Friends of Vermont Creek
NEXT WORK PARTY: NO IVY DAY, OCTOBER 22ND!
The Friends of Vermont Creek (FOVC) is a citizen group that was formed in 2004 when Vermont Creek was rated among the lowest in water quality and habitat resources in Portland. FOVC's goal is to help neighbors preserve and enhance the Vermont Creek watershed. We accomplish this through:
- Work parties held on the 1st Saturday 4 times per year , 9 a.m. to noon in Gabriel Park. Meet at the kiosk by the tennis courts. Check this website or the Portland Parks website for dates.
- Planning meetings on the 4th Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Multnomah Village Lucky Lab, 7675 SW Capitol Hwy.
- Outreach at events like the Maplewood Fair (4th Sunday in July), Multnomah Days (3rd Saturday in August), and more.
- Targeted outreach and assistance to streamside property owners along Vermont Creek.
NEWS & PAST EVENTS
On Saturday, June 26th, 2010, we hosted a "Birds in our Backyards" event at Gabriel Park (see flyer). There were kids activities, refreshments, a tour of the nest box sites, and information on how folks can enhance bird habitat at home.
We received a BES CWSP grant to install nestboxes in Gabriel Park! In early 2009 several standing dead poplars were cut by Portland Parks maintenance staff (in response to neighbor safety concerns, but without consultation to City Nature staff) on the edge of the wetland in Gabriel Park. FOVC member Jay Withgott has been compiling a bird list for Gabriel for several years, and we used this information to put together a proposal to install about 25 boxes in mitigation for the removal of nesting sites.
Nest boxes locations were determined on a walk through with Portland Parks City Nature staff and the arborist who partnered with us on this grant (Emerald Tree LLC owner Jim Wentworth-Plato is donating a significant amount of time to this project). Installation took place on February 25, 2010.
Thirteen Friends of Vermont Creek walked the length of Vermont Creek (in the city limits) during a Watershed Walk held on Saturday, August 22nd, 9:30am-Noon. It was great to see the change resulting from some of our past work on private property, and check out various corners of the watershed all within one summer morning.
On Feb 28, 2009, we met at The Lucky Lab at 10am for a work party to install some native plants around the patio.
In 2007, the Friends of Vermont Creek had a CWSP grant for outreach to streamside property owners in the watershed. We completed restoration projects involving invasive removal, erosion control, and native plants on 4 properties, including assistance to St. Luke's Lutheran Church on their newly-acquired Vermont House property.
To subscribe to the Friends of Vermont Creek email list (1-2 per month), or for other inquiries, contact the Watershed Resource Center at 503-823-4592 or watershedcenter@spiritone.com.