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2019 Spring Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

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Inside This Issue:   Rockwood Rising, A New Urban Hub Migration Brewing Opens New Pub Earth Day Recycling Event, April 20 Nadaka Happenings & Changes WENA Spring Meeting March 11, 7PM

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Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

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“A place that nurtures nature, food, and families” Turned leaves are falling, the mornings are cool, and our plants are drinking up the first rains of the season as we settle into a beautiful autumn here at Nadaka Nature Park.

By Monica McAllister & Grace Graham

After a summer buzzing with community celebrations and gatherings, gardeners tending their bountiful harvests, and many educational workshops and volunteering events, we at Friends of Nadaka (FON) are looking forward to our winter programming and have already begun planning for next year’s events. Over the next several months, we will be offering indoor gardening workshops, forest restoration projects, and other community engagement events that we encourage all of our neighbors to attend. Before diving into information about our upcoming park activities, however, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the past season’s successes and thank our community members and partners who helped make them possible.

This year’s 8th Annual Nadaka Community Festival was a huge success! We had over 350 participants, 3 performances, and 34 partnering organizations & businesses. We were thrilled to have The Aztec Dancers, Ukrainian Folk Singer Natalia Hougan, and the NW Panmen Terry Baber and Brad Hirsch on the Steel Drums perform again at this year’s festival. The Audubon Society of Portland education birds and handlers, City of Gresham Police Cadets and Fire Department had a ton of fun connecting with the community and teaching them about the amazing work they do. Environmental education activities, crafts, and face painting were led by our Nadaka Interns, East County Nature Crew, Centennial Park High School, Gresham High School Key Club, and TALON Apprentices from Audubon Society of Portland while the Boys & Girls Club kept the fun going with games and activities at the picnic shelter! We extend a big thank you to our Festival Committee, volunteers, partners, and everyone else who made the festival a marvelous success! Our Festival sponsors and donors included: Owens Corning, City of Gresham, and St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, as well as Albertsons, Starbucks, and Rockwood PUD who donated hot dogs & chips, coffee, and water respectively. We are extremely grateful for their support!

Friends of Nadaka would like to recognize the amazing work of our two Nadaka SummerWorks Interns and nine East County Nature Crew who helped lead and teach bilingual events for the Human Solutions apartment complexes and lead nature activities for the SKIP Program (City of Gresham’s Summer Kids In the Park Program, which includes free lunch and family-friendly activities) hosted at Nadaka with the Boys & Girls Club this summer. This year, Lilia from the SummerWorks Intern Program joined the ranks of the Nadaka Ambassadors, and Trey has returned as an Ambassador after his internship with the East County Nature Crew to continue working at the park year-round. We also want to recognize the amazing work of our year-round Ambassadors who have been working to engage the community, lead events, and keep the park safe and clean!

For the fall season, volunteers from the neighborhood showed their love for Nadaka at our SOLVE Beach and Riverside Cleanup in September and the No Ivy Day event in October. For this year’s No Ivy Day event, Friends of Nadaka was awarded a $2,000 SPACE Grant from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. This grant enabled us to purchase native plants and tools, and help support the Nadaka Park Coordinator and Nadaka Ambassadors in running the event. We were lucky to have “College Possible” high school youth and community members come together to prep the garden for winter. Another great annual event was our Fall Bird Walk with Audubon Society of Portland, where we cataloged the number and variety of species passing through the park during fall migration. In the garden, we finished up our free hands-on gardening workshop series with Outgrowing Hunger, and did an end-of-the-season cleanup. For those who are interested in gardening at the park, new garden registration for Nadaka begins February 1st. Contact Adam Kohl of Outgrowing Hunger (adam@outgrowinghunger.org) for more information and how to register for a garden plot.

New to our team at Nadaka Nature Park this fall is AmeriCorps Member Grace Graham, who recently started an 11-month term of service as the Events & Outreach Specialist for both Nadaka Nature Park & Garden and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council. Grace was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and graduated from Willamette University in Salem, OR last May with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and degree emphasis in Social Sciences. During her time in school, Grace managed her university’s Outdoor Program, assisted her academic advisor in climate research, and spent a semester studying biodiversity and the local social impacts of ecotourism in Bocas del Toro, Panama. After graduating, she worked for a diversified organic farm in Salem before moving to Portland to begin her service with AmeriCorps.

Grace is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring her passions for environmental conservation and social justice together through her position as the Events & Outreach Specialist. At Nadaka, she has begun facilitating and leading environmental stewardship programming with the SUN Program at HB Lee Middle School and students from Centennial Park Alternative High School. She is also looking forward to becoming more involved with communities and organizations in the Wilkes East neighborhood. At the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, she assists with outreach and communication efforts, and provides logistic and administrative support for community events. She is excited about becoming more engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion work in the environmental field, and looks forward to building many more relationships with the communities she serves! If you have questions about Grace's role, the AmeriCorps program, or opportunities to collaborate, please contact her at grace.graham@columbiaslough.org.

Even though winter weather will be upon us shortly, Friends of Nadaka will still have many fun events coming up rain or shine! Join us for our Urban Weeds Workshop with EMSWCD on Thursday 11/8 from 6-8:30 PM in the community hall at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. MLK Day of Service will be at the park on Monday, January 21st, and the Community Planting Event will follow on February 9th. Starting in March, we will be offering our Annual Free Indoor Gardening Workshop Series with Oregon Food Bank in English, Spanish, and Russian. Another event to keep an eye out for is our Spring Bird and Nature Walk Day with Audubon Society of Portland.

