Camas Briefs April-May
Lane Community College – Camas Educational Network Native Plant Nursery
Ron, Janet, Ryan, Wade, and Krisashwa from Sonja Mae’s Introduction to Sustainability course participated in a six-week long project to convert the backyard at the Camas office into a native plant nursery. Some activities included visiting a local native plant nursery, invasive species removal, and native plant transplanting. Sonja’s students’ weekly dedication has transformed the once weed covered yard to a productive nursery with over 400 plants and more than a dozen species of native plants.
Network Charter School – Camas Educational Network Native Plant Nursery
Eleanor Long brought several students from NCS to assist with invasive species removal for the recently envisioned native plant nursery. In a short amount of time, the students took down a hawthorn tree, a well developed laurel, and dug out a pickup truck load of vegetation.
Creslane Elementary and Creswell Middle School Earthday at Garden Lake Park
Fifth graders from Creslane Elementary paraded in colorful costumes to the 1st Annual Earthday event at Garden Lake Park. Several organizations including the Northwest Youth Corps, School Garden Project, the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, and others joined in the celebration by demonstrating sustainable living through creative games and activities. The Camas Educational Network partnered with the Audubon Society to lead students on nature walks through Garden Lake Park while discussing local cultural and natural history.
Hope in Action – Sustainable Schools
Students from five local schools participated in a number of activities organized by Sustainable Schools. Sandra led an activity where students designed ‘Flags of Intention’ to display their intentions for sustainable living. Students made various promises from stepping out of their comfort zones and challenging themselves to try new foods to living more lightly on the land by generating less waste and recycling.
Network Charter School – Green roof design
What are the benefits of green roofs? What does it take to design a green roof? These are a couple questions that students from Eleanor Long’s NCS environmental studies class is curretly exploring. The students are using a tool shed rooftop and a car port rooftop at the Camas office as a mock exercise in green roof design.
Creswell Middle School – Friends of Buford Park Native Plant Nursery
Every year for the past 11 years, Creswell Middle School students have participated in a week-long service learning project at the Native Plant Nursery. This year, students were divided into five groups: nursery production, invasive species removal, plant transplant, blackberry removal, and potted plant organization.
