August is moving along, and as the OSU school year approaches, the science and nature calendar around Corvallis is starting to ramp back up. Summer’s not quite done with us yet, but the mild weather around town this week might have a few of us thinking of Fall a bit early. This week’s events include a gardening party, a botanical trip to the coast, a wildlife open house, a unique conservation cookout, and a talk on our local trout.
Thursday: Hoe-Down at SAGE
The Starker Arts Garden for Education (SAGE) is a 1-acre production and community garden, growing thousands of pounds of food a year for local food banks and other charities and educating gardeners around the community. This Thursday, SAGE is holding its last scheduled Hoe-Down evening work party of the summer. Bring a picnic dinner and help keep the gardens tidy and productive while enjoying the evening among plants and friends. No gardening experience necessary, but if you have it, all the better.
The work party runs from 6-8 PM this Thursday, August 15. SAGE is located at Starker Arts Park on Country Club Drive. For more information, and to sign their volunteer waiver, click here.
Saturday: Coast Plant Field Trip
Feel like getting out of town this weekend? The Corvallis Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon is hosting a trip out to Newport on Saturday to learn about the unique plants of the Oregon coast. The trip starts with a walk through Beaver Creek State Natural Area, where guides will point out wetland species like sedges and water hemlock. Then there’s time for lunch, before the second leg of the trip, a walk down Ona Beach.
The field trip is being led by Alexandria Kurowski from OSU’s Botany department, and leaves from the Wilkinson Hall parking lot on OSU’s campus this Saturday, August 17, at 9 AM. Expect to be out until at least 3:30 PM. For more information, and a link to sign up, click here.
Saturday: Wild Summer Days at Chintimini
Chintimini Wildlife Center rehabilitates over 2,000 injured and orphaned local animals per year, but most days, that work is necessarily behind closed doors. A few days every year, they open the center to the community to come and see their work and learn about the animals in their care. This Saturday, we have one of these rare chances, at Chintimini’s Wild Summer Days event.
Guests will get to meet some of the center’s animal ambassadors, like birds of prey, reptiles and more. There will also be wildlife-themed games and crafts and snacks from Ma’s Sweet Treats Bakery. The event goes from 11 AM to 3 PM this Saturday, August 17, at the Center just off Highway 99. To buy tickets ($10 online), click here.
Saturday: Invasive Species Cookout
To round off this busy science and nature Saturday in Corvallis, one of the most interesting food events of the year is back, giving you a chance to taste unique dishes while helping conserve Northwest ecology. Invasive species like Himalayan blackberries, bullfrogs and nutria can harm native ecosystems and hold back conservation efforts. Removing these species, or even just limiting their spread is difficult and expensive work, and the “invasivore” movement is based on the idea of making this problem into an opportunity, by eating invasives to help control them.
Since 2012, the Invasive Species Cookout has invited local chefs and restaurants to build dishes and drinks around these harmful species. There is also an amateur chef contest, if you have a particularly good bullfrog or garlic mustard recipe. This Saturday, the event returns to Common Fields on 3rd Street, from 5:30 to 8 PM. Tickets are $50, with proceeds going to the Institute for Applied Ecology, but students, children under 12 and unemployed people can attend for $30. Tickets and more information is available here.
Monday: Tap Talk on Trout
It’s a packed week at Common Fields. As nice as most of the summer is in Corvallis, it’s definitely the slow season for science talks. Most of the rest of the year, there are seminars, panels or science pubs just all the time around town or campus. It’s a sign that summer is starting to wane that the talks are starting back up. Next Monday, our local food cart pod hosts its latest Tap Talk, called Snorkeling with Salmonids. Rick Colwell from Trout Unlimited will talk about trout conservation and habitat restoration in our area, with updates on some of the latest work on these iconic Northwest fish.
The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 PM next Monday, August 19 at Common Fields on 3rd Street. The talk itself starts at 6.
By Ian Rose