Portland, November 16th. The Oregon Zoo’s two year remodel on the Penguinarium is over and the playful Penguins are happy to be home!
For much of the past two years, the penguins shared a divided portion of the zoo’s polar bear habitat while improvements were made to their own quarters. This week the sleek seabirds returned home, waddling over the familiar rocky terrain and darting through the clear water of the zoo’s Penguinarium. The popular exhibit will reopen to the public on Saturday, Nov. 17.
Senior bird keeper Gwen Harris tends to a Humboldt penguin at the Oregon Zoo. The birds have returned to their home in the zoo’s Penguinarium, which reopens this weekend. Photo by Kevin Brown, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.
The birds had been moved to their temporary habitat in late 2010, allowing work to begin on a much-needed upgrade of the Penguinarium’s water-filtration system, one of many sustainability improvements funded by the community-supported 2008 zoo bond measure. The upgrade saves 7 million gallons of water each year.
Built in 1959 and remodeled in 1982, the Penguinarium had an outdated water-filtration system that dumped millions of gallons of water into the city’s sewer system each year. A constant flow of fresh water was required to keep the pool clean and free of scum that builds up from the oils in penguin feathers. And each week, the 25,000-gallon pool was completely drained for cleaning.
“The filtration upgrade was completed in December 2011 and worked perfectly,” said curator Michael Illig, who oversees all the zoo’s birds. “It was cleaning and circulating beautiful clear water.”
When staff turned on the exhibit’s 20-year-old heating and air conditioning system in anticipation of the penguins’ return, however, they found it wasn’t functioning properly.
“Since the penguins were already comfortable in their temporary digs, it was a good opportunity to repair the system with no impact to the birds or zoo visitors,” Illig said. “We wanted to make sure their home was 100 percent ready when they moved back.”
Also moving back home this month were 15 Inca terns, South American seabirds that share an exhibit space with penguins at the zoo. (The two species coexist in the wild as well.) The terns had been waiting out the renovations in an enclosure that had housed orangutans prior to the 2010 opening of Red Ape Reserve.
“It’s great to have the birds back together in their own space,” said Gwen Harris, the zoo’s senior keeper of birds. “Their welfare has always been our primary concern. Now the water’s clean and clear, and we’ve made a far more environmentally friendly habitat.”
Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti), which live along the South American coastline off of Peru and Chile, were granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2010. Of the world’s 17 penguin species, Humboldts are the most at risk, threatened by overfishing of their prey species, entanglement in fishing nets, and breeding disruption due to commercial removal of the guano deposits where the penguins lay their eggs. Their population is estimated at 12,000 breeding pairs.
The Oregon Zoo participates in a Species Survival Plan to cooperatively manage Humboldt populations.
The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission of inspiring the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Oregon spotted frogs. Other projects include studies on Asian elephants, polar bears, orangutans and giant pandas. The zoo relies in part on community support through donations to the Oregon Zoo Foundation to undertake these and many other animal welfare, education and sustainability programs.
The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Visitors who travel to the zoo via MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.
Through Jan. 31, general zoo admission is $10.50 (ages 12-64), $9 for seniors (65 and up), $7.50 for children (ages 3-11) and free for those 2 and younger; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $4 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
West Linn, October 27th. WildCat Haven celebrated its 11th Anniversary with a benefit gala at the Oregon Golf Club. (Photo credit, Karine Aigner) The nonprofit is the only local sanctuary for big cats where supporters are happy to report, “Over 60 wildcats are no longer suffering from pain and neglect – they are living a safe, healthy, comfortable life.” It was a packed house at the auction with Scott Tom from 106.7 presiding as emcee.
Mike & Cheryl Tuller, Founders of WildCat Haven, spoke of their passion for the big cats. They shared information about WCH’s mission and presented a video showing the new property recently purchased to move the sanctuary to, which is over 80 acres.
Tim Harrison explains the program
Ken Hick
Howard Hedinger Table’s was an upbeat spot
Howard Hedinger was transformed into a philenthropic rockstar
There was a great turnout at the benefit.
cougar resident
Adele Tom and Elizabeth Entenman
Guest have fun with the Conga line
Cheri Cooley Hick and Scott Tom
Cheri Cooley Hick and Scott Tom
Sophia Kryszek, John Prengaman, Karine Aigner, Tim Harrison, Cheryl Tuller, Mike Tuller and Tim Adams in front.
Wild Cat Red Wine
Folks were glued to their seats when Special Guest Speaker, Tim Harrison, star of the Genesis award winning documentary, “The Elephant in the Living Room” introduced the WCH video showing the wildcat rescues and then gave an impassioned speech about WCH’s most recent rescue of Nora & Katie, two bengal tigers from Ohio this past May. Tim & his team from Outreach for Animals were on site to help Mike & Cheryl prepare and load the tigers for the 2500 miles journey back to Oregon. Tim shared that International Fund for Animals (IFAW) helped with costs for the transport and are continuing to work with WCH for future rescue missions. Scott Tom & Cheri Hick presented a Special Appeal to raise funds for the new property and started the fun with a Conga Line! Simply ‘A Purrfect Evening!”
