HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/26/11 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
May 26, 2011
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.eugene-or.gov
IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION
SPENCER BUTTE MIDDLE SCHOOL RECEIVES OREGON GREEN SCHOOL’S HIGHEST AWARD
ECLECTIC SAXOPHONE QUARTET CONCERT AT THE LIBRARY
NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED AT ANNUAL WE-GENE! AWARDS CELEBRATION
NEW PROGRAM AND WEBSITE MAKES IT EASY TO PLAY OUTSIDE
MONGOLIAN DELEGATION VISITS EUGENE TO LEARN ABOUT ECOSYSTEM POLICIES
AROUND THE CITY
Spencer Butte Middle School Receives Oregon Green School’s Highest Award
Spencer Butte Middle School received the highest award possible in the Oregon Green School program last week. It
is now proudly flying the Oregon Green School flag on its flag pole. Spencer Butte Middle School currently holds a
unique place in Oregon as the only middle school in the state to achieve
the Premier-level certification as part of the Oregon Green School
program. They received their Premier-level Oregon Green School Flag
and a $500 Oregon Green School Incentive Grant offered by the City of
Eugene and Lane County. Mayor Kitty Piercy was present to help
recognize this achievement.
The school has much to be proud of, as BJ Blake, the school principal
states, “We as staff and teachers don’t do anything for these students that
we know they can do for themselves.” That includes filling out the
application to be an Oregon Green School and doing the work to get there.
Achievements include:
Students show a “thumbs up” for salad
greens they grow themselves.
Building a new greenhouse from reusable wood, new raised bed gardens and a new compost site;
Taking an Ecology Class trip to the Umpqua Basin to restore
trails;
Taking a Green Class educational trip to Andrews
Experimental Forest;
Organizing the Eugene iMatter March this year;
Operating an Earth Day celebration booth to share the school
success with the community;
Assisting the Arts and Technology Academy in conducting a
waste audit; and
Hosting a monthly Green Club movie night (including the
movies "Blue Gold" and "Food Inc”) to promote environmental
awareness.
The statewide Oregon Green School program supports schools in
Green team students used City grant funds to build a
new greenhouse.
showing their commitment to “go green.” There are 22 Oregon
Green Schools in Eugene, seven throughout Lane County, and more than 200 throughout the state.
For more information, contact Anne Donahue at 541-682-5542 or anne.c.donahue@ci.eugene.or.us.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
May 26, 2011
Eclectic Saxophone Quartet Concert at the Library
The Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a free concert of world music by the Eclectic Saxophone Quartet on
First Friday, June 3, at 6 p.m. This special concert kicks off Summer Reading 2011, a series of events for all ages
united by the theme “One World, Many Stories.”
Local music lovers will recognize talented players Rich Berg, Charlene Decker, Annalisa Morton, and Jonathan
Neher who perform with the Eugene Symphony, the Oregon Mozart Players, the Swingin’ Marmalukeys, and other
groups.
On the First Friday of each month, the Downtown Library stays open until 8 p.m. For more information, call the
Eugene Public Library at 541-682-8316 or visit www.eugene-or.gov/library.
Neighborhood of the Year Announced at Annual WE-gene! Awards Celebration
nd
The South University Neighborhood Association (SUNA) was awarded 2011 Neighborhood of the Year at the 2
annual WE-gene! Awards on May 19. Sixteen neighborhood associations and several community groups were
recognized during the event. In all, over 100
people celebrated the work of neighborhood
associations, individuals, projects and groups who
contribute to Eugene’s safety, beauty, community
connection, and care for its most vulnerable
neighbors. SUNA was recognized for its
responsiveness to neighborhood concerns and its
collaborative work with the University of Oregon,
City departments, and property owners and
managers in addressing impacts from campus-
area parties and alcohol-related behaviors. Among
the community organizations recognized were the
Eugene Storefront Art Project, Egan Warming
Center, Metropolitan Affordable Housing, Bailey
Common Ground Garden /Friendly Area Neighbors and Mayor Piercy
Hill Road Safety Committee and the Common
Ground Garden..
For the WE-gene! Awards, each Eugene neighborhood is invited to recognize a person, organization, business or
project that made a positive contribution to its neighborhood. Neighborhoods also nominated themselves or another
neighborhood for Neighborhood of the Year. This year, three neighborhoods – Downtown Neighborhood Association,
Friendly Area Neighbors and SUNA - were nominated to receive the award.
For more information about the annual WE-gene! Awards, please contact Rene Kane at 541-683-6243 or Cindy
Clarke at 541-682-5272, both of Neighborhood Services in the City Manager’s Office. Contact South University
Neighborhood Association Chair Carolyn Jacobs at 541-683-8556 or carolyn.i.jacobs@gmail.com for more
information on the South University Neighborhood Association.
New Program and Website Makes it Easy to Play Outside
The Oregon Recreation and Parks Association (ORPA) has created The Outdoor Seekers program and website to
make it easy and fun for kids and their families to play outside. The Outdoor Seekers program is an outgrowth of the
Oregon Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights which identifies 10 outdoor activities in which every child has a right to
participate. Recreation Services is a member of ORPA and its staff was
instrumental in creating the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.
The Outdoor Seekers program has gathered all outdoor recreation
information in one place so that people interested in finding something to
do outside won’t have to check each individual agency’s website. The
website also has a downloadable activity “passport” that’s a great way for
kids and their parents to keep track of activities and determine how many of
the 10 “rights” to outdoor activities – such as following a trail, climbing a
tree, or playing in a nearby park – they have completed. When they’ve
completed all, they get a fun prize.
For more information, go to www.outdoorseekers.com or contact Craig Smith at 541-682-5334.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
May 26, 2011
Mongolian Delegation Visits Eugene to Learn About Ecosystem Policies
On May 17, Parks and Open Space (POS) staff hosted a delegation of 10 people from Mongolia’s Office of Nature,
Environment and Tourism, National Security Council, and Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, as well as two
representatives of The Nature Conservancy’s Program in Mongolia. The delegation was interested in learning about
policies and regulations related to ecosystem services and their
management. The group is preparing to draft new national
legislation to protect air, land and water resources in Mongolia.
Specifically, they came to Eugene to learn about Oregon land use
laws and the City’s Wetland Mitigation Bank and Stormwater
Program.
Neil Bjorklund, POS planning section manager, provided an
introduction to local regulations, land use laws, and policies related
to the stormwater program and wetland protection. Trevor Taylor,
POS Natural Areas Restoration supervisor, followed this
presentation by leading a field trip to west Eugene to share on-the-
ground wetland and waterway restoration and management
projects. The Eugene visit was one stop on a three-day visit to
Oregon, which was selected because of its well established
reputation as a leader in the protection of ecosystems and the
important values they provide. The visit was organized by The
From left: Mr. Ch. Jargalsaikhan (Vice Minister, Nature,
Nature Conservancy, who will be sending staff to Mongolia to
Environment and Tourism), Trevor Taylor (City of Eugene
follow up with additional information sharing. Natural Resources), Bolormaa Enkhbat (UO Student), Dr.
G. Davaa (Head of Water Sector)
For more information, contact Neil Bjorklund at 541-682-4909.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
May 26, 2011