Read the summer issue of Our Big Backyard magazine

photo of Pacific bleeding hearts at Gabbert Butte

Informal trails at Gabbert Butte take visitors along patches of blossoming Pacific bleeding hearts in the spring.

Formal public access is coming soon to Gabbert Butte. Metro and the city of Gresham are launching a project this summer to plan for the long-term future of the East Buttes area. The project will focus on creating a new model for parks planning to build spaces that are more welcoming to underrepresented communities.

Students in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District use Graham Oaks Nature Park as a learning environment.

Instead of running straight through and flooding neighboring parking lots and businesses, Hall Creek now meanders, with log jams added to provide habitat for fish, a filter vault, and a new trash grate before Hall Creek joins Beaverton Creek.

A project to restore Hall Creek brought together the Beaverton community, thanks in part to a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods grant.

photo of wildflowers at West Bliss Butte

Yellow madia and purple gilia flowers bloom next to a forest at West Bliss Butte.

Elaine Stewart, a senior natural resources scientist at Metro, explains how a new restoration method is helpling wildflowers and pollinators thrive at West Bliss Butte in Gresham.

At Centro Cultural, Caballero-Rubio has been helping Metro connect with community members to plan for a future nature park at Chehalem Ridge. The organization also received a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods grant in 2014 for conservation education.

Meet Maria Caballero Rubio, the executive director of Centro Cultural de Washington County, which is helping Metro connect with the Latino community to plan for the future nature park at Chehalem Ridge.

July 8, 2016 2:39 p.m.

Can a new model for parks planning create more welcoming spaces for underrepresented communities?



        Click the image to read a PDF of the summer 2016 magazine.

That's the question being explored starting this summer as Metro and Gresham partner to create a long-term vision for the East Buttes area, one of the region's largest patchworks of publicly owned natural areas. In particular, formal public access will be coming soon for Metro's Gabbert Butte.

Read the summer issue of Our Big Backyard, Metro's quarterly parks and nature magazine, to learn more about ways to help shape the long-term future of what some have dubbed the "Forest Park of the east side."

Find a copy of the magazine at a local public library branch, the Oregon Zoo, a Metro park, or at various community centers and senior centers. Or read individual stories online on Parks and Nature News or click the image on the right to see a PDF of the magazine.

In the summer issue, you can:

Learn how a new restoration method at West Bliss Butte in Gresham is helping wildflowers and pollinators thrive.
Cool off this summer with a visit to Broughton Beach on the Columbia River. Read the Broughton Beach Field Guide and enjoy a jog or bike ride along the Marine Drive Trail.
Find out how the restoration of Hall Creek in Beaverton brought together the community, thanks in part to a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods grant.
Get the details about the fun nature classes, such as a free Twilight Thursday guided walk with a naturalist at the Glendoveer Nature Trail.
Explore Graham Oaks Nature Park through the eyes of nearby students who use the park as a learning environment.
Get to know Maria Caballero Rubio, the executive director of Centro Cultural de Washington County, which is helping Metro connect with the Latino community to plan for a future nature park at Chehalem Ridge. The Q&A is available in English and Spanish.
Mark you calendar for Metro free park(ing) days 2016.
And more!

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Read individual stories or view a PDF of the magazine on Parks and Nature News