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Ya gotta have a little fun this spring and summer, right? Why not make the good times last by advocating for a planet we can hand down to the next generation? You’ve got options: You can go kick back at the Hollywood Theatre and check out the Portland EcoFilm Festival, including the new Indigenous Short Films event, or stop by Making Earth Cool, a family friendly Earth Day gathering. If you’re feeling a hair more adventurous, take a road trip out to Sisters to bask in the newly certified DarkSky Oregon sanctuary, or join up with Blue Mountain Diversity Project, heading out to Eastern Oregon for a week of surveying proposed logging sites to identify old growth trees and endangered species. Visit your mother. She misses you. ROBIN BACIOR.
Portland EcoFilm Festival
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., portlandecofilmfest.org. March 6–June 21.
Since 2013, the Portland EcoFilm Festival has showcased movies from around the world that promote ecology, nature, conservation and environmental activism. Shown March through June at the Hollywood Theatre, this year’s festival selections include a documentary about an activist group’s elaborate prank at Berlin Fashion Week to highlight labor and environmental abuses by one of the world’s largest sportswear brands (Adidas Owns the Reality), and a hypnotic film that attempts to connect the dots between a passed kidney stone, Palestinian quarry workers, and a volcano in Cape Verde (Apple Cider Vinegar). For Earth Day, April 22, the festival will highlight five selections for its New Indigenous Short Films event that focus on Indigenous wisdom and stories. “Uplifting ecological filmmakers and connecting audiences with the powerful stories they’re telling remains at the heart of what we do,” says festival director and programmer Rozell Medina. “This being the third year of what has become our annual Indigenous Voices series, we are featuring more films than ever that center Indigenous wisdom, accomplishments, stories and struggles from around the world.” GABRIEL GRANILLO.
We Believe in Portland
1844 SW Morrison St., webelieveinportland.com. 11 am Friday, April 25.
Do you believe in Portland? If so, city revitalization organization We Believe in Portland’s fourth annual spring cleanup April 25 is your chance to prove it to your community while also getting outside and reminding yourself what makes this city so vibrant. Starting at Providence Park, you will work with a team of fellow volunteers to fan out across the city to pick up the detritus that accumulates in and around our streets. Portland’s motto of “The City That Works” often feels silly these days when our local government is so tied up in bureaucracy, but We Believe in Portland’s spring cleanup is the perfect way to do good for your community while, yes, putting in the work. So roll up your sleeves, throw on some gloves, and get down to business. Stick around for a hang at Midtown Beer Garden to support local businesses and mingle with your new friends who also believe in grassroots efforts to make our city more livable. NEIL FERGUSON.
Making Earth Cool
makingearthcool.com. 11 am–3 pm Saturday, April 26.
Who said Earth Day wasn’t cool? Making Earth Cool brings its extremely Portland, family-friendly Earth Day celebration to ring in Mother Earth’s birthday (that’s right, of course she’s a Taurus). If you’re looking for a loud boisterous event with people dressed like daffodils wielding giant puppets of nature spirits, boy, do we have the event for you. Climate educators Making Earth Cool is planning a full-on Earth Day blowout, with a big brass band, a parade, prizes, and more. The whole event takes place just two days after the group’s Earth Films for Earth Day festival put on in partnership with NW Documentary, screening one-to-eight-minute mini movies at Tomorrow Theater on April 24. KARLY QUADROS.
Sustainable Fashion Week
Portland State University, 1825 SW Broadway, pdx.edu. Various times and locations Monday–Friday, May 12–16. Free.
Portland State University has always been a hub of green-forward thinking and has historically been noted as a vanguard in environmentalism within academia. Every spring, PSU hosts a schoolwide Earth Month (April 17–May 17) lined with student-led events and pop-ups. The crown jewel of this season’s programming is the university’s inaugural Sustainable Fashion Week, a hefty, cross-departmental collaborative effort between the Student Sustainability Center’s Environmental Justice Team, the School of Art + Design, the Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge program, or ITECK, and the Women’s Resource Center. Events slated for the week include select film screenings, discussion panels (including one with faculty member Alison Heryer talking about the School of Art + Design’s new sustainable fashion minor, and another on the importance of personal style in the age of fast fashion by BFA senior Phelix Schneider), a craftivism and tote bag workshop, and an information booth fair, all open to the public. The week’s grand finale is a fashion show that highlights students’ eco-conscious creations, happening outside on the Walk of the Heroines on May 16. TIM TRAN.
