Friends of Tryon Creek

Organization impact

In 2023, Friends of Tryon Creek directly reached an average of 5,130 youth, adults, and families through programs and events. We organized over 320 volunteers who contributed more than 5,400 hours to park events and stewardship, and we welcomed 24,922 visitors to the Nature Center. We continued the long tradition of field trips and nature day camp programming at the park, while expanding our BIPOC-centered Tryon Ecological Adventures Day Camp. We also hosted 25 public events, including large gatherings such as Indigenous Culture Day, the Trillium Festival, and our Indigenous Land Conservation Summit.

In 2023, we strengthened partnerships with Tribes, Indigenous organizations, BIPOC-led nonprofits, agencies, academics, and community members. We launched a cultural and ecological restoration program, hiring new lead staff, and laid the foundation for a workforce development program by successfully hiring a program lead. Through these initiatives, Friends of Tryon Creek is creating environmental pathways for BIPOC individuals to reconnect, heal, and thrive in a forest space that has been historically off-limits and unsafe for communities of color. We prioritize programming that is in partnership with and for the benefit of BIPOC communities. Annual highlights include the Tryon Ecology Adventures free environmental day camp for BIPOC youth and the annual Indigenous Culture Day, which will celebrate its seventh year in 2024. These efforts are built on authentic, mutually beneficial partnerships with BIPOC- led organizations, exemplified by our board members representing The Blueprint Foundation and Camp ELSO.

A core focus of our restoration work is addressing climate resilience. By incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and culturally informed practices, we are adapting the park’s ecosystems to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Our efforts include restoring habitat for native species, increasing biodiversity, and mitigating threats such as non-native species, pests, and pollution. These actions enhance the park’s capacity to support resilient ecosystems while fostering environmental and cultural connections for future generations. Most of our work with BIPOC communities centers on education, infusing environmental education with culturally informed principles and practices that reject settler-colonial frameworks. With the construction of the Chinookan-style Plankhouse Education Pavilion, and upcoming Indigenous-led environmental restoration projects at the park, we are elevating our commitment to equity. These initiatives aim to transform the physical landscape of the park while ensuring that BIPOC communities are the primary beneficiaries. This is the future we are building.

Role in DRLN

Friends of Tryon Creek have engaged in a long-term community informed approach to assess climate vulnerabilities for the only urban state park in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Tryon Creek State Natural Area is a culturally important 670-acre forest community with ancestral ties to a diverse group of Indigenous peoples. Our culturally centered approach to managing the forest is unique as it prioritizes the input from Indigenous communities. This approach for this process includes gathering inter-generational Indigenous voices together to provide important knowledge and insight towards our overall forest management plan. We plan to address wildfire risk, mitigation and include a plan to return good fire to the landscape in the form of cultural burns. Cultural burns will provide forest resilience for the community, promote the health of First Foods, and bring back an important practice that will provide healing for many Indigenous communities. Friends of Tryon Creek engage in resilience-building activities