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STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY members have planted more than 80,000 native plants, enhanced 12,000 feet of streams, and revitalized 2 million square feet of stream banks during the past 12 years in Portland through the Community Watershed Stewardship program.

A partnership between Portland State and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, the program earned the University the C. Peter Magrath/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement West Region Award this fall. PSU is the only university west of the Mississippi to receive the prize.

The Community Watershed Stewardship program is run by PSU graduate students with the help of Barry Messer, adviser and a professor in urban studies and planning. Through the years, the PSU students organized assistance on more than 130 community projects: from restoration, stormwater management and nature-scaping, to educational workshops and creative writing, art, and video projects.

Johnson Creek and its Spring Water Corridor Trail is one of Messer's favorite program projects. Over more than a decade of volunteering in the area, students of all ages have learned about native plants, watershed issues, even trail signage.

"Johnson Creek is a great example of restoration through multi-layer projects that affect the life of the community," says Messer.