Restoration Practitioner Exchange
The Willamette-Laja Twinning Partnership is built on the original foundation of peer-to-peer learning and relationship building at the restoration practitioner level. Our first major exchange of Willamette practitioners visiting the Laja occurred in 2016 and included strategic planning and relationship building that is necessary to maintain long-term commitment to the partnership. Our second exchange in 2017 with several Laja practitioners and educators built upon the 2016 exchange in that we dove into specific program alignment, namely shared migratory bird species and our urgency for youth environmental education and cultural connections between communities. Our bi-national team of watershed restoration experts continue to communicate and host exchanges. Several exchanges have been held at regional and international conferences, and individual practitioners visit twinning basins for continued learning and mentorship. We invite you to review this insightful story from Kelly House, Willamette River Initiative, related to our 2017 restoration practitioner exchange.