Hiking Mt. St. Helens. Exploring the coast. Rafting the Deschutes. Mountain biking the Gorge. Sounds like Summer in the Northwest! Celebrate the Wild Days of Summer with The Wilderness Society.
The Sundown at Ecotrust Concert Series and Innovation Showcase kicks off this Thursday evening, July 5. The free concert series will feature music by the bands Typhoon and AU. Aside from great music, there will be information and education during the Innovation Showcase about the theme of Protecting Water, our most valuable resource. Learn about water and other ways to live responsibly at the interactive information fair at the concert series. For more information about this concert and the series, visit our Events page.
Enjoy the Outdoors with Your Family
You don’t have to travel to get a dose of the great outdoors. Spending time in your own backyard can have the same effect. Plan a cookout or picnic, go fishing or camping, hike, ride a bike, plant a garden, go to the beach (or river, lake or park), visit a local wildlife center, or even a zoo. National Great Outdoors Month highlights the benefits of getting outdoors and enjoying our wonderful shared resources of forests, parks, refuges, and other public lands and waters.
Some fun ways to celebrate the great outdoors include:
Communities across the nation celebrate nature and engage in fun outdoor activities during National Great Outdoors Month. Check with campgrounds in your state, National parks or Forests, or visit your local waterfront. The National Wildlife Federation’s website offers more inspiration to celebrate the great outdoors. You can put in your zip code for a list of nature centers, parks, hiking trails, and other outdoor spaces nearby. Visit www.nwf.org and click “GET OUTSIDE” today.
The National Wildlife Federation …Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future. NWF has offices across the country, including nine regional centers, and 48 state affiliates . NWF gives voice to the wildlife conservation values that are part of our country’s heritage.
Portlanders can feel good about going to the Portland Rose Festival, running May 25 through June 17, because the Rose Festival is consistently ranked as the “Cleanest and Greenest” festival in America by the International Festivals and Events Association. With partners SOLVE, Portland General Electric and the City of Portland’s Maintenance Bureau, the Starlight and Grand Floral Parades are the cleanest ever, setting an industry standard for clean-up. The festival’s CityFair also recycles over seven tons of trash annually, uses carbon offsets, and works with the Parks Department to restore Waterfront Park to its natural state. So enjoy the Portland Rose Festival in all its greenery. Visit www.RoseFestival.org for a full schedule of events.
And to make matters greener, the Portland Rose Festival Starlight Parade, sponsored by Portland General Electric, is carbon-neutral, thanks to carbon offsets purchased to cover the emissions from the parade entries, garbage trucks and street cleaners. So when you’re watching the eclectic, electric fun of the Portland General Electric / SOLVE Starlight Parade on June 2, enjoy it more, knowing that it’s a carbon neutral event.
Portland is America’s #2 “Most Bikeable City,” according to a website that ranks America’s most walkable and bikeable cities.
Walk Score ranks the Rose City just behind Minneapolis and ahead of San Francisco, Boston and Madison. Seattle ranked seventh. The scores are based on bike infrastructure, including lanes and trails, hills, destinations and road connectivity, plus the number of bike commuters.
Remember, May is National Bike Month, so be sure to become one of those bike commuters and help Portland gain the #1 ranking next year.
Happy National Arbor Day from us at [1Thing]! Help celebrate the world of trees by planting one. The Arbor Day Foundation makes it easy. Even though Oregon has already celebrated its local Arbor Day events, there’s no reason you can’t do your part again and plant another, even if it’s in your yard. Visit the Arbor Day Foundation website to find out more.
And here’s an Arbor Day quote for you from the Naked Gun movie.
Jane: “That’s quite a tempting offer, lieutenant, but I’m afraid I’ll need to get my rest this evening. Tomorrow being Arbor Day and all…”
Get up from your desk and on your feet for a walk at lunch on April 25, 2012 for National Walk @ Lunch Day.
National Walk @ Lunch Day is designed to complement—not compete with—your busy lifestyle.
Participation is fun and easy! On Wednesday, April 25, thousands of companies across the nation affiliated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield will participate in the National Walk @ Lunch Day.
Simply getting 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as a brisk walk, at least five times a week has significant health benefits, lowering the risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease, hypertension or type 2 diabetes, and improving the health of muscles, bones and joints.
The folks over at AdRants alerted us to this video that utilizes natural foods, trees and bees to make music. It’s a tribute to Earth Day from the makers of Burt’s Bees products. Some interesting sounds from some very common objects. Enjoy.
Travel + Leisure Magazine recently named Portland, Oregon as America’s greenest city, beating out San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Savannah, Georgia. The magazine noted our city’s vast expanses of green spaces, our tree canopy, parks, mass transit and our cycling culture as deciding factors. See the entire list at Travel + Leisure’s website.
If things seem a bit darker Saturday, March 31st, it’s because people are responsibly turning off the lights. The world celebrates Earth Hour at 8:30 p.m., March 31st in every time zone across the planet. Be a part of it by turning your lights out for an hour here in Portland. Read more