From WildCat Haven:
WildCat Haven is a 501(c)3 non-profit, no-kill, ‘last hope’ sanctuary located in beautiful Sherwood, Oregon. Our mission is to provide a safe, natural lifetime home for captive-born wildcats in need. As the only sanctuary accredited by The American Sanctuary Association(ASA) in the Pacific Northwest, WildCat Haven is not open to the public; nor do we buy, sell, breed or exhibit our animals. It’s a philosophy we believe in and stand by for the safety and well being of the wildcats.
We are not a zoo for people but a safe haven for the animals in our care. Our rescues depend on us to provide for them. They trust we will keep them safe, comfortable, healthy and free from the pain and suffering they have experienced. And we are committed to fulfilling that trust every day. WildCat Haven receives no state or federal funding. Instead, we rely 100% on private donations.
WildCat Haven Sanctuary is proud and honored to announce the FREE screening of the film The Paw Project – A Documentary which will be held at The Mission Theater in Portland Oregon on November 18th, 2012 from 1 pm to 3 pm. The Paw Project documentary is an inspiring David and Goliath story of veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad’s grassroots movement to protect felines, both large and small, from the cruelty of declawing and how the movement has prevailed despite the efforts of well-funded professional veterinary associations to thwart the movement.
In the United States today, approximately 25% of domesticated cats are declawed. Declawing is the amputation of the last bone in a cat’s toes. Despite the physical and behavioral harm inflicted on cats who are declawed, many veterinarians continue to recommend the procedure — which costs upwards of $1,200 per hour – even for very young kittens.
These are animals we love, and with whom we share our homes. Why aren’t we being told the truth of what the declawing procedure involves? What goes on when the vet takes our beloved companions in the back of the veterinary clinic? The Paw Project documentary chronicles the happy and unexpected twist of fate that led to the protection of many animals through the grassroots advocacy led by Dr. Conrad and The Paw Project. Please watch the trailer for The Paw Project Documentary and join us November 18th. Let’s show Dr. Conrad that she has Portland’s support on this issue! This film has been submitted to The Sundance Film Festival, so now is your chance to see it before it goes mainstream! http://www.wildcathaven.org/
Portland, November 7th. After publishing 384 stories about local nonprofits and racking up over 120,000 page views, PortlandSocietyPage.com is marking its first anniversary by handing out the “Bright Spot Award” to Big Brothers/Big Sisters Columbia Northwest. The award recognizes an event which captured the imagination of our readers, and in this case prompted them to give our Big Brothers/Big Sisters story the most “thumbs-up” votes of any article on the website. We made the announcement at a gathering for The Baltazar Ortiz Community Mentoring Initiative where we visited with Danielle, who’s pictured with me, Editor Elisa Klein, and her program little sister, Kyara. It was a chance to learn more about the new program.
The Baltazar Ortiz Community Mentoring Initiative (BOCMI) is an innovative program that connects Hispanic teens who serve as mentors to younger neighborhood children helping them to improve their positive social skills and academic achievement.
Emanuel and Jerry enjoy the program. The Baltazar Ortiz Community Mentoring Initiative is a partnership between Big Brothers Big Sisters, Hacienda CDC, and Multnomah County. The mentoring takes place at the Multnomah County Health Clinic located at the Baltazar Ortiz Community Center.
Moses and Torrence are part of the program. Teenage volunteers like Torrence meet with their Little Brothers or Sisters once a week, for one hour. Together they participate in activities which might include playing sports, doing homework, learning a new hobby or working on a craft project; organizers say it’s beneficial for both.
Jacqui and Estrella are learning first hand BOCMI is a win-win situation. The organized activities prevent both teen mentors and their matches from becoming “latch-key” kids.
Abby Herrera, Bryan Ortega, Christina Starr and Drea Robideau help the kids become successful.
We were pleased to honor Big Brothers/Big Sisters with PortlandSocietyPage.com Bright Spot Award. In addition to added community exposure for the nonprofit and a monetary donation, the award includes a chance to publicize an upcoming event with an advertisement which now appears on the sidebar of our site. The ad has information about Big Brothers/Big Sisters’ 10th annual Start Something Breakfast which is coming up on Thursday, November 15th. Tickets are still available.
PortlandSocietyPage.com is a the only website devoted to nonprofit news in Portland. If we publish an article about your favorite nonprofit, please give it a “thumbs up”. Each story we post has as a “like” button at the bottom. Just press that button and you’ll help select our next “Bright Spot” recipient. There’s an ongoing tally which can be seen on the right-hand side of the page.
