Fundraiser:

help us Rebuild the Bridge at Lost Valley

Ice Storm
January 2024

Flood Event
March 2025

Honoring Legacy • Strengthening Community • Growing the Future

In January 2024, the Pacific Northwest was hit by an ice storm that has come to be called “Icepocalypse”. This extreme weather event resulted in the loss of our bridge that crosses Anthony Creek, when a mature douglas fir tree completely uprooted, and destroyed the foundation of the structure. Then, in March 2024, a flood event caused the bridge to fully collapse when the creek water level reached record height.

That bridge had quietly supported the life of Lost Valley for over forty years, connecting us to the Creek Garden, our largest and most productive garden on campus. It’s where we grow much of the food that feeds our community, and where students and interns gain hands-on skills in permaculture and regenerative agriculture. That bridge also carried water from our well across Anthony Creek, provided access to the Native Foods Nursery, which supplies native plants to our campus and regional restoration projects, and linked us to stewardship zones that serve as outdoor classrooms for our educational programs.

The destruction of the bridge has been a huge loss, and we are determined to rebuild. But as a nonprofit community land trust that provides low-income housing and accessible environmental education, we lack the necessary funds to take this on ourselves. Today, we are launching a fundraiser that seeks community support to raise the necessary funds to construct a new bridge.

A bridge of legacy

The new bridge will be dedicated to honoring:

Founders Dianne Brause and Kenneth Mahaffey, whose vision and leadership brought the community into being.
Generations of community members who have stewarded the land and shared its teachings.
The Kalapuya Peoples and surrounding nations, whose relationship with this land stretches back countless generations.

Why This Bridge Matters

A new bridge would reconnect access to Lost Valley’s Creek Garden that supports community food security, as well as the Native Foods Nursery that supplies regional stewardship projects. As a nationally recognized hub for permaculture education, land stewardship, and cooperative living, Lost Valley regularly hosts courses, retreats, and gatherings. This bridge would increase safe and reliable access to core facilities for educational programs and cultural events.

The Funding Need

The estimated cost to design and construct a long-lasting bridge is $50,000. This includes environmental assessment, engineering for safety and accessibility, durable construction materials to withstand climate stresses, and intentional design elements that honor both the land and its people.

We are seeking support from donors who recognize the power of infrastructure as a cultural legacy. Contributions at every level help move us toward this shared goal, but larger gifts ($5,000, $10,000, $25,000+) will be transformational in bringing the bridge to life.

Join us in rebuilding!

Lost Valley Education Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to educate youth and adults in the practical application of sustainable living skills. We achieve this by offering hands-on education in ecological design, restoration forestry, equitable community governance, and regenerative farming, while we steward 87 acres of diverse ecosystems for oak savanna habitat restoration, increased biodiversity, and old growth forest characteristics.

Donations to Lost valley are tax deductible and can be made on a recurring basis.