Staying the Path: Bear Creek Stewardship Day on September 19th

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
– Buddha

In March of 2013, Medford Food Co-op adopted just over a mile of the Bear Creek Greenway from the bridge over Barnett to Main Street. At the time, we ambitiously decided to meet once a month to walk the path and pick-up litter, cut back blackberries, and provide any necessary care to keep the path clean and beautiful. For various reasons, we were not able to meet each and every month despite our best efforts. But rather than let such an important community service fall to the wayside, we partnered with SOLVE, a non-profit organization that brings Oregonians together to improve our environment and build a legacy of stewardship, as well as the City of Medford, Oregon Department of Transportation, and the Rogue Valley Council of Governments. With the support of others in the community, the clean up events evolved into a biannual Bear Creek Stewardship Day sponsored by SOLVE, the first of which took place this past spring on April 18th with an amazing turn out of 81 participants.

We invite you to join us once again on Saturday, September 19th for the fall Bear Creek Stewardship Day to walk the path and help beautify our community. We will be cleaning up the area from Barnett Road to McAndrews Road. Sign up for the event is scheduled from 8:30am to 9:00am. There will be two sign up locations: one near McAndrews for the north site (park at the SE Corner of the Rogue Valley Mall), and one near Barnett for the south site (park at the Bear Creek Little League Fields on Alba Drive). The clean up is scheduled from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, and lunch will be provided for participants from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in Hawthorne Park. Activities will include litter pick-up and invasive plant removal. Please bring gloves, work boots, and a water bottle.