Letter to the Reader

March, 2023


Welcome to WREN’s Website! Founded in 2001, we continue to learn, grow and change…lessons from the ecosystem!

As you visit our website, we hope that you will gain insight into our important work, increase your appreciation for the role that wetland prairies and oak habitats play in the story of community, and become more knowledgeable and enthusiastic about our programs for learners of all ages.  We love to share local areas of interest—during our Wetland Wanders, Family Exploration Days, Classroom visits, and Field Trips. We need your ideas, resources, and energy can help us make a difference. Volunteering is a great way to get involved! We need more voices, ideas and perspectives on our board! We depend on teaching volunteers to allow us to teach to small groups, and are looking people with youth education experience to enrage students in the classroom

In twenty+ years, we have gained a greater understanding of the stories these landscapes tell.  Our story begins well before Europeans arrived, as these are the home for Native Americans who engaged in active management of their lands, and have for many thousands of years.  By learning from this practice and knowledge, we begin to fully appreciate the significant role these landscapes have in our future, in defining a “healthy” community. Our goal is to share this story by offering free or highly subsidized, community-centric programs. We advocate for contextual environmental education, by acting as liaison among many community partners, and by offering a space for professional development through our interns and students to learn and apply the skills they gained through their education.

Sharing the science and stewardship of these critical habitats, sharing the geological history that make up our natural landscape, fostering our understanding of the diversity and dynamism in healthy habitats, and how they are managed for the future. We value a rich “ecosystems” perspective in seeing the bigger picture for how the plants, the animals, the land, and the people all fit together into an elegant, intertwined fabric. The ‘ecosystem service values’ of wetlands, the increasingly important and rare oak prairie and savannas, and how these ecosystems provide critical habitat for threatened and endangered species.

So we build a sense of community, increase appreciation and knowledge, and understand that each one of us are important part of the ‘warp and woof’ of this fabric, this ecosystem that is out home.

From the micro-wetlands in our city to the many thousands of acres of restored wetlands in Lane County, we value the role that wetlands play in a healthy urban environment.  We have learned to see these spaces as integral parts of our community–not nature apart and separate.    

So welcome, enjoy, and we look forward to working together to make a difference in our community!

If interested in helping, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

WREN’s Board of Directors