Each year the staff, board, and volunteers of North Coast Land Conservancy gather in the memorial grove at NCLC’s Circle Creek Conservation Center for a program called The Forest Remembers, honoring friends and loved ones who have passed away. The public is invited to take part in this annual ritual on Saturday, April 27, from 11:30 to 1 pm. Participants gather at the big barn and walk to the nearby grove of ancient Sitka spruces. There, names of all those who have been honored with memorial gifts to NCLC throughout the conservancy’s 33-year history are read aloud. The event is a reminder of our connections to the land and to the human community. Refreshments are served. Many participants take this opportunity to walk the nearby Legacy Loop trail that winds through the Sitka spruce forest at the base of Tillamook Head. Find more details at NCLCtrust.org.
Circle Creek Conservation Center is south of downtown Seaside. To reach Circle Creek from US 101, look for Rippet Road on the west side of the highway 0.7 mile north of the junction with US 26. Turn onto Rippet Road and follow it west and north for 0.5 mile, passing a gravel quarry on your left, to where it ends between two barns.