The Museum of Natural and Cultural History recently awarded its sixth annual Oregon Stewardship Award to a youth group that restored part of a Clackamas County watershed.
Administered by the museum’s advisory council, the award recognizes a project that has significantly involved its community in an environmental or cultural heritage project, one that aligns with the museum’s mission to inspire stewardship of our collective past, present and future.
This year’s award recipient was Youth Rebuild Mt. Scott Watersheds, a project of the Rivers of Life Center. Through the project, more than 200 youth restored more than five miles of creeks and streams of Mount Scott in Clackamas County. They built habitats for beaver, muskrat, otter and native birds, as well as a network of trails and interpretive exhibits.
Youth Rebuild Mt. Scott Watersheds was chosen out of a group of five finalists. One of the finalists was an annual project at Mount Union Cemetery in Philomath. Identified by the museum as the first cemetery in Oregon to allow the interment of Black people, the project involves the placement of flags in May to remember the approximately 200 veterans buried on the grounds.