This Spring’s Naturescaping Workshops Are Here!

Do you love nature? Want to provide habitat for birds, beneficial insects and other wildlife in your yard? The Sunnyside Neighborhood Association is hosting three (3) free workshops in March and April. The Naturescaping Workshops are provided by the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District. Young students are welcome! Space is limited so pre-registration is requested.

Workshop participants will view a beautiful slide show of before and after naturescaping examples, get advice on native plant gardening & landscape design, learn about native plants and walk to a nearby example of a mature naturescaped yard. Participants will receive a comprehensive workbook to help them get started. Light refreshments will be served – please bring your own coffee, if desired.

The workshops will be held at Southeast Uplift, 3534 SE Main St, 97214 and are scheduled as follows:

2) Rain Gardens: Saturday, March 12th from 9:00am-1:00pm
3) Urban Weeds: Tuesday, March 22nd from 6:00pm – 8:30pm
4) Native Plants: Saturday, April 2nd from 9:00-11:30am.

Remember! Register online at: http://www.emswcd.org. Snacks will be provided. Email to [email protected] with any questions you may have.

Open House at Sunnyside Community House

The Sunnyside-Centenary Church on SE Yamhill and SE 35th is undergoing a transformation.

A Discernment Team representing  the  building’s  new  owner  envisions a renewed “Community House”  as  it were, both a legacy from the pioneer members of the Sunnyside Methodist congregation, and an expression of the motto of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association: “Proud Past, Bright Future.”

They want neighborhood residents to be a vital part of this renewal process.  That’s why they are inviting us to join them for this OPEN HOUSE on January 30, 2016.

Saturday, January 30, 2016
2:00 to 5:00 PM
SE 35th Ave. and Yamhill Street

  1. Meet, and share snacks with your Sunnyside neighbors.
  2. Take a tour of this historic building.
  3. Learn about plans to improve the facility to make it more accessible for the local community.
  4. Find out how you can get involved.

At 3:30 PM there will be a brief presentation

Here is a flyer with more information  or contact Pat Schwiebert at 503-706-­6583 or [email protected]

SNA EP NET Meeting Notes – Jan 19 2016

Notes from SNA EP NET Committee meeting 01/19/16, 10am-12pm at the Jeff Morris Fire Museum (12 attendees)

Our next meeting will be Tue, Feb 16, 2016, 7-9pm, location TBA. An agenda will be posted here in advance.

Notes and follow-up info:

  1. Committee Co-chair Jan led us through three interactive exercises to kick-start Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) efforts. This is a critical and fun process for preparing your micro-neighborhood for emergencies, and a good excuse for planning a block party or pot luck! A recurring theme of the discussion was that we need to foster our neighborhood relationships now, before an emergency occurs. Your neighbors are truly your “first responders”.
  2. There is a series of Map Your Neighborhood videos online, courtesy of Tigard CERT.
  3. MYN booklets are being redesigned by PBEM (Portland Bureau of Emergency Management) and should be available soon.
  4. We’ll think about how to enable Sunnysiders to claim/register their micro-neighborhood MYN activities, and publish the info in a map on our website and on Nextdoor.com. Thanks to Margaret for the suggestion.
  5. Sunnyside NET Team Leader Stephanie will draft a plan to involve more renters (60%+ of Sunnyside residents), landlords, and property management firms.
  6. Lauren will make initial contact with the Belmont Library about providing emergency prep info in print, to serve residents who do not have easy access to our website or e-newsletters.
  7. As mentioned in November, PBEM will soon publish a NET “Task Book”. A draft has been distributed to Team Leaders. Steph and I are thrilled with it, and it will probably be our Team’s guide for for Advanced Training sessions. Completion of the 26 listed tasks will earn a coveted challenge coin. It is expected that it will require two or three years to complete all the requirements, so it will be a great motivator for all of us to remain engaged and improve our skills.
  8. For those of you in the queue for NET Basic Training, note that the University of Portland is offering free basic CERT classes. Graduates from the program can become NET volunteers. View the schedule and sign up.

Not mentioned at the meeting, but . . .