Oregon Botany & Invasive Plant Identification Workshop

Learn botany fundamentals and how to identify problematic invasive plant species in Oregon through hands-on live specimens. About This Workshop Are you curious about the plants growing in your backyard, local parks, and Oregon’s wild landscapes? Whether you are a passionate gardener, a nature enthusiast, or someone looking to protect local ecosystems, this hands-on workshop is for you! Join Trailkeepers of Oregon and Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District for an engaging deep-dive into botany essentials, the ecology of invasive plant species, and the specific weeds threatening Oregon’s natural environments. What We Will Cover The Basics of Invasive Species: What actually constitutes an invasive species, how they disrupt local ecosystems, and why every Oregonian should care. Botany Fundamentals: Learn the building blocks of plant anatomy and terminology. These foundational skills will empower you to identify any plant—native, ornamental, or invasive. Oregon’s Noteworthy Invaders: Get familiar with the identification markers of the most problematic and aggressive invasive plant species currently found in our state. Hands-On Practice: We will feature several live plant specimens during the session to help us key in on botany fundamentals and practice identifying real plants up close. We reccomend downloading iNaturalist App or Oregon Wildflower Search. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: TKO recognizes that the trails we work on travel through the traditional lands of many Indigenous tribes and communities. We are the most recent in a long line of stewards to this land, and it is our responsibility to do so with humility and respect. We are grateful to these tribes and their descendants for being the original and continuing stewards of these spaces, and encourage everyone to go beyond a land acknowledgment by supporting Indigenous communities and organizations in your area. ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS: TKO seeks to make our events inclusive of people of all backgrounds and abilities. If you would like to discuss potential accommodations to allow for your participation in this event, please click here to complete a short Google survey. TKO staff will then contact you to discuss options. Please note: available accommodations will vary by event and typically need to be requested a minimum of two weeks in advance. If you have any questions, reach out to us by clicking Contact near the bottom of this page. EQUITY & INCLUSION: TKO seeks to make Oregon’s trails a place where people can go to connect with nature & one another. Not everyone feels safe or welcome in the outdoors due to issues like racism, bias, and hate. We commit to being part of the solution to this problem and to enact change. Conduct, speech, or expressions that target any individual or group will not be tolerated by TKO. PERSONAL SAFETY: Your physical and emotional safety is our number one priority. If a person’s actions or comments make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you may: interrupt directly, tell a crew leader, and/or inform TKO staff via the post-event survey. While TKO no longer requires masking/vaccination for our events, we do support those who choose to mask for their own safety. We ask participants to respect the health of folks who wear masks by distancing or wearing a mask while in close proximity.