File this under, "How do I love my job? Let me count the ways ..."
Friday was our team-building day, so we all hopped on a bus and headed for Gotter Prairie, a 170-acre flood plain meadow purchased by Metro for watershed restoration. Staff and volunteers from Tualatin Riverkeepers met us at the site, and led us on a hike across the meadow, pointing out deer tracks, red-winged blackbirds and snakes (which I didn't get to see!).
Our morning project was to remove the seedheads of invasive grasses. After an hour or so of moderate labor, we filed back onto the bus and enjoyed lunch at Hunter's Ridge Grill in Sherwood. I'll definitely check this place out again on the way back from trips to Newberg.
Next, we were off to Tualatin Community Park, where we had the option of hiking or canoeing. I hadn't paddled since my Dragon Boat experiment, and I'd never been in a canoe, so I jumped at the opportunity. The short strecth of the Tualatin that we explored was peaceful and pleasant. The weather was fantastic, and one of our Riverkeeper guides paid me the compliment of asking whether I was an experienced paddler. And we saw two turtles!
Our host for the day was the executive director of Tualatin Riverkeepers, who mentioned that their organization is one of 177 similar groups that operate as part of Bobby Kennedy, Jr.'s Waterkeeper Alliance. Their goal is to protect every watershed in the United States — a great cause for which I'd be happy to pull weeds again!
2 comments:
Hmm, so many questions.
1. Why are you traveling to Newberg? It's never seemed like much of a destination.
2. You've never been in a canoe? OK, that one was rhetorical. :) I love canoes. I need to be in them more.
3. Why is my job not this cool. Again, rhetorical although I keep asking that question to myself over and over.
So cool! I would have loved to spent the day on the river.
1) Chris' dad lives in Newberg. We go out every couple of weeks to say hi and make sure his wild dogs haven't burned the house down.
2) I guess canoeing isn't big in the Bay Area ...
3) Well, your job is pretty cool --cadavers?! -- and I'm just incredibly lucky.
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