In early 2023, Stream Smart: A Rogue Basin Clean Water Project partnered with Crater Renaissance Academy to provide an internship for a student to help create a formal plan for the Stream Smart Adopt-A-Greenway section located from Pine Street to Upton Road by the Expo Center in Central Point, Oregon. The goal of the plan was to identify and schedule various activities that could (or would) occur along this section through community volunteerism and Stream Smart partners. Activities were identified by month, season, or as-needed, formalizing the Adopt-A-Greenway agreement between Jackson County and Stream Smart. The plan also included maps, Bear Creek Greenway history, funding opportunities, and other information. The intern began the implementation of plan elements as time permitted.
Examples of the intern’s successful work that went into the plan included: a hand-drawn map of the Pine Street entrance to the Bear Creek Greenway; a calendar of volunteer activities including, but not limited to, willow staking, native tree and shrub planting, site maintenance (weeding, mulching, and watering), and trash clean-ups; and compiling a list of grant opportunities for improvement projects (e.g., new park benches, painted murals on the bridge pedestals, and interpretive signage). Implementation of plan activities included hosting a Ponderosa Pine planting and trash clean-up event that coincided with the Worldwide Walk for Water on Saturday, March 18th, 2023. A copy of the plan can be viewed here: Adopt-A-Greenway Implementation Plan.
With the next Bear Creek Stewardship Day clean-up event happening on Saturday, September 16th, 2023, we intend to showcase some of the great work that our Stream Smart intern accomplished and will begin using the Implementation Plan to guide further activities within the adopted section of the Bear Creek Greenway for years to come. If you’re interested in becoming a Stream Smart volunteer, please reach out to Amie Siedlecki, Natural Resources Coordinator: (541) 423-1371 or asiedlecki@rvcog.org.
