Projects will restore habitat and engage residents across the region
The Metro Council awarded nearly $1.2 million in community grants Thursday to help nature thrive across the Portland metropolitan area, supporting projects that will restore natural areas and waterways, forge new partnerships and engage diverse audiences.
Representing two Nature in Neighborhoods grant programs, projects span the region – and its habitat types. The grants recognize innovative, community-driven ways to protect and improve natural resources.
“Over and over, our community has shown us that this is such a loved and needed program,” said Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette. “It’s really where people in the neighborhoods get to say, ‘Can we help fix our park? Will you help us?’”
The Metro Council accepted the recommendations of grant review committees, which evaluate applications and visit project sites.
Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants channeled about $970,000 to four projects . Recipients will protect the last missing piece of the White Oak Savanna in West Linn, restore habitat along Rock Creek near the Clackamas River, and make improvements that benefit both wildlife and people at April Hill Park in Southwest Portland and Spring Park in Milwaukie.
Capital grants support projects that either purchase land or create capital assets by improving public property. Thursday’s awards bring Metro to the halfway mark of investing the $15 million available for this program, which is funded by the voter-approved 2006 natural areas bond measure.
The second category, Nature in Neighborhoods restoration and enhancement grants, distributed about $206,000 to nine projects across the region. This year’s awards range from restoration projects such as SOLVE’s work on Beaver Creek to nature education programs such as Adelante Conservaión, a new collaboration between Adelante Mujeres and the Tualatin Riverkeepers.
The restoration and enhancement grant program will expand with funding from a local option levy approved by the region’s voters last week to protect natural areas and regional parks. New guidelines will be developed this summer for the next round of grants.
"Thank you to the voters in this region that voted yes for this," said Metro Councilor Shirley Craddick. "This is really an exciting time."
Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants
April Hill Park improvements and restoration
Friends of April Hill Park and Portland Parks & Recreation
Partners: Maplewood Art4Life, Maplewood Neighborhood Association, Maplewood PTA Outdoor Explorers Committee, Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc., Southwest Watershed Resource Center, SW Trails, Wildwood Preschool
Grant amount: $83,059
Total project cost: $250,803
A durable trail, a boardwalk with a nature-viewing platform and bridges at creek crossings will protect sensitive habitat at April Hill Park in Southwest Portland’s Maplewood neighborhood while catering to the people who enjoy it. Chorus frogs, long-toed salamanders, rough-skinned newts and dozens of bird species make their homes at this 10-acre natural area, which boasts a forested wetland, a creek and a year-round spring. But there are challenges, too: informally created trails, non-native plants, eroded stream banks and unauthorized off-leash dogs. By carrying out a community-driven trails and habitat plan, this project will protect the wetlands and improve a neighborhood natural area gem.
Rock Creek confluence restoration
Clackamas County Water Environment Services
Partners: City of Happy Valley, Clackamas River Basin Council, North Clackamas School District, SOLVe
Grant amount: $209,000
Total project cost: $627,590
Working together, partners are making habitat in the area where Rock Creek meets the Clackamas River resilient to future urban development. Their plan: restore the creek’s health, for the benefit of fish that depend on it and people who will live in the growing communities of Happy Valley and Damascus. This project improves stream complexity by installing large, woody debris, reduces erosion by reconnecting the stream channel to its floodplain, and improves water quality by restoring healthy riparian plantings. It also engages supportive organizations, community volunteers and students, serving as an environmental study site.
Spring Park Natural Area enhancement
North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District
Partners: City of Milwaukie, Island Station Neighborhood District Association, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, Portland Parks & Recreation, Willamette Riverkeepers, North Clackamas Urban Watershed Council
Grant amount: $177,500
Total project cost: $532,633
Nestled along the Willamette River in Milwaukie, Spring Park gives fish an alcove to rest, hide and eat – and provides important habitat for bald eagles as well as rare plant species. It is also a gateway to Elk Rock Island, an ancient volcano as big as Mt. Hood. This project brings together neighborhood supporters to make this trek to the river less muddy while making the habitat even better. Partners will reroute a trail out of a wetland, install boardwalks and an overlook, restore native plantings, and install large, woody debris at the seven-acre natural area. In the process, the project will provide opportunities for people to learn about this unique geological site, becoming natural area stewards and more frequent visitors.
White Oak Savanna acquisition, phase two
The Trust for Public Land
Partners: Neighbors for a Livable West Linn, West Linn Parks & Recreation, Savanna Oaks Neighborhood Association, Clackamas County Soil & Water Conservation District
Grant amount: $500,000
Total project cost: $1,798,000
Towering above Interstate 205 in West Linn, the White Oak Savanna features majestic, mature oaks, a riparian forest and expansive views of Canemah Bluff and the Willamette Narrows. But a portion of the 20-acre site remains unprotected. This grant will go toward purchasing the last five acres, preserving this stunning view for future generations to experience. It will allow community supporters to continue the restoration they started on the first 14 acres, which were protected in 2009 with support from a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods Capital Grant, a state grant, West Linn park funds and a donation from the seller. Since then, an enthusiastic group of volunteers has successfully removed eight acres of blackberries and built a soft-surface trail.
Restoration and enhancement grants
Adelante Conservación (Move Forward Conservation)
Adelante Mujeres and Tualatin Riverkeepers
Amount: $30,000
Adelante Conservación expands the relationship between Tualatin Riverkeepers and Adelante Mujeres, integrating hands-on nature education curriculum into Adelante Mujeres’ programming. The project also supports leadership and relationship development activities for the two groups’ boards, staffs and volunteers to foster understanding of programs, vision and mission. In total the new programming will reach 440 low-income Latino students in the Adelente Chicas and Adelante Educación programs. With support from the Center for Diversity and the Environment, the agencies will build a collaborative relationship, bridging social service and conservation organizations, finding shared values and creating a shared vision.
