Sisters folks pitch in on cleanup day

Last weekend several groups were working hard to make Sisters Country an even better place to live for both people and wildlife.

September 25 was National Public Lands Day, the largest, annual hands-on nationwide volunteer effort to improve America's public lands. On the same day, the I Heart Central Oregon campaign brought together several Central Oregon area churches and their congregants to volunteer their time in the community.

The annual National Public Lands Day, coordinated by the National Environmental Education Foundation with the support of the Forest Service and other federal agencies, focuses on educating the public about the importance of natural resources and the need for shared stewardship on the land. This year's theme for the day was "Climate Change."

Lisa Leonard, the Oregon program coordinator for the National Forest Foundation, came to Sisters from her Portland office to oversee the event. The Sisters community was a showcase for Gloria Manning who came from her Washington D.C. office to tour the various projects planned for the day.

"It was a real honor and opportunity for Sisters to have Gloria Manning attend this year's event," said Leonard.

Manning, the associate deputy chief of the U.S. Forest Service, was shown the Whychus Creek and Metolius River project sites as volunteers from Sisters and Bend worked on their specific projects. Work included trail building, planting and riparian area restoration along Whychus Creek and other locations. Crew leaders from Wolftree, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and the Sisters Trails Alliance as well as many participants from the Sisters Ranger Station and volunteers met in Creekside City Park for their assignments and a few words of encouragement.

The Forest Service had more than 80 project sites for volunteer initiatives across the country. The Deschutes National Forest Metolius River and Whychus Creek, Sisters Ranger District was one of five sites in the nation selected by the National Forest Foundation for their "Treasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences" campaign. The foundation partnered with the Deschutes National Forest to host the combined Friends of the Forest Day event, a unique volunteer opportunity to introduce people to restoration, trails, and stewardship in the scenic Whychus Creek area near Sisters.

In the more populated parts of Sisters, church members participated in "I Heart Central Oregon," an annual event designed to encourage acts of service throughout Central Oregon. Organizer John Gerke was pleased with a turnout of over 200 people who joined together at Sisters High School on Saturday morning.

Assignment posters lined the library, and volunteers signed up to work on a variety of projects, including veteran's assistance, food collection for the Sisters Food Bank, cleaning up planting areas to painting and even help for single moms.

One group headed out to clean up the yard of a veteran who was unable to take care of his garden anymore. Children and adults armed with all kinds of gardening tools tackled the job with zeal and care. Before long, the man's yard was free of pine needles, pinecones, and overgrown weeds.

At another location, a seriously ill patient's home was being retrofitted to accommodate her medical needs. Volunteers painted walls and trim, transforming the room with a fresh coat of paint and a lot of love. One volunteer painter commented that when the occupant returned home from the hospital she would find a place much different than she left it. The project will include new flooring, new paint and upgrades provided by a government grant to accommodate her needs.

Gerke couldn't be happier with the outcome.

"We accomplished everything we were asked to do and more," he said.