Natural History Book Group

The Natural History Book Group was founded on the recognition that Indigenous peoples have maintained a deep and reciprocal relationship with the land now known as Lake Oswego for millennia, the group acknowledges this history as an essential grounding for its work. Through participant-selected readings that focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, members explore how literature and nonfiction can deepen our understanding of the watershed and its indigenous history, while inspiring practical steps toward a more just relationship with both the land we call home and its original caretakers.

Led by the Oswego Lake Watershed Council, this group meets bi-monthly on the second Tuesday of every other month (January, March, May, July, September, and November) at 5:00pm. We meet at the Lake Oswego Public Library in the second-floor conference room. New members are welcome.

For more information please email Sharon Goss.

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Meetings and Book Selections for 2026:

July 14: The trees are speaking : dispatches from the salmon forests by Lynda V. Mapes

September 8: Traditional Ecological Knowledge by Melissa Nelson

November 10: Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey Toward Personal and Ecological Healing by Jennifer Grenz

Past Book Group selections:

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant

Cedar by Hilary Stewart

The Gift of Knowledge: Reflections on Sahaptin Ways by Virginia R. Beavert

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson(link is external)

Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest by Josephine Woolington