Activity Report for the Period 4/17/2017 – 4/28/2017

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District
Sections:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ACTIVITIES
Jay Udelhoven
Completed:
  • Boards/Committees: Prepared for May board meeting; met with ad-hoc committee to interview four associate board director applicants.
  • External Engagement: Attended Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting with Rural Lands staff; spoke at Parkrose Earth Day event; met with managers of Lower Willamette soil and water conservation districts to plan for May basin meeting; met with Executive Director of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council to discuss coordination and communication related to the Strategic Partnership Agreement.
  • Policies/Planning/Budgeting: Completed first draft of new leave policies; researched tuition assistance programs and issues.
  • Program Implementation: nothing to report.
  • Supervision/Leadership: Met with staff and management team during 1x1s, team meeting, and all staff meeting.
Planned:
  • Boards/Committees: Host May board meeting; meet with new associate board director applicants.
  • External Engagement: Reach out to Executive Directors of local watershed councils to plan for Year 2 of the Strategic Partnership Agreement.
  • Policies/Planning/Budgeting: Continue revision of personnel policies; review staff comments on position statements on policy issues.
  • Program Implementation: nothing planned.
  • Supervision/Leadership: Meet with staff and management team during 1x1s, team meeting, and all staff meeting; attend Connect training.
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
ACTIVITIES
Program Supervision / Finance & Budget Lissa Adams
Completed:
  • Prepared 3rd Quarter progress report for Finance & Ops; prepared quarterly invoices for Headwaters farmers.
  • Worked with VALIC and OSGP to research why it's taking so long to get deferred compensation funds transferred over from VALIC.
  • Prepared final draft of FY17-18 budget for presentation to the budget committee. Prepared March financial reports for the May board meeting.
  • Ordered new laptop for Matt and cell phone for Rowan; set up laptop and loaded software. Created network accounts for Matt and Whitney and got them set up to receive email, etc. Prepared Whitney's desktop computer.
Planned:
  • Finalize contract with Center for Equity and Inclusion for advancing equity in the organization.
  • Work with TSCC to prepare for budget hearing on May 16th.
  • Continue research into possible new IT support provider and new phone system.
Office Management Jed Arnold
Completed:
  • I have been covering various workshop related duties while Katie is out on vacation.
  • I have been taking care of various tasks in preperation for our two new employees to start on April 28th.
  • I compiled an overview of the benefits that EMSWCD provide to its employees for a partner organiation looking to improve their own compensation package.
Planned:
  • I will be notifying staff about the open enrollment period for our health insurance benefits and assisting with any requested changes.
  • I'm hoping to take advantage of a relatively quiet office while most staff are at CONNECT to finish reconfiguring the office meeting rooms and copy room.
  • I'll be finalizing arrangements with a third part vendor that will manage time consuming government notification requirements for EMSWCD.
Facilities Management Scot Wood
Completed:
  • I finished the first phase of storage cabinets for Rural Lands in the basement. Soon to start the next phase.
  • I have been in contact with the contractor we have chosen to do the Multnomah Grange Project. We have a tentative start date of June 5, 2017.
  • I have been helping Rowan and Stuart with lots of little "detail" projects. I also, in spite of the rain, got the first round of mowing of the season done.
Planned:
  • I will be finishing the new storage platforms in the basement that will store the plant sale plywood as well as the interior storm windows.
  • The Grange contractor will be submitting drawings of the handicap parking to me and I will be presenting them to Bill Dodds at the Grange for approval.
  • I will be assisting Rowan, Stuart and several farmers in stretching poly over the last hoop house as well as grading out the potholes in the main road into the farm.
Marketing & Media Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Yard Tour: worked with Angela to select photos for the guide and gallery. Created, revised and finalized Yard Tour guide; website and logistical preperations. Registration opens on Monday!
  • Several website updates and new posts. Manure Connection has been particularly active; six new listings posted recently. Reviewed website navigation and structural improvements with Lissa.
  • Helped promote urban workshops and rural events. Worked with Jed to handle routine workshop tasks while Katie was on vacation.
  • Material work: worked on general brochure, event district display, final name tag design and tags for all staff, workshops and Yard Tour advertisement, several alternate notebook designs (and one final design), grants sign updates, facility signage.
