Community Watershed Stewardship Program info

Over the past year, I've had the pleasure of working with IRCO on the intergenerational garden through the organization I work for, the Community Watershed Stewardship Grants Program, which aims to improve Portland’s watershed health.

Improving the quality of water in Portland’s rivers requires us to improve the health of the whole landscape, from the river’s edge to our neighborhoods, community spaces, and backyards; and it requires us all to be involved.  That’s why IRCO and IRCO’s participants are such important partners, bringing together people from all generations and all backgrounds and bringing some amazing energy and creativity for the work they do.
 
Our grants can be used for many different types of projects to achieve many different community goals.  Here are a few ideas:

• Remove asphalt and concrete from your community place, and plant native plants, trees, or bark chips for children to play on.
• Create a native plant learning area at your school or community garden, with plants, trails, and information about the plants and which animals use them for food.  
• Organize a bike tour for your community group to learn how to get to their local natural areas.
• Take groups on field trips to parks, natural areas, and rivers to learn about wildlife, fish, plants and nature. 
• Take youth to city natural areas to plant trees and plants with city workers and learn about natural history.

For more information on Community Watershed Stewardship grants, and project planning services we provide, please visit www.portlandonline.com/bes/stewardship or call Rebecca Hamilton at 503.823.7917.

- Garrett Phillips, CWSP Program

How the project began

I began planning a garden on my first day as Manager of Cherry Blossom Loaves & Fishes in the East Portland Community Center. It simply seemed to be an obvious first task.

After all, every community center needs a garden. It is a natural extension of the mission of Portland Parks & Recreation to enhance the neighborhood by providing opportunities to grow the joy and benefits of a healthy and communal lifestyle. Likewise, it is a natural progression of the Loaves & Fishes vision: no senior goes hungry or experiences social isolation. These complimentary goals are firmly rooted in the soil of a garden. Our lives are made stronger by healthy foods and sharing.

Many hands make light loads.

I turned first to Steve Bergeron, President of Willamette Lodge #24 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union. In the past, the union had sponsored a pancake breakfast – but I needed a deeper commitment…and a bunch of burly men with pickup trucks. Steve was just the choice! Right away he understood the importance of the project and promised that the union would do all they could to help. With this first step, I began building the consortium that became the nucleus of what is certain to be a great venture…

- Robert Bradley, Cherry Blossom Loaves & Fishes

Design team perspective

Shortly after graduating from the Master of Architecture program at the University of Oregon in Portland I was given the opportunity to share some of my knowledge with a small group of students from the Art Institute. While helping to develop the course syllabus with the primary course instructor, William Taylor, we were brainstorming ideas about how to add greater value to the course. Our solution was to investigate the City of Portland's "green" initiatives and attempt to find a way that we could use the class to support their endeavors.

After sending out some e-mails to various city officials, we were put in touch with a focus group from the Bureau of Environmental Services. This is where we learned about the Water Stewardship Grant program, Independence Gardens, and the East Portland Community Center Intergenerational Garden. When this project was put on the table we jumped at the chance to participate.

Helping to design and visualize a garden that would allow seniors and refugees to provide for themselves and make connections with the community at large couldn't have been a more perfect fit for the type of project we were looking to do. Not only did it incorporate ideas about a more sustainable way of life; it also addressed rich social aspects. Could there be any greater cause?

It has fascinated me that even during the worst of times gardens act a centers for growth and regeneration not only for plants but also of mental and physical well-being of the people maintaining them. Food is a universal need that can be used to bring people from any background together.

Our class focused on these topics helping to develop preliminary design concepts, using advanced computer visualization techniques to generate diagrams and realistic renderings of what the garden could potentially become. Although the physical space is small, there are large implications behind this type of work.

A more sustainable way of living is not accomplished in one move at one time, but rather takes small steps in the right direction. It has been an honor to be able to participate in such an exciting project.

