350PDX SE Team Participates in 3rd Annual Salmon Celebration at Westmoreland Park

On Sunday, Oct. 2, the SE Team of 350PDX participated in the 3rd Annual Westmoreland Park Salmon Celebration. The Salmon Celebration was held in conjunction with Sellwood-Milwaukie Sunday Parkways. This was a day-long public celebration of the restoration of Crystal Springs Creek. The Creek runs through the heart of Westmoreland Park. This restoration has helped bring wild salmon back to the city. It also brought back a habitat that is friendly to a wide variety of wildlife, including a large flock of Canadian geese, great blue heron, and a huge brown pelican. All participated in the celebration from mid-morning to the end of the afternoon.

Over the day, we had several dozen bicyclists stop at our booth, many of them 5 to 15-years-old, to talk about the work 350PDX is doing, and to play our Team-invented “Climate Trivia Game,” (which is, by no means, trivial.) Not surprisingly, the Portland kids who visited our booth are quite climate savvy!  Once we had the kids focused in on our climate game, it was easy to take a bit of time to let the parents know how our various 350PDX political organizing campaigns are unfolding, and how important it is that they become involved in one of our campaigns. 350PDX was not the only climate-related booth; the Citizens Climate Lobby also participated, educating participants about the benefits of a carbon tax.

The day included a Native American blessing of the celebration; a salmon bake; and sessions of Native American storytelling for all ages.

350PDX, in coalition with others, achieved specific policy victories this year to help fight climate change. And over the next year, we are going to be pushing even more specific policies that help build resiliency in our communities and tackle climate change.

In the meantime, it is important to take time to celebrate what we have before us. That’s why events like the Salmon Celebration and Sunday Parkways are so important. If you are looking for more events to celebrate the voices that are fighting climate change, there are two amazing events tonight, October 12. One is an event with the poet Kathy Ketnil-Kijiner at Secret Society. (Link to more info below). The other is a training with the Coalition of Communities of Color  from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM at IRCO’s location: 10301 NE Glisan St, Portland, Oregon 97220. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/604277376423236/