All posts by Jessica McDonald

Chapter one—The Roots of Greenbelt

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For 30 years we’ve been rooted in this place, and today we’re going to take a walk back to explore the story of place and people within Greenbelt, before we pivot and dream about what the future holds.

Today marks 30 years of Greenbelt … Right? We signed the IRS papers in 1989, so that’s the word on the street.

But, not so fast. Like our beloved oak trees, there is a lot of work and growth that happens before one can sit in its shade or hang a tire swing from it’s branch.

Today really marks 60 years of Greenbelt Land Trust! For 30 years, the concept of what we would be molded and took shape.

So, we’ll start here BG (Before Greenbelt)!

Our story starts, as all good ones do – with visionary people.

In books, these are our heros and heroines.

At GLT, that’s Charles and Elsie Ross.

Elsie and Charlie Ross

Check them out in their pink polyester and flower corsages! This photo was taken in 1979, when Charlie, Elsie, and hundreds of their friends, community leaders, state representatives, the mayor – hiked to the top of Chip Ross to dedicate this park in honor of the Ross’s son, Chip, who had passed at the tender age of 16.

On that hillside, which was the 1st investment made personally by the Ross’s towards our open spaces, Charlie challenges the audience.

It’s NOW OR NEVER, he said.

Remember, this is 1979 – Greenbelt Land Trust wasn’t even a glint in their eye!

But, that doesn’t mean Charlie wasn’t thinking about the concept.

Starting in the 50s, Charlie began a one-man rally to inspire friends, coworkers, really – anyone who would listen – to think about the future of open space set-asides.

This was a man on a mission!

In the 80’s, after MANY failed, Charlie met a kindred soul in Benton County Parks Director, Jerry Davis.

Together, they inspired County Commissioners, staff, our community – to take a leap into the unknown and launch a fund for open space protection. The Greens Trust was established through a generous donation by the Rosses, which enabled the early acquisitions of what was later known as Fitton Green Natural Area.

Charlie and friends envisioning trails at the future ‘Fitton Green Natural Area’ in the early 80s

Even through any of us would have stopped there and called success, Charlie had a bigger vision. He wanted more.

He was also growing weary of leading the charge – his hope having always been to use his gifts and leadership to inspire others to follow suite.

Mere years before GLT formed, he felt defeated. “I haven’t made a difference. I’m getting beat. I’m losing”, he said.

However, this was to pass.

Because what do we have next, but the formation of Greenbelt Land Trust!

The questions remained, as any fledgling organization has …

Would it falter or would it thrive?

Stay tuned for Chapter 2 in our next blog!

A Greenbelt Vision

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A Greenbelt Vision, by Charlie & Elsie Ross, 1988

Charlie & Elsie Ross, 1988

“We support the greenbelt concept because it provides a happier way to live in cities large or small. Corvallis and Philomath are blessed with a most interesting and varied physical setting. Every dictate of reason and desire tells us to retain some of the green fields and wooded hills where we can see them daily and reach them easily. Walking the footpaths and wooded trails of the greenbelt would become our most popular recreation, and a passionate pursuit for many. The healing hand of Nature would lift the spirits of those burdened by the loneliness and disappointments of life. Everyone would enjoy a greenbelt, and none more than our myriad successors destined to trod its trails far into the future.

Elsie and I believe that Nature is the greatest comfort of life. Friends and books are priceless comforts, too, but friends are not always at hand, and much reading may become tiresome. Nature is never tiresome, and is always at hand. The landscape is the living image of Nature.

Therefore, Elsie and I wish for Corvallis and Philomath an ample, permanent greenbelt that grows as population grows, a greenbelt that does more than assure ‘livability’, but makes life here exciting and its future optimistic; a greenbelt that injects vibrancy into city life, provides stability for investments and immunizes against downtown decay.

Success hinges on the actions of this generation. The time is now for townspeople to accord the greenbelt purpose a special place in their charitable giving. Our family and others have been doing this for 10 years and longer.

We need to remind ourselves that “In the beauty of the land lies the dream of the future.” We are challenged to keep that dream alive, and it may be Now or Never.”

Thoughts Along the Trail

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by Larry Mahrt, Greenbelt Land Trust volunteer

Volunteers Larry and Clayton

On a beautiful day in late February – that special time of year when winter gives way to spring – seven of us ventured out for a hike. Our group was a mix of chatty hikers and others who favored quiet hikes. A couple of the quiet hikers hinted that they would prefer the group engage in fewer conversations so they could concentrate on the surrounding forest. The chatty hikers responded by saying that, for them, hiking in a group is a social thing.

