Portland’s first official nature play area is officially open!

On any given day, Portland’s brand new nature-based play area at Westmoreland Park is packed with up to a hundred kids playing in the sand and water area, climbing on the boulder and log climbing features, or building forts with large sequoia branches. Parents are not only watching the imaginative play that all the natural elements inspire, but are also participating with the kids to explore the play area’s unique features. Located in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood of Portland, Westmoreland Nature Play Area was born of the desire to update the existing outdated play area and replace it with a 100% custom nature-based play environment. The total play area is approximately one acre and allows families to build their own play experience.  The project received a 2014 Honor Award from the Oregon Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects. GreenWorks was selected by Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) to update the existing outdated playground and replace it with a 100% custom nature-based play environment. PP&R recognized the value in nature-based play for local children and proposed that the Westmoreland Playground be a pilot project for a natural play environment. GreenWorks worked with the client, public, and design team to define how nature-based play would function for this particular site. The design team included environmental artist, Adam Kuby. Adam not only helped envision individual artistic elements within the park as play features, but also collaborated with the design team on the overall conceptual design of the playground that represents the restoration of the adjacent Crystal Springs.

Pringle Creek is a "Diamond for Sustainability"

Check out this recent article by Margaret Buranen at Stormwater: The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals about green infrastructure in stormwater management, featuring a recent GreenWorks project in Salem, OR! Pringle Creek Community is one of Oregon’s most low-impact residential developments, and as the first sustainable housing and mixed-use project spanning 32 acres of a total 250 scheduled for development, Pringle Creek is pioneering green initiatives in southeast Salem.

Pringle Creek is, according to the Community’s general manager Jane Poznar, “a diamond for sustainability” with its 7,000 feet of green streets, 2,000 feet of green alleys, and a newly ‘salmon safe’ creek (from which the community gets its name). Regarding stormwater, Buranen notes that Pringle Creek Community is also home to “one of the largest pervious asphalt street systems in the United States,” handling 90% of runoff onsite.

GreenWorks was responsible for collaboration on the design of the Community’s green streets and rain gardens, pedestrian pathways and greenway enhancement, woonerfs and public recreational spaces, overall landscape treatment and the Village Green open space.

The project was awarded the Land Development of the Year Award in 2007 from the National Home Builder's Association.

Groundbreaking at Trillium Creek Park

 

City of Damascus and North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District recently celebrated the groundbreaking at Trillium Creek Park. Trillium will be the City’s first full-fledged neighborhood park consisting of a large playground, basketball court, picnic area, and open lawn all developed within a one acre footprint. The layout of the park provides a balance of uses and a playground that is inclusive for children of all abilities. The playground design incorporated an accessible path that will lead children to an high point on the site connecting them to a playground structure that sits five-feet high above the surrounding playground.

After working with the City, NCPRD, and community over the last two years developing the concept and construction drawings for the park, we are excited to see the project moving forward and getting built. T-Edge Construction is the contractor.

GreenWorks Uses Werbin Park Project as Teaching Tool for Youth Program

As part of the Werbin Park development with the City of Portland Parks & Recreation, GreenWorks is supporting the Cully Neighborhood’s commitment to social equity. GreenWorks is providing outreach for underprivileged neighborhood children who, ultimately, are the true clients of this new park. The Werbin Park project is being used as a platform for teaching kids in the program about park design and the building process.  Partnered with Verde and Hacienda’s Expresiones after school program which engages 5th, 6th and 7th graders during the summer, GreenWorks is providing a series of events with Expresiones. The program consists of six weeks of activities including a site visit to Werbin Park and other similar parks. On the first field trip to GreenWorks, students learned about the design process, saw how construction drawings are put together, and participated in activities to develop their design skills. GreenWorks employees Ben Johnson, Claire Maulhardt and Jeff Boggess planned the interactive office visit with the students. GreenWorks is working with Travis Ruybal (City of Portland), Tony Defalco and Nestor Campos (Verde), and Anna Gordon (Expresiones, Hacienda) in planning the summer field trips.

Metro Natural Areas Levy Passed!

On Tuesday, Metro region voters approved a property tax levy to pay for parks and natural areas funding. The tax will provide Metro with approximately $10 million a year for maintenance and restoration at its properties. Read the full article here. GreenWorks is pleased that the region has spoken in favor of funding parks and natural areas. As landscape architects we support this movement to protect the area’s vibrant network of outdoor destinations and protected land. As volunteers and consultants we’ve collaborated with Metro for many years and look forward to working together on future projects that safeguard our parks and natural areas for future generations.

