July Team & Campaign Updates
Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we highlight the amazing work our volunteer teams have been up to and how you can get involved!
TEAM UPDATES
Want to get involved but not sure where to start? Fill out the Volunteer Form, or come to our 350PDX Volunteer Orientation!
Fossil Fuel Resistance Team
On Thursday, July 25 at 6:30pm, join us for a tour of the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub, where Zenith Energy is located, to learn more about why our campaigns fighting back against the fossil fuel industry are so important. Meet us at 4931 NW Front Ave to start the tour, where you’ll get to see first-hand why we need to decommission tanks storing dangerous fuels. After the tour, we’ll head to Breakside Brewery in NW (1570 NW 22nd Ave) for dinner and drinks. Please RSVP to Dineen at dineen@350pdx.org so we know to expect you.
Are you in the Blast Zone of Zenith Energy’s dangerous trains?
Use our map on 350pdx.org/stopzenith to find out. If you are, we can deliver you a yard sign! Just reach out to stopzenith@350px.org and let us know your address.
Climate Justice Policy Team
Fill out the Climate Conversations Survey if you live in Portland; and ask friends, neighbors, or others in your new City Council District to fill out the survey. This will help us gather information about what’s important to people in Portland regarding climate and environmental justice during this election cycle, and how they are thinking about climate resilience in their neighborhoods. It will also contribute to how we formulate a climate justice platform that reflects Portlanders’ concerns. A few options to consider:
Ask people to fill out a brief version of the Climate Conversations survey online.
Meet with a friend or a group of people and discuss the questions on the open-ended Climate Conversations survey, then you can either summarize and send in their answers or ask them to fill out the survey online. Here are suggestions for initiating a Climate Conversation.
Attend a community event in your area and ask people to fill out the brief survey. We have clipboards with paper surveys if you want to pick them up at the office. Email Denise to arrange pickup (denise@350pdx.org).
Forest Defense Team
On June 13, the Forest Defense team joined folks from across the region for a great Forests are our Future rally. We gathered at the regional headquarters of the U.S. Forest Service to draw attention to the new guidelines the Forest Service and Biden Administration are developing for the future of our region’s forests, including amending the NW Forest Plan and the Blue Mountains Forest Plan, and developing a National Old Growth Amendment (EO 14702). Speakers included folks from Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, Wanapum Sustenance Foods & Spiritual Practices Conservation, and our own Forest Climate Manager, Brenna Bell. The speakers talked about the importance of these new plans and demanded that the Forest Service prioritize water, wildlife, first foods, and carbon storage over commercial extraction. Thanks to our friends at the Pacific NW Forest Climate Alliance for helping organize, and to everyone who participated!
You’re invited: July 17th Shade Equity Pedalpalooza Ride and 350PDX Action Night: Ride at 6:00pm from Lents Park, Action Night at 7:30pm at Laurelhurst Park
It’s time for our annual Shade Equity Bike Ride and we hope you can join us! Remember 2021, when we had the record breaking heat dome here in Portland? Remember how June 2023, globally, had the hottest June on record? Join us on this ride – starting at Lents Park, near the hottest place in Portland, and riding down to the cool shade of inner SE Portland to end at Laurelhurst Park for a 350PDX Action Night.
Our route will not only help us notice the differences in tree canopy by neighborhood, but we will also ride by one of the new “Trees In the Curb Zone Pilot Project” construction sites. We’ll also hear from Dr. Vivek Shandas, whose groundbreaking research made clear how the heat disparities in Portland flow directly from racial discrimination. We’ll end the ride at Laurelhurst Park where there will be refreshments, speakers, tables from partner organizations and actions we can take to support a more equitable urban forest.
This is a family friendly ride BUT kiddos joining should be able to keep up on their own or join via attached child seat or trailer. RSVP for the ride and/or the Action Night.
GET CONNECTED: The Forest Defense team meets on the first and third Mondays of the month from 6-7:30 pm. First Mondays are in person and third Mondays are online. Our next in person meeting will be in the SW hills followed by an evening hike in Tryon Creek State Park. Contact Forest Climate Manager brenna@350PDX.org, or volunteer team leads, Felice Kelly (felice.kelly@gmail.com) or Tyler Gilmore (tyler@350pdx.org) to get involved.
