The Dian Missar Memorial Education Fund
A project of Forest Web of Cottage Grove dedicated to
the Memory of Dian Missar, Community Leader & Environmental Advocate
Dian Missar believed in creating partnerships and always thought her
efforts would make a difference in her community. She was right.
A longtime resident of Cottage Grove, Dian gave her passion and
energy to many causes, including the Blackberry Pie Society (a local
political action organization), the League of Women Voters, and the
Cottage Grove Library. Dian served as president of the Cottage Grove
Historical Society. She co-founded Parent Partnership, a rural
program to enhance parenting skills and healthy child, youth and
family development, providing support for local teen parents to stay in
school and graduate. She also co-founded Friends of Mount David, an
organization dedicated to enhancing and preserving the historic,
recreational, ecological and cultural qualities of Cottage Grove.
Dian was a friend and supporter of Forest Web of Cottage Grove, and
we counted ourselves blessed that Dian included Forest Web among
the causes she championed. Always ready with a forest-related
question, she made us stay on top of the issues to give her the answers
she needed. She arranged speaking engagements for us to give
presentations on current environmental issues facing Oregon, ensuring
our voice was always a part of the local discussion. For over 30 years,
she and her husband Chuck lived on property adjacent to Mosby Creek,
where she conducted a wetlands restoration project. She worked with
Forest Web and the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council to stop a
Lane County logging project planned for Blue Mountain Park.
Among her many accomplishments, Dian held a degree in English, an elementary school credential, and was also a teacher. It was a job she never really left. A few years ago, Dian presented us with a copy of a book: Life in an Old Growth Forest by Valerie Rapp. She felt it would be an excellent tool for teaching children about how special and important these native forests are to Oregon.
Dian passed away in February of 2016, but Forest Web wants her memory to live on so we have established the Dian Missar Memorial Education Fund in her honor, continuing the partnership she created with us.
Though the book she gave us is no longer in print, we are purchasing as many copies of it as we can locate. Our goal is to donate these books to environmental education programs for children. As we move forward with this endeavor, we will add other titles to our donation list.
If you are an educator and are working with an applicable study program in Oregon, please contact us here to learn more and request a copy for your classroom.
If you wish to support this effort, please go to our Donate page for more information.
Life in an Old Growth Forest by Valerie Rapp
Using the forests of the Pacific Northwest as an example, this book examines the physical features, processes, and many species of plants and animals that make up old growth forest ecosystems. Includes historical perspectives on how humans have used these forests and what is being done to ensure that old growth forests remain viable in the future. Visit a land filled with giant trees to learn what makes this environment so special. Ages 9-17