- John Hutton, Art Institute project team

Garden Timeline

Phase 1:

Sept 2011 – Jan 2012:

• Discussions with Portland Parks and Recreation about signage, garden bed materials, & garden design 
• Signs are designed and IRCO translates signs

Feb 2012:

• Design is set by Feb 1, 2012 
• “Groundbreaking” or Bed Raising Ceremony 
• Garden beds and path construction  
• Presentations about the garden to IRCO senior groups 
• Begin Photovoice project with EPCC participants 
• Volunteer Recruitment begins 
• Volunteer orientations and schedules start

March 15th 2012:

• Garden beds and paths completed 
• Signs put up

March 30th 2012:

• Soil added

April 2012:

• Volunteer work parties begin 
• First planting begins – focus on indigenous plants 
• Continue volunteer orientations

May 2012:

• Continue planing – focus on indigenous edibles, and other edibles 
• BES Watershed Stewardship Class: Riparian Ecosystem health

June 2012:

• Invite SUN school programs to tour the garden 
• Robert Bradley begins teaching 5 week garden and watershed class

Phase 2:

July 2012:

• A second round of garden and watershed classes offered

August 2012:

• Summer Garden Event
• Partner thank you Event 
• Evaluation of garden activities

October 2012:

• Fall Harvest Festival  
• Coordinate planning and funding for upcoming season 
• Assess the benefits of expansion

November 2012:

• Cover crops and winter garden preparation 
• Prepare Photovoice Presentations

December 2012-March 2013:

• Prepare for next season 
• Present Photovoice project in EPCC, in IRCO, at Loaves and Fishes location TBD 
• Have expansion design and funding set (if applicable)

April 2013:

• Prepare garden beds for upcoming season 
• Build new expanded areas if applicable

PD(x) Lab's Garden Design

PD(x) Lab has generously donated time and expertise to help us design the garden.  Long term sustainability and community involvement are two integral features of the PD(x) Lab plan. 

Learn more about PD(x) Lab at http://pdxlab.ning.com/.

Click on the images for a larger view.

Welcome

Building the garden at Africa House. 

The garden at EPCC will also be a community effort.

The Intergenerational Community Garden, located at the East Portland Community Center, seeks to provide locally grown food to the Cherry Blossom Loaves and Fishes senior meal site.  Cherry Blossom Loaves and Fishes is a part of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) Senior Services.   


The Intergenerational Garden will consist of seventeen elder-friendly beds.  Both edible and non-edible plants, native and culturally appropriate varieties, will be cultivated to express and connect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of IRCO's clients.  Pesticides will not be used and the garden will replace a lawn that is currently treated with chemicals and fertilizer, thereby improving the health of the Willamette River Watershed.


As a community garden, seniors will be encouraged to participate in seeding and harvesting, and innovative  garden-bed design will enable  access for participants who have limited flexibility and/or are wheelchair bound.    In addition to feeding seniors at EPCC, food from the garden will be distributed through the Oregon Food Bank Harvest Share program.  


Education and community involvement is a core component of the garden, therefore classes ranging from gardening to watershed and riparian health, will be taught at the garden site by the Garden Coordinator, Robert Bradley, and the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) educator, Lynne Vanderkamp.  




Why East Portland?

East Portland is an under-served part of the city.  The garden hopes to meet the needs of foreign-born, elderly, and/or disabled residents of East Portland.  According to ADSD data, low-income and immigrant communities are increasing faster in East Portland than anywhere else in the city.  





Contact

•  Nicole Baker-Wagner, IRCO's Senior Services Unit     Manager, nicolb@mail.irco.org
•  Robert Bradley, Cherry Blossom Loaves and Fishes Program Manager, rbradley@lfcpdx.org 
• Jessie Mandle, Aging and Disability Services jessie.mandle@multco.us
• Karen Wolfgang
independencegardenspdx@gmail.com

Community Partnerships
 
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)      www.irco.org/  

Independence Gardens     
www.IndependenceGardensPDX.com                                            

PD(x) Lab   
http://pdxlab.ning.com/

Bureau of Environmental Services
www.portlandonline.com/bes/

The Boeing Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union        http://iam751.wordpress.com/tag/international-association-of-machinists-aerospace-workers/  

Sunderland Recycling Facility
 http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?a=319723&c=47144

 University of Oregon Landscape Design Graduate Students
http://landarch.uoregon.edu/  

The Oregon Food Bank

http://www.oregonfoodbank.org/?c=129676874296827308  

The America the Beautiful Foundation
www.america-the-beautiful.org/

Portland Nursery
www.portlandnursery.com/

Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services Division
www.multco.us/ads