Gradually, the quiet hikers put a little distance, about 50 yards, between themselves and the rest of the group. I remained with the conversation group but hoped they wouldn’t get too interested in identifying plants and birds because I can never remember the names and I’d convinced myself that I did not care (ego protection measure).

After listening to the conversation for a while, the guy next to me mentioned that he saw a “Blue Crested Western Nut Cruncher last week” (don’t quote me on the name). His statement demanded a reply. This was the conversation group, after all! I thought to myself, “what is a Blue Crested Western Nut Cruncher and why couldn’t it have been a crow or a robin?”  I considered responding with, “yeah, those Nut Crunchers sure have strong beaks,” but I thought it sounded a little lame. Instead, I mentioned that it seemed too early in the season for Nut Crunchers. Thankfully, he had the same impression.

After successfully negotiating that conversation, I chose not to press my luck and gradually made my way to the safer, quiet group.  If you see a Nut Cruncher while hiking with this group – it’s best kept to yourself!  However, soon after arriving I learned that a little conversation was tolerated and even laughter, once in a while. As I hiked along, I wondered if my fellow quiet hikers were immersed in the ambiance of the forest or, if their minds were wandering or maybe even thinking of stressful things.

For me, it’s effortless to clear my mind during a long hike on a cold, rainy day. Eventually, I become too cold, wet, tired and, sometimes, hungry for my mind to wander or to be burdened with thoughts of deadlines and to-do lists. My mind takes on a more primitive perspective, focusing on meeting basic needs like getting to a warm, dry place and eating something. Meditation skills not required.

Years ago, my dog Kayge and I would get away from it all by traipsing off-trail cross country through the coast range. We rarely saw other people. Sometimes my concentration was on figuring out where to go and how to avoid getting lost. Thankfully Kayge always seemed to know her way back. Over the years hiking together, Kayge and I ran into a number of shy or oblivious black bears and twice, we ran into unaggressive cougars – my favorite kind!  These hikes were a real escape.

These days, I prefer well-maintained trails. Recently, while hiking along Mulkey Ridge Trail on a day with passing, cold showers, I thought how nice it would be to have a small espresso place discretely located uphill from the trail … maybe with fresh, warm scones and homemade soup.  I am not proud of this thought.

 

Why I Care & Give

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I was asked recently why I, as the Executive Director of Greenbelt Land Trust, give to Greenbelt monthly and why Greenbelt is in my estate plans. Why donate to the non-profit for which I’ve been working for nearly a decade? In a word, passion. But there’s much more to it that makes a world of difference for our local Valley.

Here I am in my favorite ‘trust the land’ t-shirt and enjoying the wildflowers at the Little Willamette conservation area in Albany.

While walking on the Mulkey Ridge trail one sunny day this Fall when the air was cold and the golden brown and red maple and oak leaves covered the trail, I was thinking of a recent news report about the potential for life on Mars.  These articles are now regular news features partly because of the explorations by NASA of the planet’s surface and partly because of our obsession with finding life on other planets. The article mentioned that the likelihood of life on the red planet got a little stronger with the hypothesis that salty waters near the surface may support some microbial life.  Other news reports frequently mention the possibility of habitable exoplanets in our galaxy out of an estimate of 40 billion earth-sized planets.

The colorful foliage was spectacular this Fall at Bald Hill Farm. The Mulkey Ridge trail is my favorite and I love the stunning vistas.

While pondering the excitement of these reports, I reflected on our own planet.  Last summer, we had a wonderful walk on Luckiamute Meadows with James Cassidy from Oregon State University who talked about the “World Beneath Our Feet” and the astonishing diversity and complexity of subsurface life. Apparently, when you place your feet on a square meter of soil you may be walking on 1 billion bacteria, 100 million protozoa, 5 million nematodes, 100 thousand mites, 50 thousand springtails, 10 thousand rotifers and a host of other creatures (perhaps even 100 slugs or so).  Life abounds on the surface of Earth (and a little below the surface) in incalculable numbers. The latest guess is that Earth has about 8.7 million different life forms. For example, there are 950,000 species of insects and 369,000 species of known plants. There are even more than 3,500 species of mosquitos. How many species of mosquitos or insects or plants have been found on Mars or for that matter anywhere in our solar system, galaxy, or Universe aside from those on Earth?

