Sept. 2.  Gardening with Native Plants Practicum & Virtual Garden Tours. 6:30 pm – 8 pm. Richland Public Library conf. rooms A + B, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland. The Columbia Basin Chapter of the WA Native Plant Society and the Benton Conservation District Heritage Garden Program will give an overview of resources and strategies on gardening with native plants in E. WA. This is followed by a virtual tour of the gardens of a few folks who are planting native species in their yards.  They’ll share their experiences transitioning from lawns to waterwise native gardens. Free. The Heritage Garden Program is a free garden certification program for folks in participating counties. www.hgcd.info/

Sept. 3. Little Badger Mt.  Trailhead Parking Lot Open House. 6 -7 pm. Richland Community Center. Join the Richland Parks & Public Facilities Dept. to learn about the trailhead parking lot project and ask questions. Learn more at www.richlandparksandrec.com . (509) 942-7529.

Sept. 5. First Saturday Bird Walk. 8 am. Lisa Hill will lead a walk from the Wye Park lot/former causeway location to the boat launch, continue on the dike trail(s), upper and lower, to Hwy 240 and back. There should be songbirds in the Riparian areas! Please wear good walking shoes. We have binoculars to loan and birders of all skill levels are welcome.

Sept.  9: Richland Planning Commission Workshop on comp plan Land Use Element. 6 pm, City Council Chambers at Richland City Hall, 625 Swift Blvd.

Sept. 10. Little Explorers: Owls at Night. 10:15 am – 11:15 am. REACH Museum, 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland. “We’ll tiptoe through moonlit sagebrush, listen for nighttime sounds, and stretch our wings like silent owls through fun stories, gentle movement, and a few hoots and howls along the way. Free for REACH Members and included with General Admission.” Busy Beavers on Sept. 24 – same time and place.

Sept. 16. From Lawn to Meadow. Online. 4 pm Pacific time. Speaker: Sara Weaner Cooper.  Join the premiere on YouTube and participate in the live chat!  Link provided with registration. This webinar will be recorded and shared with registrants after the premiere.

Sept. 16. CCL Picnic at Leslie Groves Park for the monthly meeting. 6 pm at the Park Street entrance.

Sept. 19. Repair Café. 1 pm – 4 pm. Doris Roberts Gallery, Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland. The Good ‘Nuff Mending Club will have experts and hobbyists alike on site to do their utmost to fix, advise or diagnose common household items in need of repair. Community partners will provide free repairs for household items, casual jewelry, stuffed toys, eyewear screw replacements, minor bike repairs, simple cloth mending and hemming. Limit 2 repair items per person, supplies are limited. Nothing to repair? Come enjoy a cup of coffee and refreshments while the Repair Cafe gets to work saving money and reducing landfill. https://myrichlandlibrary.libcal.com/event/17160520

Sept. 20^th. Wheelhouse Community Ride. 10 am. Includes Free Bike Maintenance. Enjoy our Local Community for a 12 mile roll through Richland. Meet at the Tri-Cities Food Co-Op at 9:30 am for a Seasonal Beverage before we start the ride.

Sept. 24. Benton Co. Conservation District Open House. 4 pm – 6 pm. 3131 Belmont Blvd, W. Richland. Information will be available on programs offered through the conservation district, partner organizations, volunteer opportunities and resources for farmers, producers and land stewards interested in conservation and stewardship. Tour of the newly installed waterwise demo garden, a sneak peak of Salmon in the Classroom, and a chance to observe Water Stargrass harvesting equipment.

Sept. 26. STC Monthly Meeting. Saturday, 10 am. Chuck’s home at 1626 Davison Ave., Richland.

More events on our Face Book page and website.

Actions for September

Wheelhouse Bike Community. Thursday evenings 5-7pm “to wrench on bikes and see our large inventory of bicycle/equipment donations to re-home!” Columbia Basin College, Bld. V, Pasco WA. Contact: info@wheelhouse.bike 509-820-3047.  

Public Input Survey on  Washington’s Water Future: July 8 – Sept. 18, 2026. WWF is a WA State Dept. of Ecology initiative to help Washington prepare for growing water challenges. “By bringing together many different voices, we are hoping to build a shared understanding of the current and future challenges, interests, needs, and solutions. These conversations and your survey input can help identify a range of potential future policy, planning, and on-the-ground actions to respond to impacts of climate change on our water…for the future.  This online survey supplements other ways we are engaging with communities across the state.” Take the survey. You can also use theironline comment form to leave a comment.(Note: this appears to be the same survey I offered here in August, with a new deadline of Sept. 18, 2026).

Comment period on clean energy environmental justice guidance. Aug. 18 – Sept. 18, 2026. Clean Energy Siting Council invites you to provide feedback on the Draft Environmental Justice Toolkit for Clean Energy Projects to help advance equitable, community‑centered practices across Washington.

Hanford Sitewide Permit, Revision 9A.  Tell Ecology what is important to you for the cleanup of Hanford.

Learn more about the Sitewide Permit and how to comment at ecology.wa.gov/REV9A  Deadline Oct. 27.

 See the Sustainable Tri-Cities Resource Directory and let us know what needs to be added.  Send your events and volunteer opportunities to SustainableTricities1@gmail.org   so we can post them on our website and put them in this newsletter.

What we did in August

• DNR grant proposal. Assisting Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council in requesting state funding for local community forestry improvement projects; mainly to replace dying trees. Due Sept. 11, 2026.

• Submitted comments for the Kennewick comprehensive plan public hearing draft update .

• Submitted comments for the Dept. of Ecology Battery Stewardship plan.

• STC website updates: added info on Heat Resilience under Resources, and more.

• Earth Day Planning for 2027: looking for keynote speaker; gathering articles for the Earth Day Guide; Waste to Value school project, continued.

• STC monthly meeting,  Sunday Aug. 23, at Chuck’s house. Planned table activities for Teacher’s Open house, Riverfest and field trip to the Benton Conservation District Open House, Sept. 24. Discussed upcoming local organics recycling.