Calling all Winter Lovers. That familiar chill is in the air and it’s time to celebrate! Join Core Concepts, The Mountain Shop & the Snowrider Project on Wednesday, November 9th at the Ace Hotel from 5-9 pm. Be our guest to preview the 2011 Core Concepts Winter Collection of technical apparel and enjoy a complimentary Widmer seasonal ale on us. Great raffle prizes and swag from The Mountain Shop and Core Concepts will be given away throughout the night. A special opportunity to pre-order from the new Core Concepts Winter Collection will be available.

10% of all pre-orders that evening go to benefit Snowrider PDX.
Core Concepts features top notch performance outdoor layers that combine the highest quality branded technical fabrics with unique design elements and custom print accents.
No Admission!
Complimentary Widmer Beer!
Raffle and Prizes!

Please join us at SE Lucky Lab at 7pm for “Meet and Greet”. Learn about future volunteer opportunities and how you can help! The meeting will start at 7:30pm. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Interested in building an Ocean Friendly Garden?
Beach Cleanups?
Email Lisa at: lisa.lynch@oregonsurfrider.org
Volunteer and receive a free retro Portland Chapter Surfrider Foundation T-shirt!

Rain, rain go away!
We’re going to have to mark stormdrains another day.

With the thunderstorms overnight, and the likelyhood of more showers through the day, we’re unfortunately going to have to cancel stormdrain marking for tonight, as we need 8-12 hours of dry weather to completely dry out the porous concrete to make it the adhesive stick.

Our next stormdrain marking dates are set for Tuesday August 16th, and Monday August 22nd, both dates we’ll meet at 6:00pm, and will again attempt to mark in the SE 10th and Franklin neighborhood. Hopefully Noah’s Ark won’t be floating by at that point. : )

Thanks for your interest, enthusiasm and patience. We’ll get some dry weather soon, and put ya’ll to work.

If you’re interested in helping out with future markings, we can always use more volunteers! Sign up with Gregg: stormdrainmarkingpdx@gmail.com

Ever want to get more involved with Surfrider PDX Chapter and have as much fun and learn as much as we do? Well, now is your chance!

On July 12th at 7pm at SE Lucky Lab during our public montly meeting we will determine our new secretary! To qualify you need to have volunteered at least once with us, be a Surfrider Member (join here), have administrative skills and be willing to volunteer 1.5-5 hours per week. See some of the specifics of the role here.

Sounds like a lot? Don’t worry! Our veteran volunteers will help you out, train you and probably become your new great friends! Must be present at this 7/12 meeting to run for Secretary 2011-2012! Questions? Contact: Charlie at CPlybon@surfrider.org

Also, at this months meeting: Ocean Friendly Rain Garden Presentation by expert

Candace Stoughton

 Candace Stoughton, Low Impact Development Specialist of East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District, speaks on how to protect our oceans with Rain Gardens!

Rain gardens, or Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFGs), can reduce the amount of pollution reaching creeks, streams, and ultimately our oceans! A rain garden is a planted depression that filters rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like driveways, streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas. This provides an opportunity for the water to be absorbed and filtered, reducing the amount of contaminated water draining down stormdrains to the ocean.

Candace currently is working on urban conservation issues with a focus on sustainable stormwater management. She has expertise in low impact development methods that protect streams and rivers from urban stormwater runoff.
Before joining the district, she worked as a watershed manager for The Nature Conservancy in Georgia and as a biologist with the Environmental Protection Agency.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Please join us on Saturday June 25th from 11am-1pm at Sellwood Riverfront Park (SE Spokane St & Oaks Pkwy) for Hands Across the Sand – a global movement protesting offshore oil drilling and embracing clean energy. This year the event is being sponsored by Surfrider Foundation, Climate Solutions, OLCV, Our Ocean, Oregon Shores, Sierra Club, and IDEAS. Everyone is invited to attend this free community event to support the worldwide protection of our coastal economies, watersheds, oceans, marine wildlife and fisheries. The event will include speakers and informational tables. At noon, participants will join hands for fifteen minutes in solidarity with participants from around the world. To read more about this international movement go to www.handsacrossthesand.com We encourage you to walk, bike, or take public transportation to this event. Bike Access: Springwater Trail. Bus Station: 8400 Block SW Macadam (Riverview). 

Please come out for a Surf Art Show from 7-10pm on June 2 at the Lizard Lounge (1323 NW Irving Street) as part of First Thursday in Portland’s Pearl District! The event is a benefit for the Portland Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and will feature beer and live music. Local and regional surf and ocean-themed artwork will be shown and for sale. 50% of proceeds from the night will support Surfrider Portland and our many campaigns like Ban the Bag, Snowrider, Storm Drain Marking and more. Artwork presented at show by: Todd Fischer (pictured below), Michael Lorenzini, John Holm , Justin “Scrappers” Morrison, Katie Preston, and others!

From Staj Pace, Porltand Chapter Chair, sailing across the south pacific gyre:

Upon entering the Pink Coconut, a swanky, ocean front, restaurant at
the end of the dock in Marina Taina, Tahiti, several hundred yards
from where Sea Dragon is anchored, one might think they stepped into
an Apple Mac Computer commercial being filmed. But this is not a
commercial, this real life for most these folks. That’s right. The Sea
Dragon crew is made up of people that I think is safe to say, most
others are jealous of. Sitting among palm trees, piña coladas and a
million dollar view of Moorea Island in the  middle of the South
Pacific 9 individuals, including Professional surfers, photographers,
divers, journalists, videographers and travel writers, type away at
their shiny silver laptops reporting back to their respective sponsors
before we set sail for the Cook Islands.

The select crew, while chosen for our varied expertise, all have one
thing in common: an affinity for the preservation and conservation of
the worlds ocean. Our job on this journey in addition to actually
working on the boat as crew is also to help promote the work of
5Gyres, raise awareness and educate others on the exponentially
increasing amount of plastics accumulating in the world oceans and the
ramifications of marine species consuming plastics accidentally and as
food.

Tomorrow we plan to leave Tahiti aboard Sea Dragon, a 72 foot sailboat
with a crew of 14 people total. Like most islands however, time moves
slowly here and the only two motors for the boat have not yet returned
from the mechanic, which was suppossed to happen several days ago.
Fingers crossed, they’ll show up midday tomorrow and we’ll set sail!

Along the five day  journey we plan to sail, snorkel, and swim in some
of the deepest waters in the world. In addition to having a kick ass
time, we also be trawling for plastic marine debris, taking fish
samples and cutting the open to see if plastic ingestion is taking
place, and removing the  livers and tissue samples to send to a lab in
Sweden called MTM Reasearch Institute to measure the levels of
persistent organic pollutants accumulating in the species.

We will be taking many photos and notes along the way, so stay tuned
for more updates when we arrive in the Lower Cook Islands!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Earth Day Work Party at Oaks Crossing Natural Area on April 23! In partnership with the Portland Parks & Recreation and the Rachel Carson Environmental Middle School we removed huge amounts of trash and invasive plants. Stay tuned for more events this spring and summer!