Some young painters are using their art to show their pride and ownership in the Lents neighborhood and maybe in themselves as well. A colorful mural painted by students from Kelly Elementary, David Douglas High School and Portland Youth Builders using 100 percent recycled latex MetroPaint was installed in early December along the Springwater Corridor at Beggars Tick Wildlife Refuge near Southeast 111th Street two blocks north of Foster Road.
The mural is part of a larger, long-term effort led by community activist Ed Kerns to organize and manage regular clean-up efforts and tree plantings along the Springwater Corridor in the Lents neighborhood. With support from Metro’s restoration and enhancement grant program, Kerns is engaging hundreds of local youth and adult volunteers to help clean up and restore a 6- block area that once bordered a large lumber mill.
First, the group removed and recycled more than 4,000 cubic yards of abandoned concrete, gravel and asphalt. Next, more than 6,000 yards of clean soil and compost was delivered. Now, the group is in the process of planting more than 12,000 native trees and shrubs to finish restoration efforts.