Eco Experience
with Eco Chick
Eco /ˈēkō/ adjective; not harming the environment; eco-friendly
Volume 19 ~ October 2022
Climate.Energy.Water.Conservation.
Autumn is upon us...and salmon are journeying to their natal streams...sigh...
Hey People!
October!! What?!?! Time flies when things feel more "normal". Thank YOU for all you are doing for our students across the district to get in the groove of learning and being in community with one another. It is a joy to see! I'm grateful for the work I am able to do with you all.
In solidarity,
Tana aka Eco Chick
In this issue:
- Waste Wise News featuring 4J Climate Justice Student Team president, Lottie Rohde
2022 Get there Challenge Oct 3-16
Charlotte Coté: "c̓uumaʕas. The River that Runs through Us"
The 14th annual Willamette River Clean-up Saturday, October 15
SPLASH! Stormwater Awareness Week October 16-22
The Great Oregon Shake Out October 20 at 10:20am
October Waste PSA
Climate Education Resources
Link to past newsletters
4J Climate Justice Student Team President featured in Lane County's Waste Wise Newsletter
I'm proud to share this month's Waste Wise Newsletter featuring Churchill senior, Lottie Rohde. Lottie is the 4J Climate Justice Student Team president and a fierce advocate for climate education and climate justice. Click this link to read about Lottie and her thoughts on climate education and climate action.
The 4J Climate Justice Student team has representatives from all 4 region high schools. They meet every Wednesday at 4:30 via zoom and are very active in planning actions to bring awareness to climate change and the small things we can all do to make a big difference.
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Charlotte Coté: "c̓uumaʕas. The River that Runs through Us"
Thursday, October 6th at 7:00 pm
For Indigenous peoples, their relationships to the lands, waters, plants, and animals provide a sense of belonging, and their cultural identities are embedded within the land and waterscapes in which they call home. Charlotte Coté will share stories from her Tseshaht community—stories of c̓uumaʕas, the river that streams through her ancestral territory like a life vein bringing to them the miʔaat, sockeye salmon, an important haʔum, cultural food, which provides them with nutritional and spiritual nourishment. She will discuss how, through harvesting, processing, and sharing miʔaat, Tseshaht reinforce their cultural bonds to their salmon relatives, to their ancestral waterways and homelands, and to each other. Maintaining theserelationships is central to Tseshaht food sovereignty but, as Dr. Coté explains, realizing food sovereignty for Northwest Coast Indigenous communities such as hers comes with many challenges. Pollution, habitat destruction, fish farms, environmental degradation, and climate change threaten the ecosystems where these sacred relationships have thrived for millennia.
GET THERE CHALLENGE
Are you ready to get active, save money, and win prizes? Join the Get There Challenge, October 3-16!
Now in its 10th year, the Get There Challenge is an annual two-week event to help Oregonians drive alone less and use transportation options more. Participants can unlock fun and knowledge-building achievements for points toward weekly and grand prize drawings. Anyone age 18 and older who lives or works in Oregon can join!
The 14th Annual Great Willamette River Clean-up
The Great Willamette Clean Up comes to the
McKenzie River Community this year!
Saturday, October 15th | 9am-3pm
The McKenzie Watershed Council, Willamette Riverkeeper, and McKenzie Flyfishers invite you to join us for this fun-filled annual family event. Work together with us to protect and ensure the health of the river, our community’s primary water source. Afterwards stop by Hendricks Bridge Park for a complimentary BBQ.
This year’s cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, October 15th. Please help make this the great event it has always been: an annual partnership in renewing and preserving the beauty of the McKenzie. Clean up will take place from 9am-12pm with food, refreshments, and celebration at Hendricks Bridge County Park 12-3 pm.
SCHEDULE:
8am - 9am | Pick up supplies at Hendricks Bridge Park
9am - 12pm | River Cleanup
12pm - 3pm | BBQ at Hendricks Bridge County Park
Stormwater Awareness Week October 16-22
Water gives life to Eugene; our rivers are a source of clean power, delicious water and floating fun. However, our stormwater is not filtered and drains right into our local waterways. Along with the water, anything else in the street gutters makes its way into our storm drain system. This includes litter, leaves and other yard debris, chemicals from yard care and car washing...you get the idea.
Keep storm drains free of debris like leaves and litter
Always pick up and throw away pet waste
Dispose of chemicals and hazardous waste properly
Plant native plants and trees
Volunteer at stream clean events
The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go.
SPLASH! Grants are back!
Jump in with Stormwater Awareness Week! Take advantage of this grant opportunity by doing stormwater related activites, teaching students with the SPLASH! site/curricular link, as well as raising salmon.
SPLASH! offers grants of $500-$2000 available for teachers that participate in Salmon Education and/or use the SPLASH! resources to teach their students.
Check out SPLASH! site for resources.
Look for an email soon with more info about SPLASH! grant applications.
Dancing of the autumn leaves on a surface of a lake is a dream we see when we are awake.
The Great Oregon Shake Out
Living in the Ring of Fire in the Cascadia Subduction zone is no joke. The "Big One" could be upon us at any time, so it's good to ask yourself, "Am I 2 weeks prepared?" "Do I have a reunification plan with my family?" "What emergency assistance will be available in our area?"
This year's International ShakeOut Day is October 20, when millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills at work, school, or home!
At 10:20 am (local time) on 10/20, you can join people across Oregon practicing earthquake safety.
Check out the 4J/EEP Aware and Prepared page for some home tips to get prepared.
And, here is EWEB's Pledge to Prepare page.
October Waste PSA
As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas, and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I see.
Climate Education Resources
CLEAN
Their primary efforts are:
- to steward a reviewed collection of free, high-quality teaching materials for teaching climate and energy
- to support the CLEAN Network, a community of professionals committed to improving climate and energy literacy.
NOAA Climate
STEMMaterials.org
“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
4J/EWEB Education Partnership
TOSA-Climate, Energy, Conservation
Grant Coordinator-EWEB, SPLASH!, Love Food Not Waste
Email: shepard_t@4j.lane.edu
Website: https://bit.ly/4J-eep
Phone: 541.790.5533