About PortlandSocietyPage.com: Launched in the fall of 2011 as a free public platform for nonprofit news, PortlandSocietyPage.com is thriving. We have the most comprehensive nonprofit event calendar in our area. Our coverage is always free. We’re also looking for advertisers! Please let us know if you’d like to reach our terrific readers with your marketing message! The PortlandSocietyPage.com website has additional information about this opportunity. Here’s a link: http://www.portlandsocietypage.com/advertise/
Portland, November 1st. Project Access NOW supporters enjoyed an evening of artistic and musical “Expressions” at the nonprofit’s benefit where Ilene Safyan and Linda Nilsen-Solares were checking out the art. Project Access NOW connects low-income, uninsured people to donated care across the Portland metropolitan area. (Photo credit, Benjamin Ortega)
Louis Delagato (artist) viewing Mary Undercoffer-Gallop’s piece, Skyline from Hawthorne to Morrison.
Portland Society Page was pleased to see weekly highlight subscriber, Dana Robinson and her guest Bruce Bollard. Dana was the winner of our website ticket drawing. Thank you, Dana and Project Access Now!
The Expressions event showcased over 25 artists from the Northwest, and beyond, displaying more than 100 pieces of artwork in the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center Atrium.
Sponsors included, ZIVO Wines and the DOC Jazz Quartet.
Katherine Morris, MD, Surgical Oncologist, volunteer physician and medical director of Project Access Multnomah County, with a client
From Project Access NOW
Project Access NOW coordinates a network of volunteer physicians and other health care providers, making it easier for them to donate medically necessary care to the low-income uninsured in our communities.
Our vision
Project Access NOW improves the health of our community by effectively linking those in greatest need with health care providers and organizations who have the wish and ability to serve
Our mission
The mission of Project Access NOW is to improve the health of our community by creating access to care and services for those most in need.
We value collaborative action which puts the common good above individual stakeholder benefits
We value efficiency in referral and care management in order to do the most good for the greatest number
We value dignity for our clients
We value meaningful participation of provider volunteers and stakeholders in program design, implementation and continuous improvement
We value open, timely and clear communication about our operations, business practices and financial position with stakeholders and volunteers
Our results
By helping the low-income uninsured navigate the health care system, Project Access NOW can get them the care they need. Today.
Project Access NOW staff is committed to connecting people to healthcare. We accomplish this by creating and maintaining a collaborative environment based on integrity, competence, responsiveness and respect.
Project Access makes the very best use of already existing resources, secures stable funding, and recruits volunteers while we, as a community, develop a broader health care solution.
Portland, October 12th. More hardworking families in need will have Habitat for Humanity homes thanks to the generosity of fun-loving donors like Susie Vischer, Dick Firsich, Jim Boyer, Barbara Boyer, Sharon Firsich. They’re toasting the success of Habitat Hard Hat & Black Tie Dinner Benefit Auction at The Nines which raised $169,000. (Photo credit, Sarah Galbraith Photography)
Dawn Holden, Damon Mapes, Tiffany Mapes celebrate.
It was a group effort for Gail Hart, Mitchell Wright, with Emcee Reggie Aqui and auctioneer Steve Talbot.
Michelle DaRosa, Reianna DaRosa, Julia DaRosa, Nicole Patterson
Marion Thomspon raised the paddle.
From Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East:
Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East serves Multnomah County and northern Clackamas County and has the ability to reach out to families one step away from homelessness. Habitat sells homes to hardworking people in need of decent, affordable housing. We are an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a non-denominational Christian housing ministry and global home building movement. We welcome people from all walks of life to partner with our program to serve families in need with generosity, humility and love.
Habitat offers homeownership opportunities to families making $21,900 – $43,800 (for a family of four) by selling homes at cost, making no profit, after the family contributes 500 sweat equity hours. Houses are sold at cost because of volunteer labor and donations. Families pay a 1% down payment on a 0%- interest mortgage. Instead of being in a vulnerable and fragile economic position, Habitat families find themselves in a position of strength.
As the oldest Habitat for Humanity affiliate on the West Coast, and the largest in Oregon, Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East has served low-income, hardworking families for over 30 years and has served over 200 families. Our homeowners are committed and successful. We have experienced less than a 1% default rate on our mortgages, lower than the national average. By providing a hand up, not a handout, our program maintains the dignity and pride of our homeowner families.
Our Vision
A community where everyone has a simple, decent, affordable place to live; and where poverty housing is unacceptable.
Our Mission
To create successful homeownership by partnering hardworking families in need with the community to build healthy, affordable homes.
Our Values
Diversity and Inclusiveness – We believe that all people deserve a simple, decent place to live, and have something to contribute in building homes and helping our communities. We welcome people from all walks of life to partner with our program.
Homeownership – We believe in the power of homeownership to affirm dignity, encourage hope, and transform lives. A healthy, stable home improves the quality of life, both for the family and the community.
Families as Partners – We believe that dignity is promoted not simply by living in an adequate house, but by fully contributing to the process of building and buying that home and helping others acquire adequate shelter.
Volunteerism – We believe in the volunteer spirit and are committed to offering rewarding volunteer experiences.
Stewardship – We are committed to excellence, to efficient use of our financial, environmental, and human resources, and we are accountable to our funders, volunteers, and family partners.
Collaboration – We strive to create strong, productive partnerships with organizations and area housing providers toward our common goal of eliminating substandard housing.
Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization. If you would like more information about our organization or programs, please contact us at 503-287-9529. Thank you for your interest!
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