July 2023 * No 18
Dear Sustainable Silverton supporters,
It's been great seeing you at the first Saturday of the month Farmers Market. Thanks for stopping by!
In this issue . . .
1) Sustainable Silverton is seeking a Newsletter editor
2) Test drive the latest electric cars! July 29 at Bush's Pasture Park
3) A Heat Pump for Every Home
4) Soil Regeneration
5) Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits Explained
6) Marion County Master Recycler Program has changed its name!
7) Fall Master Resourcers sign-ups!
8) Held v. Montana Climate Litigation update
9) Symbiop
Sustainable Silverton, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization,
would appreciate your donations.
You can now donate through our website HERE (Paypal)
or support us through BottleDrop!
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Thanks to our July 2023 Farmers Market volunteers
Booth Volunteers: Diana Penley, Kelley Morehouse
Test drive electric cars,
Saturday, July 29th in Salem
Join us for the Electric Car Drive!
It’s the perfect time and place to get in the driver’s seat of an EV
and see what all the excitement is about.
Saturday, July 29, 2023
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Bush's Pasture Park
890 Mission St SE, Salem, OR 97302
Space is limited - Register here for a drive time
A Heat Pump for Every House
A Heat Pump for Every Home
Portland, Oregon based Substack blog Decarbonize Your Life provides a comprehensive review of heat pumps for sustainability and a report of their personal experience converting one side (1200sf) of their duplex to ductless units.
Soil Regeneration
by Alyson Buddle
New volunteer, Alyson Budde, shares her experience with soil regeneration following the 2020-21 weather events.
INFLATION REDUCTION ACTION (IRA) TAX CREDITS EXPLAINED
Nancy Evenson, retired architect from Corvallis, explains new tax credits for home upgrades. She offers home retrofit clinics over Zoom and peer learning groups where participants meet once a week for 5 weeks to learn and share information.
Contact Nancy at nancy@evensonarchitects.com
Marion County Master Recycler Program has changed its name!
by Kelley Morehouse and Diana Penley
The program is now called Master Resourcers and expands what is possible with the resources Marion County has for reuse, reduce, repair, and recycle. Both Kelley and Diana attended an excellent 6-week free class meeting once a week in the new YMCA building in downtown Salem.
The Fall 2023 Master Resourcers volunteer training starts September 7th, 2023! It will be held at the Woodburn Chemeketa location. There are multiple spots open but the class will cap out at 25 attendees.
The free training will be held over six Thursday evenings with an additional Saturday half day of solid waste site field trips (Covanta, Marion Resource Recovery and Recycling Facility and a Sustainable business).
Meals will be provided free as well as potential carpooling/transit support for folks who need it. The dates are below. All classes will be held Thursday evenings from 5:30pm-8pm with a 10-minute break at the midway point.
Class 1: Thursday September 7th
Field trip half day: Saturday September 9th 9am-1:30pm
Class 2: Thursday September 14th
Class 3: Thursday September 21st
Class 4: Thursday September 28th
Class 5: Thursday October 5th
Class 6 and Graduation: Thursday October 12th
Check out the syllabus and flyer to learn more about the reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle topics that will be on offer during the class. In addition to community volunteers, this training also serves as a wonderful form of professional development for students, employees and green teams interested in beginning sustainability work and engagement within an organization.
To sign up for the course, send an email to Dakota Tangredi at
Held v. Montana Climate Litigation update
We looked more closely at the first youth-led climate trial and here’s an update for you.
“Symbiop Landscaping” - article and photos by Jim Esch
I was out at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge a few days ago doing some bird watching. I was also enjoying the late blooming wildflowers that blanket parts of the Refuge, especially in areas that the Fish and Wildlife Service has done considerable work to restore native Willamette Valley Prairie habitats. These prairies are home to dozens of species of birds, mammals, and insects, some of which are now endangered species.
As I drove along a gravel Refuge road, I stopped to talk to a young man who was out in one such meadow taking a closer look at the plants. It turns out he is a botanist and works for a firm that is headquartered in Portland that specializes in habitat restoration! His name is Matt and he told me a little bit about his business and gave me a card with information about their Web Page, which is listed here: symbiop.com
It’s an interesting and very informational web page that describes their work on both residential and large commercial projects. What I thought was interesting was their work on “Native Ecoscape”, “Butterfly/Bird Gardens” and something they call a “Food Forest”, which is a landscape that contains all kinds of edible and food-bearing plants. They also design something called “Eco-Lawn”, which is intended to conserve water.
Finally, I noticed on their web page that they have a nursery with locally adapted plants, most of which are native to Oregon. I encourage folks to check out their web page and learn about all the interesting stuff they are doing. I will probably make a point of stopping at their shop next time I am in Portland; it is located on SE Powell Street. They like to work in the Portland Area but Matt told me that they would definitely consider Silverton as within their range.
A note from the outgoing newsletter editor 🌵🍄🍀
I was recruited by Kelley Morehouse in March 2021 to be Sustainable Silverton's first newsletter editor. Our first issue was published in May 2021! I did it differently back then, but we have now joined the 21st century using a new format (email newsletter with Constant Contact) which manages our contact list as well.
However, it's time for me to move on to make room for someone else to bring their creative talent and ingenuity to spread Sustainable Silverton's message. Is that person YOU? I'm happy to help with the transition!
With much gratitude for the amazing opportunity you've given me to serve our community!
Teresa Foster