June 24th, 4pm – 5pm Online event hosted by Deschutes Land Trust

Butterflies of Central Oregon. More INFO HERE. 

Explore the delicate and beautiful world of butterflies with the Deschutes Land Trust and Amanda Egertson from the comfort of your home. Learn about common butterflies in Central Oregon and a few tips on how to identify butterflies. You’ll also learn more about their unique features and natural history. Then you’ll have a chance to ask our resident expert all your butterfly questions during a question and answer session. **Registration required to receive the virtual event link. Only one person per household needs to register for this event.** Register HERE.

Amanda Egertson is the Deschutes Land…

Looking for a way to be involved in shaping Backyard Bend’s future? You can find most of Central Oregon’s nonprofits on our ‘Get Involved’ page. Connect with them and find out how you can get involved. One way to give back is to consider being on this new City of Bend Committee.

From the Cascade Business News

At the June 17  City Council meeting, Council voted to establish the Environment and Climate Committee. The committee’s primary focus is to provide input and recommendations to the City Council on topics related to environmental stewardship and to oversee implementation of the Community Climate Action Plan, adopted in December 2019. Read the ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE. 

This permanent committee will have expertise and…

Thursday June 25, 6pm – 7pm ONDA is hosting Remarkable Desert Rivers, an online event showcasing Oregon’s know and lesser known desert rivers. More INFO HERE. 

Why do we value wild rivers? Join ONDA for a short video screening and a thoughtful dialogue between Chad Brown of Soul River, Inc. and ONDA’s Gena Goodman-Campbell as they share personal reflections on the value of remarkable desert rivers. Then, Gena will introduce us to some lesser-known streams, rivers and lakes that are worth conserving in a unique opportunity to protect more waterways across Oregon’s high desert!

This is a digital event, which you can live-stream from the comfort of your home. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link to…

Looking for a camp that’s got adventure, learning, hands on experiences, and is really fun for the kiddos. Did ya know the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council has amazing education programs including 4 day summer camps. More INFO HERE. 

These four-day adventure camps will have participants exploring different sites throughout our watershed. Participants will hike and explore some of the most beautiful locations along streams while engaging in hands-on scientific field studies. Camps focus on art, nature and science with a good mix of fun and games!

All camps are 4 days from 8:30-3:30pm, Mon-Thu

Join “Virtually 4 Peaks” Music Festival June 18-21, 2020 beginning each night at 7pm online at 4peakmusic.com. 4 Peaks Presents will showcase some of their favorite 4 Peaks sets from the past 13 years. Catch full sets from past 4 Peaks performances of Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings, moe., Los Lobos, Infamous Stringdusters, Railroad Earth, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Sierra Hull, The New Mastersounds, and Ron Artis II. Come spend the Summer Solstice and relive 4 Peaks with us.

Thursday June 18, 1230pm – 2pm Online Event. More INFO HERE.

Southern Oregon enjoys a rich legacy of scenic and historic trails. The Pacific Crest Trail, Oregon Trail, and Applegate Trail each play an important role in the state’s recreational and historic value. Jeff Lalande and William Buck will provide a fascinating oral and visual tapestry, tying together these three trails and what they mean to Southern Oregon. Discover the hidden history in Ashland’s backyard from Jeff’s in-depth knowledge of early settlers and travelers on the Applegate Trail and how Oregon values continue today through the National Trails System.

This talk is being offered virtually as a Zoom Webinar. Please register for this event in order to receive login…

Mt. Bachelor announced their summer operating schedule including the opening of the new ZipTour adventure. Below is the official press release. Go to the Mt. Bachelor website for more INFO HERE.

From Mt. Bachelor:

In addition to other activities, July 4 will debut our dual-line, ZipTour zip line that is the fastest, steepest and highest elevation zip line in the Northwest. This adventure descends nearly 1,400 vertical feet from the top of Pine Marten chairlift to the West Village Base area. We hope you will make the visit to Mt. Bachelor to enjoy this thrilling experience!

Tuesday June 16th, 4pm-5pm Online Event.

Join ONDA’s in-house experts on environmental policy, Program Director Mark Salvo and Senior Attorney Mac Lacy. We’ll reflect on the history of ONDA’s legal work, share thoughts on how Covid-19 might impact conservation policy, and take your questions! More INFO HERE. 

This is an interactive digital event, which you can live-stream from the comfort of your home. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link to join us: https://onda.org/event/ask-a-pair-of-policy-experts

About the experts:
Mac Lacy became ONDA’s staff attorney in 2001, after serving as student law clerk starting in 1999. Mac’s cases focus on wilderness, grazing, travel planning, imperiled species, and energy development issues on eastern…

You may not know the Conservation Alliance is located in Bend. And you may not know much about what they do. This video will help you understand the impact this organization from Bend has across the entire country.

Below is an excerpt from the Conservation Alliance website where you can watch the video that explains who they are.

The Conservation Alliance is a group of like-mind companies that disburses its collective annual membership dues to grassroots environmental organizations. We direct our funding to community-based campaigns to protect threatened wild habitat and outdoor recreation. The Alliance was founded in 1989 by outdoor industry leaders REI, Patagonia, The North Face, and Kelty, who shared the goal of increasing outdoor industry support…

The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance (HDFFA) is doing some amazing work to bring local fresh food to those in need.

VeggieRx, a program that forged partnerships with Central Oregon health care providers to offer fresh locally grown vegetables and fruits to their patients experiencing hunger or food insecurity, starts again on June 10th in Bend, June 25th in Prineville, and July 7th in Redmond.

Since its pilot in 2018, participants of VeggieRx ate more vegetables and fruits during and after the program. Experienced food insecurity was reduced following the program. Participants felt more confident in their personal ability to stretch meals using fresh food and shop for produce on a budget. Over $27,000 has been spent on produce from local farms…