Team’s new Pullerbear 
.
After the ELC work party on Dec. 6, we enjoyed a tasty lunch together and attempted a Team challenge to pass a Buzz Ring all the way around a circle with all the rings spinning. With a little practice, we did it! Shown here: Wes has just passed off to Zach, who is trying to keep all the rings spinning and preparing to pass off the ring to the next person.
The rings represented these traits the Team chose as key for great teams and team members that work well together: mutual respect, flexibility, communication, harmony with nature and each other, and cooperation.
Nika installs a red-twig dogwood cutting we just created from native plants added four years ago at Atkinson City Park in Oregon City.
Kira Smith from Greater Oregon City Watershed Council explains how certain native trees and shrubs, such as willows, cottonwoods, and red-twig dogwoods can be propagated and used in restoration projects like the one we participated in at Atkinson City Park for no cost.
On Dec. 20 we enjoyed a Community Wapato Harvesting Event, indigenous food service-learning, and holiday celebration at the beautiful Oregon Garden in Silverton.
Kira, Kate, Sophie, Roseanne, Rick, Dan, Tabby, and Washo dig for wapato tubers in the Oregon Garden wetlands. Horticulturalist Roseanne Yoder taught us about the important Indigenous plant and how it has been used since time immemorial. We also pulled out some of the aggressive reed canary grass to help the wapato as an act of reciprocity.
We collected quite a few of the nutritious, starchy wapato tubers–beautiful after we washed off the mud!
Rostyslav, Sorelle, and Delilah measure out garden plots and add stakes at the corners after calculating the correct square footage of each plot. Fun applied math with mallets and silliness!
The July 5 group feeling good after the workout in nature. And we feel so much gratitude to all these good folks who were able to join on the holiday weekend to help clean our water, enhance biodiversity, and more in the ELC’s rain garden. From left to right (back row): Jacob, Rachel, Quaid, Jemma, Quinn, Kite, Mason, Ariana, Sorelle, Delilah, Manwell and (front row): Derek, Eric, Zachary and Rick. Not pictured: Krista
A selfie attempt after the Mt. Scott work party on July 12: Rick, Sorelle, Delilah, Krista, Jonah, Preston, Zach, Derek, and Wesley (or at least his right arm :).
Celebrating with watermelon and fizzy lifting drinks after our first successful work party at the new Canyon’s Edge STREAM~N Center in Oregon City. Most of the Team chose to power out invasive plants, but Zac and Wesley teamed up with our friend/advisor Joel Salter for a design/build challenge to create an effective composter from upcycled materials. It was fun to have Mike Norman from Oregon Youth Corps (lower-right) join us for Day 1 there, too!