Lemonade, pastries and a stroll through nature are not the usual accessories to the weekly Metro Council meeting.
But Thursday, Metro will hold a special council meeting to discuss the future of Metro parks, trails and natural areas before enjoying iced tea and a hike through the Beavercreek natural area.
This Metro Council session will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Town & Gown Room at Mt. Hood Community College and includes free strawberry shortcake for anyone who wants to attend.
While the Metro Council often tries to hold meetings in venues around the region, this unique meeting came out of convergence of multiple nature-related council agenda items.
Among these agenda items is a resolution to update the Regional Trails and Greenways Map to include 11 new proposed trail corridors. One proposed trail would connect Beaverton to Milwaukie.
Another trail would fill gaps in the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. If approved, 207 miles of trail would be added to 344 miles of existing trail.
The council will also vote on proposed awards for two Nature in Neighborhoods grant programs: capital grants and conservation education grants.
The 27 expected grant recipients include many community, cultural and government organizations across the region. The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization Intergenerational Community Gardens Project, for example, is a pilot program to create culturally relevant gardening education to unite underserved and intergenerational communities.
Metro Councilor Shirley Craddick said the grants reflect the commitment to natural areas from voters in the region.
"So much is being done in the Portland metro region to help the area be an even better place to live than it already is," Craddick said. "Thanks to the voters of the region, a lot of investment is occurring in our parks and natural areas."
This nature meeting will also touch on the parks and natural areas levy, which was approved in 2013 by voters in the region to raise $10 million a year to help care for parks and natural areas and expand community nature programming. There will be a presentation to show how the levy money has been used in the last year.
Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette said this meeting is important because the region has many varied landscapes and viewpoints.
"The cities and counties that make up the metro region are a diverse mix of landscapes, people and perspectives," Collette said. "I love getting out to experience them – we don’t do it often enough."
For Craddick, the meeting is a shared dedication to preserve the beauty of the region.
"Many of us moved to Oregon because of its beauty," she said. "I am glad so many support protecting and maintaining what we have."