Let It Snow!
It’s been cold, clear, and snowy at the ranch lately! There’s over a foot of snow on the ground. Snow is very important for working against drought conditions in the summer; slow snow melt works better to refill aquifers than rain does. We are celebrating what has been a snowy December thus far!
What Are We Up To?
Winter Wonderland
It’s fair to say we’ve reached our off-season for education and camp programs. However, we hope to create winter outdoor education opportunities at The Crest not too far in the future!
Our team is working to prepare for the spring and make our educational offerings even better. Thanks to the Gray Family Foundation, we are able to dedicate time and resources to applying a trauma-informed lens to all of our educational programs and the culture at The Crest. It is important to us to be able to serve and support our community as best we can, and we are excited to move forward in this direction! We feel this is a necessary step to take in order to best support all of our learners especially in the wake of the Almeda Fire and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Take Action, Learn More
Upcoming volunteer opportunity!
Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service by stewarding the land at Oredson-Todd Woods! We will be removing invasive blackberry and mulching trails. This volunteer work party is a collaborative effort by Ashland Parks Division, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, The Crest, and United Communities AmeriCorps. Online registration is required.
Date:January 17, 2022
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Oredson-Todd Woods, 2260 Lupine Drive Ashland, OR, 97520
All necessary tools and instruction will be provided. For everyone’s safety, participants will be required to wear masks when maintaining a 6-foot distance is not possible.
For more information or to register, visit www.thecrestatwillowwitt.org/mlk-jr-day-volunteer-registration/
Questions? Reach out to Jessica at Jessica@thecrestatwillowwitt.org.
Year-End Giving
It’s that time of year! The Crest’s year-end giving campaign is currently ongoing. The success of The Crest depends on the generosity of our community of supporters and our many volunteers.
Examples of how your monthly or annual gift will help us reach our goal of raising $50,000 in program support in 2022:
Monthly Donation
- $25/month = Craft and science supplies for 40 summer day campers
- $50/month = Fresh organic vegetable boxes for 25 campers to take home to their families
- $100/month = Eight days of Master teacher salaries
Annual Donation
- $1,000 = 1/4 mile of nature trail development
- $2,500 = One week of bus transportation from three locations in the valley
- $5,000 = Two farm staff to help students grow and harvest vegetables
- $20,000 = Fifty full scholarships for Summer Nature Day Camp students
Thank you for considering a year-end donation to support the programs of The Crest.
Common Raven
Ravens can often be seen playing energetically at the ranch! Ravens are fairly common to find throughout Oregon. These birds look similar to American Crows, but are about 25% larger and have wedge-shaped tails.
Bearded Lichen
Bearded lichen (Usnea longissima), also called “Old Man’s Beard,” is a pendant lichen that hangs from tree branches. This lichen can be between 6 inches and 20 feet long! Bearded lichen struggles in areas with polluted air and because of this, its range has shrunk considerably.
