Environment

The Children’s Forest is a network of 28 public and non-profit organizations with the mission to unite our community to inspire lifelong connections to nature for all kids. Each year, our collective programs reach over 20,000 kids in Central Oregon and we provide schools and partners over $90,000 in funding to reduce barriers to accessing nature and provide programs for underrepresented populations.

The Deschutes River Conservancy has been dedicated to bringing people together to create consensus-based solutions to complex water issues in the basin since 1996. Through our partnerships, the DRC has been able to restore more than 93,000 gallons per minute to our local rivers and streams. Just 25 years ago, flows in the Middle Deschutes (shown left) would get so low in the summer months, that fish habitat would be severely impacted.

The Deschutes River Alliance is a science-based advocacy organization seeking collaborative solutions to the threats facing the Wild and Scenic Deschutes River and its tributaries. We advocate for cooler, cleaner water, a healthy ecosystem, and the recovery and protection of robust populations of resident and anadromous fish.

Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) exists to protect, defend and restore Oregon’s high desert for current and future generations. We envision a high desert in Oregon where eight million acres of public lands are conserved to ensure that fish and wildlife thrive and wild places exist for all people to treasure and explore, now and always. In the three decades since ONDA was founded, this community has protected and restored millions of acres of Oregon’s high desert including Steens Mountain, the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and Spring Basin Wilderness. Thank you!

For more than thirty years ago, The Environmental Center was born to empower locals to live lighter on the planet. Today, we’re a regional hub of environmental education, engagement, and action. Working collaboratively with people of all ages, local businesses, and elected officials, we create and advocate for meaningful, sustainable change across Central Oregon.

The Deschutes Land Trust conserves land for wildlife, scenic views, and local communities. As Central Oregon’s only nationally accredited and locally-based land trust, the Deschutes Land Trust has protected more than 17,500 acres since 1995.

Kôr provides permanently affordable and environmentally sustainable homeownership opportunities for those who contribute to the fabric of our Bend-area economy and community. We serve low- to middle-income and workforce families, so that they have a path to homeownership and the educational, economic, and social benefits that homeownership affords. We are Central Oregon’s only housing provider to use the community land trust model—of trust ownership of land and individual ownership of homes—to build inclusive and goal net-zero communities. Please join us in helping to address Bend’s housing shortage and the urgent challenges of climate change.