These are just a few of the activities we have in store for the community at Nadaka. For more information and opportunities to get involved and help create a positive social and environmental change in the Wilkes East and Rockwood community, visit www.friendsofnadaka.org, “Friends of Nadaka” group and Nadaka Nature Park page on Facebook, or contact Monica at monica@friendsofnadaka.org or 503-956-8558.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the park!

Nadaka Nature Park, Gresham Oregon

Bring A Friend!
Join Friends of Nadaka for the SOLV Annual Beach & Riverside Cleanup to restore a healthy habitat at Nadaka Nature Park on Saturday, September 29th- 9 AM to 12 PM!

We will be removing litter and invasive species such as English Ivy from the 10 acre forested portion of the park. There will also be an opportunity to work in the community garden and front 2-acres of the park.

Tools, gloves, and light refreshments will be provided. Dress to work in natural areas: long pants and closed-toe sturdy shoes. Please bring a water bottle and a friend!

Meet at the picnic structure on the south side/Glisan Street side of the park. Parking available in St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church parking lot and along NE Pacific Street.

Celebrate Earth Day! Come Lend a Hand! When: Sat Apr 21, 2018 9AM-12PM Where: Nadaka Nature Park (Meet at the picnic structure) 17615 NE Glisan St Get Map!

Bring A Friend!
Join Friends of Nadaka to restore a healthy habitat at Nadaka Nature Park.

REGISTER HERE!

We will be removing invasive species such as English Ivy from the 10 acre forested portion of the park. Tools, gloves, and light refreshments will be provided.

Dress to work in natural areas: long pants, brimmed hat, and closed-toe sturdy shoes.

Please bring a water bottle and a friend!

Lend a hand, meet your neighbors! When: Sat, Sep 23, 2017 90AM-12PM Where: Nadaka Nature Park 17615 NE Glisan St Meet at the picnic structure Get Map!

JOIN US
Join Friends of Nadaka to restore a healthy habitat at Nadaka Nature Park Saturday, September 23rd from 9 AM to 12 PM! We will be removing invasive species such as English Ivy from the 10 acre forested portion of the park. The event will start with a brief lesson on native and invasive plant species.

Tools, gloves, and light refreshments will be provided. Dress to work in natural areas: long pants and closed-toe sturdy shoes. Please bring a water bottle and a friend! Activities include: Invasive Plant Removal, Litter Cleanup, Garden Weeding/Cleanup.

REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT

PARKING
There are two locations for parking.

• St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church parking lot next to Nadaka Nature Park located at 17405 NE Glisan Street Gresham, OR 97230
• Nadaka Nature Park’s north entrance is at NE Pacific Street and 176th. You may park in the neighborhood and follow the path through the forest to get to the picnic structure.

MORE INFO
Contact Monica McAllister, Nadaka Nature Park Coordinator email monica@friendsofnadaka.org, or call 503-956-8558

by Monica McAllister
Nadaka Nature Park Coordinator

Summer is here, delicious berries are ripe, baby birds are taking flight, and we hope you have been able to get out and enjoy it all at Nadaka Nature Park! The past couple of months have been bustling with families enjoying the new swing set, community members gathering for parties at the picnic shelter, gardeners tending their veggies and flowers, and nature lovers of all ages exploring the forest. The past few months ‘Friends of Nadaka’ (FON) has been hard at work providing environmental education activities, community events, and stewardship opportunities for our neighbors, schools, and partnering organizations.

We are most excited about the upcoming Seventh Annual Nadaka Nature Park Festival that will take place August 12th from 12-3pm. This family friendly event will include a visit from the Audubon Society of Portland’s Education Birds, free hot dogs and drinks, crafts, games, face painting, dance and music performances. Various partnering organizations will have information booths and fun hands on activities for the whole family. We would love to have volunteers from the Wilkes East neighborhood to help with the event. If you are interested please contact Monica, the Nadaka Coordinator.

Help Us Plant Native Shrubs When: Sat Feb 25, 2017 9AM-12PM Where: Nadaka Nature Park & Gardens (Meet at the picnic shelter) 17615 NE Glisan St Get Map!

Looking for a way to get outside and make a difference in your community? Join Friends of Nadaka for our Community Planting Event to restore a healthy habitat at Nadaka Nature Park. Volunteers will be planting native shrubs like Oregon Grape, Thimbleberry, and Oceanspray. Native plantings help filter pollutants, provide shade, and improve fish and wildlife habitat.

Tools, plants, gloves, and light refreshments will be provided. Dress to work in natural areas: long pants, warm cloths, and closed-toe sturdy shoes. Please bring a water bottle and a friend!

REGISTER HERE, or call 503-956-8558.

Parking:

• St. Aidan's Episcopal Church parking lot next to Nadaka Nature Park located at 17405 NE Glisan Street Gresham, OR 97230.
• Nadaka Nature Park’s north entrance is at NE Pacific Street and 176th. You may park in the neighborhood and follow the path through the forest to get to the picnic structure.

Let's Get Dirty! When: Sat Apr 23, 2016 9AM-12PM Where: Nadaka Nature Park 17615 SE Glisan Street Gresham, OR Get Map!

Join Friends of Nadaka for our SOLVE IT cleanup event to restore a healthy habitat at Nadaka Nature Park in honor of Earth Day. We will be removing invasive species such as English Ivy from the 10-acre, forested portion of the park.

Tools, gloves and light refreshments will be provided.

Dress to work in natural areas: long pants, warm clothes and closed-toe, sturdy shoes. Please bring a water bottle and a friend, and meet at the picnic shelter.

Register to participate.

For more information about this event contact Monica McAllister at 503-956-8558 or monica@friendsofnadaka.org.