Dr. James Cassidy of OSU brings to life the ‘World Beneath our Feet’ at a Greenbelt public nature walk at the Luckiamute Meadows conservation area in Kings Valley.

Our planet is extraordinarily unique!  Life emerged on Earth about 3.7- 4 billion years ago and evolved in so many spectacularly astonishing ways that it is hard to consciously grasp the full scope of the history or understand the outcomes. So back to the question of why I give to Greenbelt?  Every square inch of the Earth is precious. Our planet is the most wonderful world in the Universe and, in my humble opinion, Oregon and the Willamette Valley are some of the most wonderful places on earth.  I give for every square inch of soil teeming with life and the large majestic old oaks with roots intertwined with this subsurface life that feeds its broad gnarled trunks and muscular branches.  I give to see beautiful gray squirrels sitting on the oak branches eating acorns and red-tailed hawks perched in the upper reaches of the oak canopies waiting for a mouse or vole to appear in nearby meadows. I give for all the other life that nourishes our existence, gives us beauty and pleasure, and promises a thriving future for our children.

Stronger, Together

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Nearly two years to the day after project partners held a kick-off community meeting at the VUE in 2016 to explore the idea of establishing a collaborative office building for environmental organizations, last week a groundbreaking took place in downtown Corvallis to celebrate the emergence of an innovative new building for just this purpose. Two years ago we asked the group of community leaders “What do you think about creating a building that would unite organizations working towards common goals for our region’s land, water, and people? Is this a concept that has value to you? Do you see this being beneficial to us?” And what we heard that day, and honestly, that we have heard every day since is ‘yes’ resoundingly ‘yes’.

Through a strong partnership with local builder Alan Ayres, five of the region’s prominent environmental organizations are launching a new building that will house organizations committed to the vitality of our region’s lands, waters and people, today and for generations to come. Since 2016 Greenbelt Land Trust, Benton Soil and Water Conservation District, Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation and Development, Corvallis Environmental Center, and the Institute for Applied Ecology have been working side by side on this project.

We started out in this project with all of the reasons that our individual organizations would benefit from co-locating. Gosh, it would be nice to share the cost of a printer lease with another group. Or, won’t it be great (mind blowing, even!) to have meeting and conference rooms of our own, so we don’t have to rent? What about IT services, couldn’t those be share, too? Early on, these were the subjects of emails and meetings over coffee between our groups.

Reduced rental rates, shared printer leases, meeting rooms, IT, kitchen, server systems, reception, restrooms, teleconferencing systems. These are all a big part of how why this project launched – the cost benefits of co-locating.

And, yes – this is all important. But, we quickly realized that there is so much more. In this endeavor, this building to be, we have an opportunity to leave a legacy.

This building isn’t just about reducing our individual rental costs or streamlining operations. Those are certainly two very important factors, but this project also offers us a platform to ‘think big’, and deepen the impact of our collective conservation programs. Each organization will retain its individual identity and mission, but we will also have an opportunity to explore collaborative programming and partnerships. There’s also just something to be said about being able to walk down the hall and visit partner staff from another organization.

The building itself is designed and built by respected local builder Alan Ayres, whose work can be appreciated at several local businesses, including Sky High Brewing Company and Soft Star Shoes. With 75% of all construction materials sourced within a 30-mile radius of the site and a comprehensive sustainability design plan, the building will be a leader in energy efficiency. With an opening date projected for 2021, the partners will be using the next 3 years to continue to refine their partnership goals, pilot collaborative programs, and finalize interior design elements.

This innovative project represents several individual groups merging our creativity and intention together. Our building is also merely a stone’s throw from Shawala Point, where the Marys and the Willamette River, our life-giving waters, flow together.

What better way to recognize our coming together through this effort than by gracing this partnership and building with the name ‘The Confluence’?

The Confluence is a center for education and stewardship.
The Confluence is a gathering place for all.
The Confluence is a home for nature.

One day, not too far away, we will all be saying ‘I’ll see you at The Confluence’. And decades down the road, children will grow up knowing The Confluence as a place for nature and community. We are only at the beginning of this story, and it is a story that will be shaped with the help of our community.

We are stronger, together.

  • Special thanks to those who have funded this project: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board through an ‘Organizational Collaboration Grant’, and the Land Trust Alliance through an ‘Advancing Conservation Excellence Grant’!

The Confluence building, 400 block of SW 2nd in downtown Corvallis

 

Local timber being milled for beams to be used in The Confluence

 

Project Partners of The Confluence, 2018