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“Snake! Snake!” cried a cluster of 5th grade students from the banks of Salmon Creek in Vancouver, Washington. Within moments, the cluster of kids had grown as students raced across the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail to see the garter snake, held carefully by Sarah, 12. “I’ll let it go over here,” she said after her classmates got a closer look, and she gently set the snake down in the grass to eagerly slither away. 

The joy and excitement of a field trip in nature is palpable among these 5th grade students. No screens, no mute buttons, no faces in boxes on a screen. Instead, birdsongs sang

In the past year and a half, the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership navigated through two big shifts. We adapted our work in response to a global health pandemic and Elaine Placido was brought on as our second-ever Executive Director in the organization’s 26-year history. These changes allowed the Estuary Partnership to reorient and rethink not only what we do but also how we do it. 

After a year-long process of reorienting and rethinking, I am proud to share the new mission statement of the Estuary Partnership and our new three-year Strategic Direction. 

Updated mission statement:
To

Woodard Creek, a Columbia River tributary in Skamania County, is on its way to improved habitat. Woodard Creek is a salmon-bearing stream, but over the past century it has been affected by road development, wildfire and timber harvest. The Upper Woodard Creek Restoration Project is improving a one mile stretch of the creek north of State Route 14 by adding large wood to the stream and revegetating along its banks. 

In mid-August, crews worked to place 220 pieces of large wood in the creek. Because of the location and terrain around the project site, the team hired Columbia Helicopters to

This winter marks a new milestone for the Steigerwald Reconnection Project. With most of the major earthwork completed, including the construction of the east and west setback levees, the full removal of the Gibbons Creek elevated channel and fish ladder, and the creation of new channels and graded wetlands, Steigerwald is ready for a massive bareroot planting effort. Volunteers, students, Estuary Partnership staff, and contractors with Ash Creek Forestry and R. Franco Restoration will plant over a quarter million bareroot trees and shrubs before the refuge reopens to the public in the spring

The pandemic almost brought learning to a standstill. But our Educators are creative and dedicated to fostering understanding of the natural world and students long to learn. Watch to see how we adapted to keep kids learning about science! Then donate: https://bit.ly/EPgive

Video produced by Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership Environmental Educator, Andy Bauer

As the summer draws to a close, so do the Estuary Partnership’s Community Paddles on the Big Canoes. Our team went on over 20 paddles with all types of groups. Through funding from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, paddlers got to explore the Ross Island complex, and funding from Metro supported paddles that explored the industrialized stretch of Cathedral Park to Fred’s Marina near Sauvie Island.  

For one Youth Conservation Corps crew, it was up to the group to turn the tide on having the best experience possible. Their community gardens crew is a group of diverse high

by Alex Rhodes, Environmental Educator

On a bright and sunny weekend, the first in what seemed like forever, the Blueprint Foundation and the Estuary Partnership circled up on the grass near the busy Cathedral Park boat ramp to build relationships and learn together.

The Blueprint Foundation is a family—some related by blood but most tied together by the close-knit Black community of North, Northeast, and East Portland. They share a commitment to learning about science and the trades. Almost every Saturday they meet to do projects around these topics, providing each youth involved