By Maureen Beezhold
Earth Year 2008 | Posted: Monday, January 14, 2008 12:00 am
Local naturalist Don Boucher, who leads local outdoor naturalist adventures (see below), now has options for those prefer to stay by the fireside in winter.
You can enjoy new features to his Web site, www.Neighborhood-Naturalist.com, and check out "What's New." There you will find three Willamette Valley Quizzes covering nature, trees, and mammals.
You can access Neighborhood Naturalist's six videos online on YouTube, www.youtube.com/profile?user=naturalist97333. For Neighborhood Naturalist Radio, you can check out two 40-minute webcasts (MP3 audio) at http://neighborhood-natural
ist_radio.htm. Enjoy learning about your bioregion either indoors or out!
Upcoming events
Local food in restaurants - Why is it so difficult?, 5:30 p.m. today. Soup, salad, discussion at The Soup Shop, 1603 N.W. Monroe Ave. Learn how to support local food in restaurants with Chef Jeff Jelten and some of his suppliers. Cost: $8 per person, reservations required. Contact Chris, 929-4167, or info@tenriversfoodweb.org. Sponsored by the Ten Rivers Foodweb.
Exploring deep ecology, 7 to 8:20 p.m., nine-week discussion course beginning Jan. 15, Corvallis High School, 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave., room 229. Participants will learn more about the interconnectedness of life, how our values impact our relationship with the planet and how we can challenge ourselves to live in greater harmony with the earth. Materials fee of $20, payable at first class. Register at the class. Sponsored by Northwest Earth Institute and the Benton Center.
First Alternative Co-op Recycling Center grand re-Opening, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 15. Come to the Co-op's south store, 1007 S.E. 3rd St., Corvallis, and celebrate the new recycling area. Contact Emily or Scott at 753-3115. Sponsored by the Co-op.
Who owns the sky? The tragedy or triumph of the commons, 7 p.m. Jan. 17, Gilfillan Auditorium, Oregon State University. Devon Pena, professor of environmental anthropology at University of Washington, will speak. He is also a public policy advocate, Latino activist, and founder and president of The Acequia Institute, a nonprofit that supports resilient agriculture and environmental justice.
"The Land We Share," 7 p.m. Jan. 24, Gilfillan Auditorium, OSU. Eric Freyfogle, author of "The Land We Share, Private Property and the Common Good," will speak.
This is part of a winter term series open to the public every Thursday night through March 13. For more information call 737-6198 or springcreek.oregonstate.edu. Sponsored by Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature and the Written Word and the OSU Department of Philosophy. Free.
Sunbow Farm workshops, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Jan. 20-Feb. 7. These workshops are designed to provide you with skills to ease the transition from fossil fuel use. Fee is $30 per workshop, $25 for students. For more information call 929-5782 or
• Jan. 20: Pruning Fruit Trees/Bushes/ Vines with Steve Rose, organic nurseryman and farmer.
• Feb. 2: Essential Spring-Summer Organic Gardening with Harry MacCormack.
• Feb. 10: Turn Your Lawn into a Real Food Source with James Sneed, organic farmer at Sunbow.
• Feb. 17: Living Soils: Biology and Chemistry - An Introduction, with Harry MacCormack.
Naturalist adventure, 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 20. Meet at the Avery Park Rose Garden to learn about what's happening in the natural world in winter. Conducted in a holistic "poke around" fashion. Children are welcome although the walk is not structured for children. No dogs, please. Bring water,binoculars, rain gear and sturdy shoes. Call Don Boucher at 753-7689, or bouch
Kincaid's lupine seed cleaning volunteer work party, 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 22. Help prepare this rare lupine seed for planting. Meet at the Institute for Applied Ecology, 563 S.W. Jefferson Ave. Call Carly at 753-3099 or calybrown@peak.org. for more information.
Reviving biodiversity in Corvallis/Oregon trout thank you event, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Jan. 25, LaSells Stewart Center, OSU, 26th St., Corvallis. Jay Nicolas will speak on Reviving Fresh Water Habitats. A film by Eugene filmmaker Jeremy Monroe will be shown. Free.
Rainwater collection workshop, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 26, South Co-op, 1007 S.E. 3rd St., Corvallis. Topics include: why harvest rain, fundamentals of rain harvesting, resources, tour of Co-op system, your personal system. Bring pen and paper. Free. Sponsored by First Alternative Co-op and Willamette Watershed Productions. Contact Dave at 571-451-5867.
Focus the Nation at Linn-Benton Community College, various times, every day Jan. 28-31. A myriad of opportunities at this free and open to the public weeklong event. From music, film, workshops and talks, this is the place to learn what you can do about global warming. Too many events to list. Please request a flyer from Sherry Rosen at sherry.rosen@linnbenton.edu or call 917-4778.
Focus the Nation - Symposium on Global Warming Solutions, 2 to 7 p.m. Jan. 30, OSU Memorial Union Ballroom. Contact Nathan at nejones7@gmail.com or 753-4072. Sponsored by OSU Sustainability Initiative. Free.
February Eco-Film Festival, 7:30 p.m., every Friday evening in February at the Odd Fellows Hall, 223 S.W. Second St.:
• Feb. 1: "A Crude Awakening" - look at the reality of a world without cheap oil.
• Feb. 8: "A River Reborn" - a look at the Fossil Creek restoration, done through unlikely partnerships.
• Feb.15: "We Feed the World" - a film about scarcity amid plenty.
• Feb. 22: Four short films includes "The Story of Stuff," "Wave Power," "Whistler's Journey Toward Sustainability," "How It All Ends" by Corvallis filmmaker Greg Craven.
• Feb. 29 - Two films: "Radically Simple" - follow Jim Merkel who lives simply after experiencing years of high-consumption living. "The Next Industrial Revolution" follows Bill McDonough's vision where humanity takes nature as our guide reinventing technical enterprises to mimic natural cycles.
Suggested donation $5 or canned goods. Sponsored by the Corvallis Environmental Center, Northwest Earth Institute and the Odd Fellows.