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Upcoming EMSWCD Board and Committee Meetings

The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD), serving all of Multnomah County East of the Willamette River, has scheduled Board meetings at the District Office (5211 N. Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97217) for the months of August through September 2018.

Visit this page to see a calendar of upcoming meetings.

Important information on applying for the SPACE Grant Program

Are you considering applying for a Small Projects and Community Events (SPACE) Grant? Please see the SPACE Grant webpage for detailed information about grant requirements and eligibility.

Our online application system for SPACE grants is now live! EMSWCD recently adopted an online grants management system called ZoomGrants. All grant applicants from the July 15^th, 2018 deadline and onward should apply using ZoomGrants.

Visit the SPACE Grants
page to learn more

We hope you will find ZoomGrants easy to use and we are here to help if you have any questions. For all queries, please contact our SPACE Grants coordinator, Angela Previdelli: Angela@emswcd.org or the Grant Manager, Suzanne Easton: Suzanne@emswcd.org.

updated June 29^th, 2018

Nature Notes 5: National Pollinator Week!

Welcome to EMSWCD’s Nature Notes series! Nature Notes shares small moments and interesting observations from our property, as well as related natural history tidbits, on a weekly to monthly basis.

June 18^th, 2018

June 18th-23rd is National Pollinator Week!

This week, EMSWCD is celebrating all the things pollinators do for us, and all the things we can do for them.

Did you know…

: A native bee on a native plant, Cusick’s Checkermallow

One third to one quarter of our food – and nearly all our flowers – depend on pollinators! Do you want to live in a world without chocolate or coffee? Without roses or honeysuckle? Neither do we.
Wild pollinators are more efficient than honeybees, so many crops produce higher yields when wild bees are present.
Wild pollinators are generally less aggressive than honey bees, since most are solitary and don’t have a large hive or store of honey to defend.

Vacancies for EMSWCD Zone 1 and Associate Board Director positions

The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) has a vacancy for a Zone 1 Board Director and is also seeking new Associate Board Directors. EMSWCD is a local government entity that serves over 700,000 residents who live, own, and/or manage land east of the Willamette River in Multnomah County, Oregon. The EMSWCD service area encompasses 230,000 acres, which includes the City of Portland and portions of three major watersheds, all of which contribute to the Greater Columbia River Basin.

The EMSWCD Board is composed of five publicly elected Board Directors and several appointed Associate Board Directors. Board Directors and Associate Board Directors help EMSWCD achieve its mission to help people care for land and water by participating in monthly board and committee meetings, by representing the EMSWCD in the community, and by providing input on programs, policies, and grants. Board Directors and Associate Board Directors are both non-staff volunteer positions. Associate Directors do not vote on Board decisions, but may be appointed to Board Committees wherein all Committee members vote. Read more →

Nature Notes 4: Native Plant Gallery

May 23^rd, 2018

May is Native Plant Month!

This month in celebration of Native Plant Month, we’re highlighting a variety of native plants, all of which you can come see any time at our Conservation Corner!

May is Native Plant Month in Portland for good reason — everything is blooming in all the colors of the rainbow. Check out these beauties in our gallery below, or come explore our grounds and see all these and more in person! Read more →

From our farmers: Making the jump

This is a farmer-contributed post in our “From our farmers” series, written by Nicki Passarella and Irina Schabram of Amica Farm, both enrolled in our Farm Incubator Program.

Amica Farm is the product of two female friends who forged a bond through hard work, sweat equity and a deep love of agriculture and community. We work with one-half acre of land, growing an extensive array of annual vegetables, herbs and strawberries to sell directly to our community at two weekly farmers markets.

As first year farm business owners, having the opportunity to utilize the Headwaters Farm Incubator Program (HIP) has already proven invaluable in our first months of participation. The obvious places of gratitude to start with include land, water, propagation space, and the ability to share orders to get bulk pricing and keep shipping low. There are also scheduled learning sessions with industry professionals about farm financials, record keeping and more. A less tangible benefit is the community with other farmers at Headwaters and the direct support from EMSWCD staff we are experiencing. Read more →