Bringing People and Forests Back Together

This year is off to a fantastic start—World Forestry Center’s programming schedule is busier than we have seen in recent memory. Through innovative programs, unconventional collaborations, and engaging exhibits, we are bringing people and forests back together.

In the first few months of the year, we’ve expanded our reach by engaging new communities and establishing impactful partnerships. In February, we teamed up with the local Major League Soccer team, the Portland Timbers, to host the Blessing of the Victory Log ceremony with hundreds of their most ardent fans in attendance. In March, we broke our all-time, single-day attendance record at the Discovery Museum with 1,426 visitors. This milestone took place on one of our free days at the museum. Our Free Day Series is made possible in part by generous support from the Ben B. Cheney Foundation, Hampton Lumber, and an anonymous donor. By removing financial barriers, these free admission days create a more inclusive space where people of all backgrounds can engage with the vital role forests play in our world.

We also held the final in-person meeting of the first cohort of our new Fellowship Program, for which we took a single forestry issue—wildfire—and recruited ten leaders from ten sectors impacted by that issue. This cohort included the New York-based journalist M.R. O’Connor, whose thought-provoking work on wildfire, fire management, and societal impact is inspiring new ways of thinking about our connection to the natural world. In addition, we are partnering for the third consecutive year with the Oregon State Fire Marshal and Portland Fire and Rescue for our Be Wildfire Aware weekend to raise critical wildfire awareness in our community.

And we are also extending our programming beyond our campus with our new monthly Forest Pub series at the McMenamins Mission Theater in NW Portland, which has sold out every month thus far. Looking ahead, we are thrilled to present our upcoming art exhibit Sasquatch: Ancestral Guardians, which explores the Indigenous relationship with Sasquatch through the lens of art and storytelling.

These initiatives are just the beginning. Join us in our work to create a vibrant forest culture and help us bring people and forests back together. Your tax-deductible donation will help ensure these efforts continue to grow and make an impact in the
year ahead.

With appreciation,

Joseph A. Furia
Executive Director

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