Beaver Creek - The Home Stretch
SOLVE
Amount: $25,000
SOLVE will carry out its last phase of restoration along the lower Beaver Creek riparian corridor, achieving a healthy creek from its confluence with the Sandy River upstream to Mt. Hood Community College. Adding 1.5 acres to the restoration area, this project includes eight service learning events with 40 Green Team students from Reynolds High School and 10 community tree planting events. All told, participants will plant more than 3,600 native trees, shrubs and plants, enhance 80 feet of stream bank, clear 200 square feet of invasive plants and remove 100 pounds of trash. Partners include Multnomah County’s Land Use and Transportation Program, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council.
Community Based Freshwater Mussel Study on Crystal Springs
Xerces Society
Amount: $13,000
The Xerces Society continues its citizen-science investigations of how the restoration of Crystal Springs Creek affects native mussels and invasive Asian clams. Part of the Crystal Springs Partnership, this is a collaboration of community members, academic organizations and natural resource agencies. Local residents will be engaged in collecting much-needed data, while gaining a greater appreciation for Crystal Springs Creek. Additionally, the program provides expertise and training that will allow for the immediate salvage and relocation of mussels that would perish during restoration projects in 2013 and 2014.The program will involve 150 volunteers and agency staff each year through outreach, education and training, monitoring and salvage events. Partners include Crystal Springs Partnership, City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Johnson Creek Watershed Council and Friends of Crystal Springs.
Expanding Engagement: Serving Our Whole Community
Friends of the Refuge (Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge)
Amount: $15,000
The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge will expand nature-based education to increase participation among diverse and underserved audiences. Collaborating with partners, Friends of the Refuge will examine programming and outreach to better serve the perspectives, values and cultures of the community. The Friends plan to provide outdoor learning experiences for 2,500 youth and 850 family members and help 300 educators and volunteer mentors incorporate nature-based learning into classrooms and youth organizations. Partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Diversity and Civil Rights, Oregon Natural Resources Education Program, Five Oaks Middle School, Gaston School District, Muslim Educational Trust and Woodside Consulting.
Greenspaces Restoration & Urban Naturalist Team (GRUNT)
Portland Parks & Recreation
Amount: $30,000
The GRUNT program connects at-risk teens to nature through year-round environmental education, stewardship, recreation and employment. About 175 youth participants, many from culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged communities, complete 600 hours of stewardship and learn job skills to be successful in pursuing environmental careers. The program also provides long-term mentoring and career connections, with the goal of seeing more diverse people choosing an environmental career path. Partners include All Hands Raised, Student and Family Refugee Network, and many individual teachers and councilors serving schools and organizations in culturally diverse communities.
Johnson Creek Riparian Reforestation
Johnson Creek Watershed Council
Amount: $25,000
The Johnson Creek Watershed Council will help native plants thrive on 20 high-priority sites to protect past investments and stay on track for restoration goals. The project will provide tree cover along more than two miles of Johnson Creek and its tributary streams, covering a total of 20 acres. Activities include planting 10,000 new plants, removing invasive species, and seeding and mulching plantings. The work enhances partnerships with public and private landowners, providing on-the-ground assistance and helping train them to take over future maintenance. Partners include the City of Gresham, the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Parks & Recreation, Multnomah Youth Cooperative and private landowners.
Meldrum Bar Park Habitat, Education and Job Training
Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership
Amount: $23,074
The Meldrum Bar Park project will build on the success of previous and current work at this 11-acre natural area in Gladstone. At-risk teens, local school students and community volunteers will remove invasive plants and install native trees and shrubs in three new portions of the natural area. Nearly 50 at-risk youth will participate in a job training program in partnership with the Clackamas County Juvenile Department, which provides job skills training, college credit and restitution. About 350 fourth- through sixth-grade students from 14 classrooms will receive three in-class lessons to prepare for a service learning field trip. Four community volunteer days will engage about 100 people in natural area restoration. The project also connects to larger restoration efforts at the adjacent Rinearson Creek Wetlands. Partners include Wilderness International, the City of Gladstone, Clackamas County Juvenile Department, SOLVE and Friends of Rinearson Creek.
Sandy River Access Plan
City of Troutdale
Amount: $15,000
The Sandy River Access Plan will identify the best solutions for community access and trail design along a portion of the lower Sandy River in downtown Troutdale. The goal is to allow people to enjoy the Sandy River for angling and other recreational activities, while restoring and safeguarding riparian habitat along one-third mile of riverfront. An ADA-accessible platform is included in preliminary designs. The trail project will complete a section of the 40-Mile Loop, connecting Troutdale residents to the trails along the Columbia River and creating a new riverfront destination for regional trail users.
Springwater Ecology Project
Oliver P. Lent School, Portland Public Schools
Amount: $29,750
The Springwater Ecology Project provides experiential learning opportunities for underserved students and community members, advancing a partnership among Lent School, local nonprofits, residents and the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and Parks & Recreation. During the two-year project, Lent students will receive 48 hands-on ecology lessons, engage in 12 field trips and participate in hands-on habitat restoration with Ed Kerns of the Lents Springwater Habitat Restoration Project – which will also host 20 community planting days. All told, restoration efforts will add 4,000 native plants in this nature-deficient area.