  • Spoke with Oregonian and Gresham Outlook staff about advertising, outreach methods and our organization. Helped coordinate an interview with Kathy about our composting toilet.
Planned:
  • Finalize several material designs and order or send to print. Finalize new tri-fold template and event display content.
  • Assist with Yard Tour and workshop promotion.
  • Continue work on next version of Branding and Identity guidelines.
Information Technology Lissa Adams,
Jed Arnold,
Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Jed and Lissa responded to staff IT issues and questions as needed; see notes in their individual reports above.
Planned:
  • Jed and Lissa will respond to staff IT issues and questions as needed.
RURAL LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Julie DiLeone
Completed:
  • Beginning to work on ODA Scope of Work for next fiscal year.
  • Green Team climate change assessment of Rural Lands.
Planned:
  • Attending the Connect conference.
  • Meeting with Andrew to review revisions to the first draft of the Rural Lands Water Quality 5 year plan.
Rural Water Quality Aaron Guffey
Completed:
  • Julie, Jon, and I met with USGS to discuss possible methods to quantify the needs, results, and effectiveness of conservation practices through water quality sampling and analysis.
  • Presented to the Multnomah County Farm Bureau (13 in attendance) about the Erosion Solutions initiative and got great feedback from the group.
  • Completed a draft of an article for Digger (the nursery industry trade magazine) that is essentially SWCDs 101 about what Districts are and what services they can provide.
Planned:
  • Help develop website content for outreach to nurseries.
  • In collaboration with Chelsea, present takeaways from the nursery opinion study that gathered perspectives regarding soil erosion at the CONNECT conference.
  • Host a meeting in partnership with OAN to gather nursery perspectives on how to successfully provide erosion prevention services to their industry.
StreamCare Lucas Nipp
Completed:
  • I only got one day of spraying in on StreamCare sites in this reporting period due to the incessant rainy weather.
  • Two new signed StreamCare agreements are in.
  • I got the mulch delivered and installed for the Oxbow Farm pollinator hedgerow and assisted Jon with setting up some wildlife monitoring equipment in the Dianna Pope Natural Area.
Planned:
  • I will be presenting to the Board of Directors on the Dianna Pope Natural Area Site Conservation Plan.
  • I will be attending CONNECT and presenting on the Beaver Creek Partnership and the MHCC Retrofit Project.
  • I will be continuing to oversee a crew conducting water conservation sprays around installed plants and treating reed canary grass on StreamCare sites as weather allows over the next few weeks to a month.
Technical Assistance Jeremy Baker
Completed:
  • Attended the Multnomah County Farm Bureau Meeting. Gave a presentation about the CLIP program. Took notes on Aaron's Erosion Program debriefing to capture input from growers in attendence. Trascribed meeting minutes for review by staff to help make improvements to erosion program delivery.
  • Toured Oxbow property.
Planned:
  • Site visit to a property to capture points for mapping drainageways and potential water catchment basin.
  • Meeting with Andrew to demo potential new GPS system for field planning.
  • In order to maintain my NRCS Conservation Planning Certfiication I need to obtain an updated LincPass and undertake some trainings.
Weed Management Chris Aldassy
Completed:
  • Garlic mustard work with crews on large site and controlling smaller isolated sites with Jon.
  • Ivy control has been underway from the eastern extent of the district at Eagle Creek, adjacent to the Historic Highway, and on the foothills of the gorge from Eagle Creek to Tanner Creek.
  • Coordinating and scheduling work with landowners/contactors.
Planned:
  • I hope to finish the first pass at all garlic mustard sites in the next two weeks.
  • Site maintenance at a large restoration site in the gorge.
Weed Management Jon Wagner
Completed:
  • I quality controlled Lucas's StreamCare planting data. I finished a first draft illustration for the cover of "The State of Beaver Creek". I entered and managed data for water quality, wildlife surveys and garlic mustard.
  • Lucas and I installed amphibian and rodent survey pit traps. We completed the monthly wildlife survey and met with Dave Stewart to sample Johnson Creek at Headwaters Farm for fish. We also collected monthly water quality sampling. Rowan and I checked the pit traps for three days.
  • Chris, the crews and I controlled 125 square meters of garlic mustard over 60 acres and 30 square meters of ivy over 20 acres.
