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Last Chance to Sign-Up for the National Public Lands Day Volunteer Event this Saturday!

WREN September 11, 2023 0 Comments

Come spend a morning in YOUR West Eugene Wetlands improving trails, removing invasive plants, and picking up litter. The first 40 volunteers to register for this event will receive a free t-shirt and a fee-free federal lands voucher. All volunteers will have access to the vast wetland knowledge of BLM staff and WREN educators. Some volunteer work will take place uphill and on uneven...

Welcome our new AmeriCorps Land Stewards Intern Monica Russell

WREN June 13, 2023 0 Comments

Monica Russell is a recent graduate of Oregon State University, majoring in Geology. She grew up in Riverside CA and moved to rural, southern Oregon as an adolescent; this big scene changed sparked a major interest in the environment for her. Her love for the environment led her to the AmeriCorps Land Stewards Intern position here at WREN through Mt. Adam’s Institute. She has a history of...

Welcome our new Programs Coordinator Isabel Justiniano

WREN June 7, 2023 0 Comments

Isabel has lived in Oregon since late 2018. She recently graduated from Oregon State University with her M.S. in Human Dimensions of Wildlife Science. Her thesis focused on assessing the cultural beliefs of Latin@/x identifying people of the Willamette Valley, and how these influence their outdoor recreation habits and use of outdoor spaces. She has been an environmental educator since 2017,...

Welcome Warm Weather

WREN April 27, 2023 0 Comments

April 26, 2023 By: Nina McClellan Hi, my name is Nina McClellan and I'm WRENs new Social Media and Strategic Communications intern. I moved out to Oregon 5 years ago to attend the University of Oregon. I majored in Marine Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies. In my free time, I enjoy spending time outside hiking, biking, walking, and photographing wildlife, nature, and people. With the...

Two Geese Resting

WREN April 22, 2023 0 Comments

By: Ryan Collay I was driving through and thinking how interesting that there is so much of ‘industrial’ West Eugene that I assume people drive by and wonder, “Why is this wet field here in the middle of town?” But this pair of geese know. For them, it's perhaps a new home for the summer, even a place to raise young, and for others, it’s a respite from their long travels heading north....

Art, Tours and Tales of the Willamette River

WREN March 26, 2021 0 Comments

In celebration of the 5th Annual Willamette River Festival (August 21-28th), WREN is coordinating efforts with eight community partners and watershed leaders to tell the stories of the Willamette River through the lens of self-guided tours of watershed systems (both natural and human-engineered) and natural art installations. Tour routes will take place in Springfield and Eugene. The...

Adapt, Survive, Thrive

WREN November 23, 2020 0 Comments

Living organisms must have the genetic diversity to adapt to changing conditions or they don't survive. For WREN the relevance of this lesson could not be clearer. We are nimble, flexible: it's built into our "DNA!" The education environment changed dramatically for WREN and our school and community partners over the past year. As we were gearing up for our Spring Field trips,...

Camas Flower

WREN May 14, 2017 0 Comments

As spring is in the air and the flowers have started to blossom you may have noticed pretty purple flowers started to sprout. These flowers are called Camas. Camas is a North American plant whose greatest diversity lies in Oregon, which is home to over 65 percent of the named species! Camas plants generally produce flowers between April and June and in Oregon the two most common Camas...

Happy American Wetlands Month!

WREN May 12, 2017 0 Comments

May is the American Wetlands month! If you are out on a walk and see an area where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year around then you are looking at wetlands! Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation and other factors, including human disturbance. The...

Flying things at Sandpiper/Grimes Ponds

WREN September 30, 2008 0 Comments

Spotted Spreadwing mating pair,Striped Meadowhawk pair ovipositing. This species oviposits in tandom and often in groups within a small area.A pair of Striped Meadowhawks ovipositing and a pair mating. They commonly oviposit in grassy areas that will later be flooded by winter rains.A solitary wasp (~3/4" long). This one, a Great Golden Digger Wasp, feeds on nector. The female digs burrows and...