June 2026 Newsletter

THANK YOU SPONSORS

School year program recap

School’s out for the summer, and we’re celebrating another successful year of environmental education. During the 2025–26 school year, our outstanding environmental educators provided high-quality science education to 2,945 students across 12 school districts throughout the lower Columbia River region. Our classroom lessons helped students understand complex topics through fun, hands-on activities, including a trout dissection lesson on anatomy and adaptations, water quality lessons featuring a giant Columbia River Basin watershed map, and plant identification activities connected to new on-campus green stormwater infrastructure.

In addition to these engaging indoor lessons, we curated field experiences for each classroom. These experiences included service-learning projects such as planting native trees and shrubs, creating a working model of the Vancouver Lake watershed along the lakeshore, playing a native plant identification tag game (you’re it, Oregon grape!), and conducting water quality testing with scientific monitoring equipment.

Our environmental education program is leaving a lasting impression on students. Here’s what one teacher has to say about our work:

“During our field trip this year, one of the most rewarding moments was watching students connect classroom learning with the real world. Several students who are normally quiet or hesitant in class became highly engaged once they were able to explore and ask questions in a hands-on environment. One student, who often struggles to stay focused during regular lessons, took the lead in asking thoughtful questions and helping classmates observe what we were seeing.

"It was exciting to see students collaborating, making connections, and showing genuine curiosity. Experiences like this remind us that learning outside the classroom can spark confidence, engagement, and a deeper understanding that is sometimes hard to achieve within the walls of a classroom.” - Bryan Moxley, Chief Umtuch Elementary, 5th grade teacher.

 Lessons and Opportunities from the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program   

The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program is shedding light on critical water quality challenges while also implementing solutions for reducing toxic contaminants across the Columbia Basin. 

The 2026 Science to Policy Summit will bring together researchers and leaders to share results from recent monitoring and toxics reduction efforts and discuss opportunities to apply the data-driven lessons learned from Columbia River Basin Restoration Program-supported work to achieve basin-wide impact. 

Please join us September 2, 2026 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Lacamas Lodge in Camas, Washington or virtually! 

Welcome Jacob, Research Scientist III

We are excited to welcome Jacob Rudolph as the newest member of our team. Jacob joins the Monitoring Team as a Research Scientist III. He comes to the Estuary Partnership with a background in aquatic biogeochemistry. Jacob’s previous work includes examining carbon and nutrient cycling in response to flooding from tropical cyclones in the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Complex and determining microbial processing of dissolved organic matter in urban streams and rivers around the Portland metropolitan area. He also has extensive experience in data and geospatial analysis, with published work on combined geochemical and geospatial modeling.

Jacob will complete a Doctoral degree in Earth, Environment, and Society from Portland State University this fall and holds a Masters in Marine Science and a graduate certificate in GIS from North Carolina State University and a Bachelors of Science in geology from Appalachian State University. Welcome to the Estuary Partnership, Jacob! 

Welcome Makarios, Summer Intern

A warm welcome to Makarios Macris. Makarios joined us in mid-June as an intern from the University of Portland, and will be with the team until mid-August. During his service, he will gain experience with a mix of our programs—supporting Big Canoe community paddles in the Portland Harbor and helping to survey and map fish passage barriers throughout southwest Washington.

Makarios was born and raised in North Portland and is currently an undergraduate student studying Environmental Science. In his free time, he loves to hike, fish, and enjoy all that the great outdoors has to offer. 

Happy 10^th work anniversary, Jenny Dezso

The Estuary Partnership is excited to celebrate the 10^th work anniversary of Principal Restoration Ecologist, Jenny Dezso. Jenny’s work is instrumental in the Estuary Partnership’s habitat restoration program.

Jenny is excited to be advancing a long-planned floodplain restoration project at Multnomah Chanel Marsh into the final design stages this year. She most enjoys the wide variety of projects and sites she gets to engage in, from wetland delineations in the Columbia River Gorge to turtle surveys at Multnomah Channel Marsh to groundwater and thermal refugia monitoring on the East Fork Lewis River. "It’s a pleasure and an honor to contribute to conserving these important habitats, all while working alongside a great group of talented, kind, and fun colleagues," said Jenny. 

Green stormwater construction projects in progress

Construction is underway on several green infrastructure projects at schools across Portland. Chief Joseph Elementary, Glencoe Elementary, and Creston Annex, which houses an early learning program, are all getting schoolyard upgrades this summer that will improve learning opportunities while also improving water quality.

The project at Chief Joseph Elementary School in North Portland will help to realize their schoolyard vision. The project was designed by Parametrix and is being constructed by Brown Contracting.

Glencoe Elementary in Southeast Portland includes new playground equipment acquired by the Glencoe PTA. The project (recent progress pictured above) involves removing nearly 3,500 square feet of asphalt and installing four new planting areas, in addition to benches and picnic tables. This project was designed by Juncus Studio and is being constructed by Grasstains LLC.

The project at Creston Annex, also in Southeast Portland, will install vegetated stormwater facilities, permeable pavers, and a landscaped area with native plants, art features, and a small loop path for student tricycles. The Creston Annex project was designed by KPFF and Learning Landscapes, and is being constructed by Paul Brothers Construction.

Funding for these projects is provided by the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services’ Percent for Green program and an EPA Columbia River Basin Restoration Program Cooperative Agreement award.   

Volunteers prepped Chief Joseph Elementary for green stormwater project

The Estuary Partnership extends its gratitude to the 75 people who participated in an asphalt depaving event at Chief Joseph Elementary School in North Portland organized by the nonprofit Depave on May 30, 2026. Using people-powered tools, volunteers removed 2,000 square feet of impervious surface to prepare the site for the new green stormwater infrastructure that crews with Brown Contracting Inc., began installing this month.

The Chief Joseph Elementary School green stormwater project focuses on stormwater management through impervious surface removal, construction of large infiltration planters, tree planting, and a downspout disconnect.

The Chief Joseph Elementary School green stormwater project is part of the Estuary Partnership’s School Stormwater Reduction program, which designs and builds stormwater retrofits at schools to reduce pollutants entering the Columbia River watershed while supporting environmental education and community engagement. Funding for this project is provided by the EPA’s Columbia River Basin Restoration Program and the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services’ Percent for Green program.

2 ways to support the Estuary Partnership in your daily life