Planned:
  • I will attend CONNECT.
  • Chris and I will continue first and second passes of garlic mustard control at all control sites.
  • Finish illustrations for "The State of Beaver Creek", as time allows. I will continue garlic mustard outreach, planning and data entry. I will continue to work on data management with Chris and Andrew.
Outreach & Education Chelsea White-Brainard
Completed:
  • Provided outreach support and feedback on presentations to the Farm Bureau, an article for Digger magazine, and plans for a listening session with nurseries.
  • Updated design of CLIP (Cooperative Landowner Incentive Program) brochures for rural landowners.
  • Continued to plan and develop materials for Erosion Solutions outreach.
Planned:
  • Preparing to present at the CONNECT Conference with Aaron on nursery grower study and erosion prevention campaign.
  • Prepare for mailing to nurseries on Erosion Solutions, our soil erosion prevention program.
  • Create a web page on the EMSWCD website for Erosion Solutions.
URBAN LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Kathy Shearin
Completed:
  • Kathy did a TV interview about composting Toilet for the KATU Eath Day segment.
  • Kathy drafted a proposal to the EMSWCD board regarding the funding of the OSU Extension IPM Web Tool.
  • Kathy met with the Mt Hood Community College Retrofit projects primary funders meeting.
  • Jay and Kathy met with Columbia Slough Watershed Council's Executive Director to discuss improved communication amongst our organizations, particularly surrounding the Stategis Partnership Agreements (SPA).
  • Kathy attended the CSWC board meeting.
  • Kathy and Angela gave a tour of Conservation Corner to a PCC class.
Planned:
  • Kathy's working on the Urban Lands 5-yr plan.
Outreach & Education Angela Previdelli
Completed:
  • Wrote descriptions of each of the 9 yards that will be featured on the Naturescaped Yard Tour.
  • Attended East Portland Action Plan monthly meeting and connected with community members and organizations.
  • Volunteer coordination with 45 volunteers for the Naturescaped Yard Tour.
Planned:
  • Attend CONNECT. I helped to organize several of the speakers and will also be supporting during the event.
  • Final Yard Tour preparations, host communications, and volunteer coordination before day of event. Drop off boxes to each of the host houses with their materials for the event.
  • YARD TOUR! On May 13th, I will be present at all of the yards to ensure a smooth and successful event.
Outreach & Education Katie Meckes
Completed:
  • Katie is on vacation until May 1st.
CONSERVATION LEGACY
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Andrew Brown
Completed:
  • Andrew was on sick leave at the time of this report.
Grants Suzanne Easton
Completed:
  • Completed contract set up in ZoomGrants for 2017 PIC grants. Working with grantees to finalize Scopes of Work and Budgets.
  • Site visit to Vance Park garden in Gresham, PIC grant.
  • Met with Metro and Gray Family Foundation staff about Environmental Education convening of grantees on June 2. Developed draft purpose and agenda outline.
  • Working on grant program brochure and display language.
  • Attended East Portland Action Plan meeting.
Planned:
  • Continue to complete Funding Agreements with new PIC grantees.
  • Meet with David Porter at Leach Botanical Gardens to see expansion and talk about possible future grant project.
  • Attend Non-profit Association of Oregon session on Leading for Equity, Funders Perspective.
  • Work with Equity Team on preparation for CEI training.
  • Begin to identify major Grant Program issues in preparation for strategic planning.
Headwaters Farm Rowan Steele
Completed:
  • Working to distribute recycled silage tarps from Canada to incubator and local farmers.
  • Met with Land Access Committee for the Portland-Area Beginning Farmers Coalition to discuss upcoming events and future services.
  • Finished the irrigation expansion to bring water into the hoophouses.
Planned:
  • Presenting NPK Nutrient Management Plan Worksheet at soil fertility workshop.
  • Launching into permits for the road realignment and auxiliary wash station.
  • Insulating the curing shed and looking into pallet racks for that space.
Headwaters Farm Stuart Moeller
Completed:
  • Hoophouse irrigation project wrap-up.
  • Weed management around facilities.
Planned:
  • Weed management around facilities and pollinator habitat.
  • Fixing leaking water line.
  • Helping pull plastic over the third hoophouse.