Wilsonville SMART Operations Fleet Facility Construction Complete

Construction has been completed on the City of Wilsonville South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART)  Operations Fleet Facility.  The project includes a 12,600 square foot Fleet and Administration Building located on an approximately 4.5 acre site.  Site improvements include employee and bus parking, fleet maintenance, and administrative services, and is located on SW Boberg Road adjacent to the Wilsonville Westside Express Service (WES) Station. Design services provided by GreenWorks, include Conceptual Site Design and Grading Coordination, type ‘C’ Tree Preservation and Removal Plans, and Final Construction Documentation.  The design team developed a budget sensitive sustainable plan that embraces the natural characteristics of the site, and architectural design features.  Habitat and buffering improvements integrated adjacent to the Significant Resource Overlay Zone (SROZ), provide a transition and embraced the landscape strategy of incorporating native and drought tolerant plants, in combination with a temporary irrigation system.  Stormwater is managed through on site conveyance in channels and basins, and is celebrated through roof rainwater capture and outfall at architectural scuppers along the building entrance.

It's National Arbor Month and National Landscape Architecture Month!

April is a busy month for landscape architects and lovers of trees.  This month is dedicated to Arbor Month and National Landscape Architecture Month (NLAM). The City of Portland began the celebration for Arbor Month by adorning valuable trees with price tags.  The city is holding events all month long for those interested in getting involved and learning about Portland’s trees!

On the national front, National Landscape Architecture Month brings awareness to the profession and our role in the built environment. This year’s theme is Healthy Living Through Design.  Check it out!

Grant High School Community Garden Construction Complete!

Northeast Portland Community Gardeners are happily planting, watering, weeding and harvesting food from their plots at the Grant High School Community Garden. The Environmental Club at the High School teamed up with Portland Community Gardens to transform a 7,700 square foot piece of lawn in the front of the school to a garden for the surrounding community. GreenWorks provided the garden design to maximize plot size, provide clear circulation, and create an aesthetically pleasing space that fits the context of the historic architecture of the school and neighborhood.

Grant High School Community Garden

The Environmental Club at Grant High School in Northeast Portland is in the process of establishing a Community Garden and a Learning Garden in the front of the school. Their inspiration for the gardens came from a desire to give back to the local community, provide fresh food from the garden to the cafeteria, and learn about sustainable agriculture. The students received a grant from State Farm and have teamed up with Portland Community Gardens to make their dream a reality. The Environmental Club enlisted the help of GreenWorks to create a design for the garden that would be aesthetically pleasing to the surrounding community, include two ADA accessible plots, and maximize the available garden space.

The gardens are located in front of the school in the NE corner of the existing lawn on NE 36th Avenue. Portland Community Gardens will assign the community garden plots on a first come first served basis. The learning garden will be maintained by the environmental club and sustainable agriculture classes as well as the biology, special education and Japanese departments.

On February 16th the Environmental Club and Portland Community Gardens held a Town Hall event where they invited the local community to ask questions and express their concerns about the garden. The attendees voiced an enormous amount of support and enthusiasm for the project. Neighbors are eager to get a spot secured and start gardening!

GreenWorks was honored to contribute to the creation of the Grant High School Community and Learning Gardens. The Environmental Club has been working on the garden's implementation for over a year now, coming up against many set-backs and logistical road blocks. They are truly a remarkable group of students who simply wanted to give back to the surrounding community, supply their cafeteria with fresh and healthy food and provide an opportunity for future students to learn about sustainable agriculture. Follow the Grant High School Community Garden blog here.

Future Recreational Attraction on the Deschutes River in Downtown Bend, OR

Recently, the Bend Park & Recreation District has been working on a plan to alter the spillway on the Deschutes River at the Colorado Dam in downtown Bend to enable kayakers and inner-tubers to ride downstream without having to maneuver around the dam. The Colorado Avenue Dam creates an impoundment that was once used to support lumber mill operations and also maintains surface water levels upstream in the Mill District area. The dam is located in an area of the river that is heavily used during the summer months by people on inflatable rafts and inner-tubes. The current configuration blocks downstream passage and requires all river users to exit the river and put-in downstream. The dam creates a pinning hazard exposing a high number of users to the potential of being swept into the dam.

GreenWorks, as part of a team including OTAK, Pacific Habitat Resources, and RiverRestoration.org, provided a design for safe passage over the existing Colorado Dam for many types of river users including inflatable crafts, and hardshell boats like kayaks and canoes. The design includes whitewater play features, a higher pedestrian bridge and increased habitat diversity along the river. By incorporating a fish passage and on-bank habitat restoration, improvements to McKay Park, and removal of the existing pedestrian bridge, the design will achieve improved safety for river users and environmental conditions of the river.