“What We Do and How YOU Can Be a Good Wildlife Neighbor!”

(Eugene, OR) Please join the Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1685 W 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR, for our guest speakers, Julie Collins and Kate McInnis.  This month’s topic is “What We Do and How YOU Can Be a Good Wildlife Neighbor!”

For over 35 years, Cascades Raptor Center has been a local resource in Lane County and the surrounding communities.  The Raptor Center has two primary areas of focus: Wildlife Rehabilitation and Public Education.  With a wildlife hospital on site, they treat between 400 to 700 patients every year and are currently the only raptor-specific clinic in Oregon.  Cascades Raptor Center has a Nature Center in South Eugene that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year and features resident education birds. Their mission is to help the human world learn to value, understand, and honor the role of wildlife.  Join Julie Collins, Executive Director, and Katie McInnis, Staff Veterinarian, as they share more about their organization and how YOU can be a good wildlife neighbor!

Julie Collins is the Executive Director of Cascades Raptor Center.  She is an Oregon native, born and raised in Milwaukie.  As a young adult, she lived in Arizona, where she worked for over 15 years in the medical field, building partnerships and doing public relations work for the local hospital system.  In 2015, Julie and her family returned to the Pacific Northwest, settling in Eugene.

Her son’s love for birds of prey inspired Julie to start volunteering at Cascades Raptor Center.  She joined the staff in 2017 and served for five years as Development Director, coordinating efforts from fundraising and donor relations to operational management and strategic planning.  In September 2022, she accepted the position of Executive Director, where her passion and experience guide the Center in remaining mission-driven while also helping the Center expand and lay foundations for the future.

In addition to her work with Cascades Raptor Center, Julie serves on the board for Travel Lane County and is an active member of the Eugene and Springfield Chambers of Commerce.  When not working, she enjoys being creative in her garden and on other projects. She loves exploring Oregon’s beautiful landscapes, especially the forests and coastline, and spending time with her two almost-adult, offspring.

Katie McInnis is the Staff Veterinarian at Cascades Raptor Center.  She graduated in 2012 from Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine with her DVM and worked in community veterinary clinics for the first few years of her career.  Because her focus has always been on wildlife rehabilitation, in 2015, she joined Cascades Raptor Center as a hospital volunteer, which she credits as the spark for her passion.  Katie went on to work with the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC), where she organized rehabilitation courses, developed learning materials and protocols, and led training.

In September 2024, Katie returned to Cascades Raptor Center as the full-time staff veterinarian.  She has worked on many raptor cases throughout the years, from renesting to ophthalmology and trauma cases.

Katie currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Lane Audubon Society, working towards certifying Eugene as a “Bird City,” making city improvements to promote bird safety, biodiversity, and conservation.  In her free time, she is an avid birder, mother of two rambunctious kiddos, and loving spouse to her Emergency Veterinarian Husband.

 For more information about the group or this event, visit our website at www.thehardyplantgroup.org/events or email us at [email protected].

Doors on the east side of the building open at 6:30 PM for refreshments, browsing botanical samples, and socializing.  Admission is free for members and $5 for non-members.

Membership in the Hardy Plant Group is open to all and is only $30 annually.  There is ample parking in the parking lot, accessible from both Chambers Street and W 13th Avenue, with additional parking in the adjacent Looking Glass Center parking lot to the north, but please do not park under their covered entryway.  Overflow parking is also available in the first 20 spaces on the east and south side of Redeemer Fellowship Church, just across Chambers Street to the west.  View parking map at www.thehardyplantgroup.org/contact

This in-person meeting will also be broadcast live over Zoom to members who are unable to attend in person.  The Zoom broadcast will also be recorded, and a viewing link will be sent to members to access within two weeks of receiving it.  If you are interested in watching our Zoom broadcast and are not a member, please see the “About” page on our website at www.thehardyplantgroup.org/about to download our membership form to join.

The Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) volunteer organization for gardeners of all experience levels.  The Group is dedicated to educating the community about perennials, shrubs, and other plants for use in the garden, sharing each other’s gardens, and fostering a love of gardening. For more information, visit www.thehardyplantgroup.org.