Storytelling Team
Special thanks to Volunteers Kami and Annie for crafting a mini-zine spotlighting biomass fuel, with a focus on Drax’s expansion efforts in Longview, WA. We distributed the zine at the “Forests Are Our Future” rally.
Next, we’re launching a video interview series featuring volunteers and other Portland climate activists. The short videos will center on the upcoming city council elections. If you’d like to share your insights, we’d love to hear from you!
GET CONNECTED: Fill out this form to get on our creative roster, or reach out to Irene@350PDX.org.
350PDX Book Club
The 350PDX Book Club meets every other month at the 350PDX office, alternating fiction and nonfiction titles around the topics of climate change, social justice, and activism. Our next book is Ursula K LeGuin’s classic The Dispossessed.
Our next meeting is Wednesday August 7th from 6:30-8:00pm. Sign up for our mailing list here! Reach out to katie@350pdx.org with any questions, comments, and ideas.
Brooklyn Neighborhood Team
In May, we hosted the first ever District 3 climate discussion café, where we talked about ideas for our lovely corner of Portland and connecting neighbors. It was a huge success! We’ve got a line-up of activities coming this summer, including a plan to continue the climate conversations at events like the annual Brooklyn Ice Cream social or at farmers markets, so keep an eye out. We’ve specifically been discussing neighborhood resilience in case of a disaster, and some local fossil fuel infrastructure concerns.
Feel free to reach out or attend our monthly summer meetings if you want to help!
GET CONNECTED: This summer, our meetings are monthly. The next one is July 25th, location TBD, but we normally meet at the Chomp or Rose City Coffee. Know someone in our neighborhood? Forward this email to them! Any questions, contact katie@350pdx.org.
Arts Team
We had a busy June making visuals for the Forest Service Action, and also getting a workspace mural ready for “Chris’s Farewell Party”.
In July, we will do more work for Forest Defense and for 350Deschutes. Audrey will teach us how to burn our own screens using the wonderful imaging machine gifted to us by Edin and Chris.
GET CONNECTED: Please beat the heat and come to our second Sunday Artbuild, July 14, 1:00-4:00pm. Let Donna know if you can join us. Murph1949@aol.com We hope to see you there!
SW Team
Our SW Team draws people from a wide area of the SW Portland Metro Area. If you have been looking for a way to contribute to efforts to stop global warming, we hope you consider joining the team!
Our street corner demonstrations continue weekly in July, and are scheduled for every Monday from 4:00 – 5:00pm at SW Capitol Highway and SW Sunset (across from Ida B. Wells highschool). In just one hour a week, we reach hundreds of commuters with our climate action signs, and raise awareness of the climate emergency.
GET CONNECTED: Join our monthly meeting on Monday, July 8th, from 6:30-8:00 pm on Zoom. A link will be sent out to SW Team members prior to our meeting. Sign up on the 350PDX Volunteer Interest Form at https://350pdx.org/campaigns/sw-neighborhood-team/ and indicate that you are interested in joining our outreach actions, or reach out to Pat at patk5@msn.com to learn more.
Washington County Team
Our team tables for climate justice in our neighborhood, and hosts films and events around public education and mobilization for climate action. We host monthly sign-waving events on the third Saturday of the month. We normally meet online on the second Tuesday of the month, although we sometimes enjoy hikes and picnics depending on season and group interest. Our next meeting takes place online at 6:30pm on July 9.
Our sign-waving team plans to be in action in Hillsboro on Saturday, July 20, from 11:00am-12:00pm. Check our Facebook page for more details. (https://www.facebook.com/350PDXWashingtonCountyTeam)
GET CONNECTED: We always welcome newcomers to our monthly meetings. If you’d like to attend, please contact Debby (debbygactivism@gmail.com) for the zoom link.
SUPPORT 350PDX
Do you love the incredible work of 350PDX? We couldn’t do it without our amazing teams, made up of volunteers who are engaged in the fight for a livable, thriving planet. Monthly donors help make our work possible. We are currently in our Sustaining Donor Drive, and hope to reach our goal of 50 new monthly donors this month. Become a recurring donor here!
