About the WRNA
Adrian Ayala Pacheco
Assistant Steward
Adrian is a fourth-year Environmental Design student with a path in Sustainable Built Environments and minors in Architecture and Latinx Studies. Ever since moving up to Oregon, he has enjoyed taking part in many outdoor activities, such as going on spontaneous hikes or biking to school. Here, he hopes to obtain fundamental knowledge and experiences needed for the future.
As a California native, Adrian’s passion for the built and existing environment began at a young age. He believes that passion has become intertwined with his culture and identity. His family taught him the importance of developing a good relationship with the natural environment. Because of these experiences, Adrian aims to go into a career focused on both environmental and spatial justice, to give back to his community and the planet.
Anika Hall
Assistant Steward
Anika is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Architecture with a focus in landscape urbanism. Her background is in civil engineering, where she spent the past 7 years working in environmental remediation. Fed by a love for creative systems thinking, she hopes to design engaging public spaces with ecological and infrastructural purpose, with a particular focus on how urban design can help restore hydrologic systems while promoting urban resiliency.
Her work at the WRNA is focused primarily on restoration of the Millrace, a man-made creek and pond system connected to the Willamette River. Other projects include sampling and analyzing soils across the WRNA to help inform targeted restoration practices. A Willamette Valley native, Anika is overjoyed to contribute to restoration of the river she grew up swimming in, the species who live there, and her broader community.
Leo Frampton
Assistant Steward
Leo Frampton is an avid gardener, native plant enthusiast, and ecology nerd. He is coming out of four years working as a Senior Gardener at Governors Island in New York city, where he stewarded a six-acre urban forest through a combination of ecological restoration and horticultural practices. These practices included a rotational grazing program using five sheep, animals which became celebrities in New York’s dense urban environment.
Annalisa Shehab
Assistant Steward
Anna is an undergraduate in her final year majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Anthropology and Science Communication. Her passion for the natural environment stemmed from a childhood of exploration in Michigan and she is excited to bring that same passion to restoration work here in the Willamette Valley. She hopes through work on the WRNA she can leave a positive impact on the Eugene community even after she graduates.
Anna has past work experience in horticulture and wildlife biology and is excited to bring those skills to this position. She also hopes to gain experience with community engagement and environmental education and outreach.
Milo Greenway
Native Plant Research Intern
Milo Greenway is a senior at the University of Oregon who is pursuing a major in environmental studies and a minor in earth sciences. Milo’s research revolves around selecting native plant species that will be most likely to succeed in WRNA restoration projects. Milo enjoys spending his free time doing things outside, like biking, hiking, foraging, or just looking at plants.
“I am excited to gain experience in habitat stewardship and native ecology through this internship.”
Emily Hamblen
Natural Areas Steward
Email: ehamblen@uoregon.edu
As an Oregon Native, Emily is excited to use her 20+ years of experience to give back to the community that she grew up in. She started her journey at Lane Community College, followed by a dual Major in Wildlife and Conservation and Zoology (Oregon State University) and M.Sc. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology (Colorado State University). As the UO's first Natural Areas Steward, Emily creates opportunities for restoration, engagement, and research in the Willamette River Natural Area and Millrace Natural Area and other campus natural areas in collaborations with faculty, staff, and external partners.
Ifeoma Odogwu
Summer 2024 Intern: Sustainable Business
Archie Rohden
Summer 2024 Intern: VPFA Communications Intern
Andrew Leider
Spring and Summer 2024 Assistant Steward
Plants & Wildlife
In our mission to restore the WRNA to natural conditions, we will be supporting a diversity of animal, plant, and fungi species that encompass the Pacific Northwest. Check out our list of flora & fauna here and let us know if you discover something while on the trail!
Site History
The land where the WRNA resides has gone through incredible landscape changes, as well as the entire position of the Willamette River. Discover how natural processes and human influence have impacted the area and why we feel it is important to restore and manage this riparian landscape.