Happy Valley Repair Fair
Happy Valley Library, 3793 SE Sieben Park Way, 503-557-6363, clackamas.us/event/2025-05-17/repair-fair-happy-valley. 10 am–1 pm Saturday, May 17.
Let’s face it: America has a trash problem. Studies show the average American uses their cellphone for less than three years before tossing it and replacing it with one that’s shinier and newer. And it’s not just phones. Repairing things is cheaper and more sustainable, but for things like electronics, kitchen appliances, bicycles and clothing, not everyone knows where to begin. That’s where repair fairs come in. Hosted by the city and volunteers, community members help extend the lifespan of our household objects and teach each other to repair our gear in the process. Don’t have anything that needs fixing? Try volunteering your skills with a sewing machine, knife sharpener, drill or hammer. KARLY QUADROS.
Environmental Film Series
901 C St., Vancouver, Wash., 360-852-9189, thewatershedalliance.org/?portfolio=film-series. 4:30 pm Tuesday, May 27. Free with registration.
We hear the term “greenwashing” a lot these days. This free screening of Burned: Are Trees the New Coal?, part of the Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington’s yearly Environmental Film Series, examines it within the context of a subject that hits close to home in the Pacific Northwest: logging. The interests of this industry are a hot topic in a state where it is so intertwined with economic growth, but most of us don’t think about the nuances of trees versus coal. This award-winning documentary explores the misperceptions around what it means for trees to be renewable energy—i.e., biomass—offering a compelling and scary look into practices that are ultimately destructive. Most of us struggle with how we can play a role in fixing climate change. One of the best ways to start is by educating yourself. There’s even free pizza! NEIL FERGUSON.
Save Her! An Environmental Drag Show with Pattie Gonia
Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., revolutionhall.com. 8 pm Thursday, July 17.
Drag queen Pattie Gonia knows nature is a woman. Why? “She’s trying to kill us in the most passive-aggressive way possible,” she jokes in her long-standing touring environmental drag show and public service announcement Save Her! The revue-style show features Gonia as well as a long cast of drag performers, including Nini Coco, VERA!, and Sequoia, whose routines focus on nature, pollution and global warming.
Gonia first rocketed to stardom when a video of her strutting on a hiking trail in 6-inch heels garnered 3 million views practically overnight. When she’s not in drag, the Bend-based performer runs workshops with the environmental education nonprofit she co-founded, Outdoorist Oath. For Gonia, climate change awareness doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Action comes from joy and community as much as from a sense of urgency. KARLY QUADROS.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Portland Chapter
Fremont United Methodist Church, 2620 NE Fremont St., citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters. Meets 9:30–11:30 am second Saturday of the month.
The Trump administration has declared war on progressive climate policy, but the good news is, many protections are enshrined in law at the state level. As the federal government continues to roll back funding for programs that combat climate change and pollution, it will be essential to protect Oregon’s nature through state and local policy. The Portland chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby uses grassroots organizing to raise awareness about climate-friendly legislation. As one of more than 500 active chapters across the United States (seven in Oregon), volunteers host town halls with local political candidates, members of Congress, and state senators and representatives. With the legislative session in full swing this spring, Portland CCL volunteers will advocate to implement a carbon tax, fight deforestation, and promote clean energy initiatives in Salem and beyond. Every Saturday, volunteers meet to discuss upcoming forums, events, letter-writing campaigns, and more. KARLY QUADROS.
Sakari Farms and Central Oregon Seed Exchange
65060 Highway 20, Bend, 541-647-9604, sakarifarms.com.
Drive through most of rural America, and you’re likely going to be greeted by rows of monocrops like wheat and soy on industrial farms, stretching for miles on both sides of the highway. Since settlers came to America, the diversity of food and animal life has been on the decline. As Indigenous food systems were disrupted, Native people, especially those living in food deserts, have experienced disproportionate rates of hunger and poverty.
Indigenous-owned farms like Sakari try to change this by promoting Pacific Northwest first foods, preserving the seeds of native plants, and distributing them back to the community. A member of the Central Oregon Seed Exchange, it cultivates Indigenous produce like peppers, corn, squash, potatoes, garlic, herbs and native flowers. The seeds are then collected and passed on to local farmers, tribal communities, schools, nonprofits and low-income residents.
