A p ril 21, 2010
^lortlanb (Obstruer
Page 5
Thousands ‘SOLV IT’ for Earth Day
Metro sites
cleaned up
Six thousand volunteers partici­
With SOLV (form erly Stop O r­
pated in the first statewide “SOLV egon Litter and V andalism ) sup­
IT” Earth Day event held on Satur­ port, volunteers com pleted the
day. The event took place at ap­ follow ing im pressive list o f ac­
pro x im ately 200 p ro ject sites complishments: Removed 154,101
throughout the state.
pounds o f m ixed w aste from
neighborhoods and natural areas;
recycled 17,310 pounds o f plastic,
glass, paper and m etal m aterial;
rem oved 262,827 pounds o f inva­
sive, non-native vegetation and
collected and recycled 467 tires
In addition, volunteers planted
3,965 native trees and shrubs in
parks, on school grounds and in
natural areas. Other maintenance
activities included spreading mulch
and maintaining watershed restora­
tion sites.
An additional 2,000 students and
staff were working this week on
cleaning up trash during at various
school and community sites.
Portland General Electric helped
sponsor the events>
“SOLV IT is a great opportunity
for PGE employees to get together
with their family and friends and do
something for the environment. It’s
a chance for us to give back to the
communities where we live and
work,” said Dave Robertson, vice
president o f public policy.
O f th e m an y s u c c e s s f u l
projects, the M urray Hill Creek
R estoration Project stands out.
V olunteers were surprised to d is­
cover a w aterfall beneath years o f
English Ivy and Himalayan Black­
berry growth. The team worked
tirelessly to reveal the beautiful
sight and look forward to con­
tinuing the m om entum in the fu­
ture through other SOLV projects.
“Metro is proud to continue sup­
porting SO LV’s efforts to clean up
and restore natural areas,” said
Metro Councilor Rod Park. “Metro’s
own restoration projects and those
of,local cities, non-profit agencies,
community groups and local busi­
nesses are important to protecting
water quality and clean air. By work­
ing together, we all help to ensure
that residents throughout the re­
gion will always have nature in their
neighborhoods.”
A American Diabetes Association
ALERT!DAY
.!s ¡
Y
photo by J ordan
N orris
Amy Singmaster gathers trash at the Portland Gateway Green
site, a 35 acre parcel of underdeveloped and overlooked land at
the confluence of 1-84 and 1-205 near Rocky Butte.
City Adopts
‘Green’ Rules
New ’’green" rules will make it easier to install solar panels,
wind turbines, eco-roofs, rain or grey water cisterns and
mechanisms that produce energy from compost and other
sustainable sources.
The Portland City Council recently passed the regulations as
part o f a package o f new rules prepared by the Bureau o f
Planning and Sustainability. Other areas addressed include
easing limitations on family-oriented housing built around court­
yards and increasing the amount o f bicycle parking for multi­
dwelling developments.
Another change was to allow larger Accessory Dwelling
Units, sometimes called "granny flats," a green housing option
because they use less energy, take advantage o f existing
infrastructure and require fewer materials to build than larger
single family homes.
The new rules also allow "empty nesters" to remain in their
houses by renting part o f it to another household, thus providing
more affordable housing throughout the city.
1 in 5 Am ericans are at higher risk fo r developing typ e 2 diabetes. You m ig ht
not know it, but you can find ou t if you’re one o f them w ith a sim ple test.
And then take steps to delay or even prevent a disease that kills more
Am ericans every year than breast cancer and AIDS com bined.
Join the m ovem ent to Stop Diabetes.
TAKE THE DIABETES RISK TEST
at stopdiabetes.com or 1-800-DIABETES.
STOP
DIABETES