Oh, and Sakari makes a killer hot sauce to boot.
Readers can subscribe to a CSA box or buy everything from spices to lip balm on the website. Follow Sakari Farms’ Instagram for the latest updates on workshops, cooking classes, seed-saving classes, longtable meals and more. KARLY QUADROS.
Sustainable Oregon
oregonrecyclers.org/conference
To get a bead on developments and/or network with people doing the good work in the recycling business, you’d do well to attend Sustainable Oregon, an annual conference organized by the Association of Oregon Recyclers. Representatives from for-profit entities throughout the state as well as representatives from nonprofits and government agencies like Free Geek and Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality will be on hand to share information and offer their wares. There’s a silent auction to help raise funds for scholarships that allow college students and AmeriCorps volunteers to attend future conferences. But the highlight of the event is when AOR hands out its Sustainable Oregon Awards, honoring individuals and organizations making huge strides in the world of materials management. This year’s conference goes down June 23–25 at the Riverhouse Lodge in Bend. ROBERT HAM.
DarkSky Oregon
darkskyoregon.org
At first blush, light pollution may not seem so bad—it doesn’t char our cedars or poison our waterways. But the overuse of outdoor lights can have disruptive and devastating impacts on everything from animal migration to hunting patterns to your own circadian rhythms. And, frankly, there’s just nothing like a deep blue night sky with a crystal clear view of the Milky Way.
DarkSky Oregon declared the city of Sisters a sanctuary in early 2025, although there are many others. The organization works with cities and national parks to minimize unnatural light at night by installing motion detectors or timers, shielding skyward light, and replacing excessively bright outdoor bulbs. If camping’s your jam, try high desert playa Alvord, ultra-blue Crater Lake National Park, or the murky caverns of Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve. If you’re looking for constellations, DarkSky Oregon puts on stargazing and eclipse parties with OMSI and Rose City Astronomers. And then there’s the “outback” in Lake County, the world’s largest dark sky sanctuary, where you can soak in some hot springs, spot antelope in the wildlife preserve, and explore the playa at night. KARLY QUADROS.
Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project
27803 Williams Lane, Fossil, 541-385-9167, bluemountainsbiodiversityproject.org.
Oregon’s forests are essential for fighting climate change—they absorb more carbon per acre than nearly any other forest in the world (and that includes the Amazon). That’s thanks to our old growth. Older trees absorb significantly more carbon than younger ones. The problem is, logging rates in Oregon are speeding up despite legislation to protect old growth.
Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project aims to change that. Over the summer, volunteers protect the forests of Eastern Oregon by surveying proposed logging sites, identifying old growth and endangered species, and tracking water quality. It then uses that information to build legal cases to either stop or minimize deforestation. As a volunteer, you’ll camp and live in the back country in the Blue Mountains and Eastern Oregon Cascades for at least a week or up to two months while learning how to identify wildlife and other wilderness skills. Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project has saved thousands of acres of old growth forest and helped preserve the natural biodiversity of Eastern Oregon. Volunteers can sign up for the summer season, stretching from early June to the end of September. KARLY QUADROS.
Climate Curious
climatecurious.co
It’s easy to feel isolated or discouraged working in the climate space. With significant opposition from the federal government, including a lack of investments in green technology and energy infrastructure, sometimes it can feel like an uphill battle. Still, there are few better places for sustainability professionals than Portland. Climate Curious is a monthly event for everyone from environmental entrepreneurs to advocates to nonprofit leaders. Run by green technology veterans Topher Burns and Kirsten Midura, Climate Curious focuses on building community among people who work toward innovative solutions to the climate crisis. When it isn’t hosting happy hours, Climate Curious organizes panel discussions with leaders in green technology, sustainable development, and solutions to the region’s most pressing issues. Oh, and there’s hiking. Did we mention hiking? KARLY QUADROS.
This story is part of Green Living Companion, Willamette Week’s environmentally conscientious magazine. It is free and can be found all over Portland beginning Monday, April 21, 2025. Find your free copy at one of the locations noted here. If you’re usual pick-up spot is out of magazines, head to one of the solid green spots on the map, which will have 200 magazines. You can also grab a copy at our online store!
