Nadaka Nature Park and Garden Project gets a boost with Metro funding award

Nadaka Nature Park & Garden Project gets a boost. Regional Funding improves access to West Gresham nature park and supports community garden. Info here!

Friday May 18, 2012
For Immediate Release

Regional funding improves access to West Gresham nature park and supports community garden

On May 17th the Metro Council awarded $238,000 in capital funding to the Nadaka Nature Park and Garden Project, building momentum to this community-driven garden and nature park project in West Gresham. The competitive Metro grant award comes from capital bond funds approved by voters as part of the 2006 Regional Natural Areas Bond Measure and will support new park features like a nature based-play area, rain garden, community garden and more. The new funding adds to over $150,000 in existing financial support from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, Meyer Memorial Trust and the City of Gresham. To date, the project includes over $40K in volunteer hours and in-kind donations.


Nadaka Nature Park and Garden Project
Nurturing Nature, Food, and Families in West Gresham

Nadaka Nature Park & Garden Project gets a boost. Regional Funding improves access to West Gresham nature park and supports community garden. Info here! Nadaka Nature Park and Garden Project is an outgrowth of past voter-approved open space bond measures and recent community efforts which secured public ownership of the 10-acre natural area and an adjacent 2-acre neighborhood park site on the border of Wilkes East and Rockwood Neighborhoods.

A diverse mix of seventeen organizations including neighborhood associations, crime prevention groups, churches, schools, social service agencies, natural resource conservation groups, and local governments are collaborating on the project to expand and improve access to nature in the Rockwood Town Center while creating local jobs and improving access to healthy food.

Nadaka Nature Park & Garden Project gets a boost. Regional Funding improves access to West Gresham nature park and supports community garden. Info here!

Project collaborators are currently raising funds and creating construction documents to develop the 2-acre nature-based neighborhood park located next to St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church on NE Glisan (17405 Northeast Glisan Street). Based on a City-approved Master Plan, this new neighborhood park will include a community garden, orchard and berry patch, natural meadow, pathways, restrooms, nature-based play area, and a community gathering area. By adding 60 new community garden plots this project would double the number of plots in the City of Gresham, improve garden plot distribution, and help reach Multnomah County’s Climate Action Plan goal of 1,000 new garden plots by 2012. The innovative project is developing and implementing a 5-year operation and maintenance plan to enhance habitat, remove invasive species and diseased trees, and provide a variety of nature-based education programming related to wildlife, gardening, and stormwater management. Both capital improvements and the operation and maintenance plan aim to create local jobs and workforce training opportunities. Individuals interested in getting involved are encouraged to attend the May 30th Nadaka Nature Park and Garden Project Committee meeting (see details below).

Donations Sought
The Nadaka Nature Park and Garden Project is seeking cash and in-kind donations from individuals and business to implement the Master Plan. We need donated labor, planting materials, gravel and soil amendments, and other materials and supplies. Cash donations will also help us achieve our fundraising goals. Please contact Jane Van Dyke at jane.vandyke@columbiaslough.org to find out how you can help.

Discover Nadaka: 2012 Spring & Summer Events
We invite residents and supporters to get involved by joining us at a series of spring and summer events to celebrate and improve Nadaka while building momentum for implement the City-adopted Master Plan. These events include:

  • May 24th: Nadaka Nature Park Clean-Up, 9am-Noon. Meet at the north entrance to Nadaka Nature Park located along NE Pacific Street between NE 175th and 176th
  • May 30th: Nadaka Project Committee Meeting at St. Aidan’s Church (17405 Northeast Glisan Street), 9:00 to 11:30 AM. Please join us in this collaborative effort. For info contact Jane Van Dyke (jane.vandyke@columbiaslough.org, 503-281-1132)
  • May 31: Audubon Society of Portland Morning Bird Walk, 7:30AM – 8:30AM. Meet at the north entrance to Nadaka Nature Park located along NE Pacific Street between NE 175th and 176th
  • June: Nadaka Project Committee Meeting and Site Tour. Date/Time TBD. For info contact Jane Van Dyke (jane.vandyke@columbiaslough.org, 503-281-1132)
  • July: Nadaka Nature Park Clean-Up, Date & Time TBD.
    6.August 11, Nadaka Community Festival & Clean-Up, 9:00am to 3:00pm. This annual event will include food, music, games and activities for youth, Audubon Society of Portland’s education birds, and more! Come out and celebrate Nadaka!
  • September: Nadaka Nature Park Clean-Up, Date & Time TBD

Event Updates at www.friendsofnadaka.org. More Nadaka Nature Park & Garden project info here.

Supporters
Nadaka Nature Park is supported in part through the generous efforts of these organizations: (Hover supporter's logo for additional information)

Audubon Society of Portland. Building a region where people and wildlife flourish together
Audubon Society
of Portland
The Trust for Public Land conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come
The Trust For
Public Land
East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District: We help people care for their land
East Multnomah Soil &
Water Conservation District

Wilkes East Neighborhood, PO Box 536, Fairview OR 97024. Diversity, Harmony, Community -- Together we can make a difference
Wilkes East Neighborhood
Association
Your elected regional government, Metro is helping to make the Portland metropolitan area an extraordinary place to live, work and play
Oregon Metro
Regional Government
St Aidan's Episcopal Church, Gresham Oregon. Spread the Promise of Jesus Christ in and beyond our community through worship, education, fellowship, and outreach
St Aidan's
Episcopal Church
SOLVE, It's our nature to volunteer. Oregonians volunteering to improve the environment and build a legacy of stewardship
SOLVE
Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Portland OR. To foster action to protect, enhance, restore and revitalize the Slough and its watershed
Columbia Slough
Watershed Council
Eastrose Fellowship Unitarian Universalist - a Welcoming Congregation. A liberal religious fellowship in East Multnomah County,  Gresham, Oregon.
Eastrose Fellowship UU
Human Solutions - Building Pathways out of Poverty. Helping eliminate barriers to escaping poverty through emergency family shelter, job training, affordable housing, eviction prevention, and emergency household assistance.
Human Solutions
Schools Uniting Neighborhoods. SUN builds student success and strengthens communities by expanding school-based services for children, parents and neighborhood residents.
Schools Uniting
Neighborhoods
H.B. Lee Middle School is located at the mouth of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. Part of the Reynolds School District, serving several smaller suburban towns in the East Portland & Gresham, Oregon metropolitan area.
HB Lee Middle School
Verde NW - Bridging the Green Divide. Improving the economic health of disadvantaged communities by creating environmental job training, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities, fostering the connection between economic vitality and environmental protection and restoration.
Verde NW
Coalition for a Livable Future. Working to protect, restore, and maintain healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities. The Coalition for a Livable Future unites over 100 diverse organizations and hundreds of individuals to promote healthy and sustainable communities in the Portland-Vancouver region.
Coalition for a
Livable Future
SnowCap Community Charities is a philanthropic organization created to provide food, clothing, advocacy and other services to the poor. New programs included English language instruction, community gardens, and home delivered food boxes for seniors. Founded in 1967, SnowCap has served the needs of over 1.4 million people in East Multnomah County.<br />
SnowCap
Community Charities
The goal of the Rockwood Neighborhood Association is to bring together our diverse residents and give them opportunities to become involved in their community and foster a sense of neighborhood pride.
Rockwood Neighborhood
Association
Pacific Gardens - Alzhiemer's Special Care center. Providing quality personal services for our residents, while honoring the experience of aging.
Pacific Gardens
Special Care Center
The Rockwood Community Action Team meets every first Monday of each month<br />
at the Rockwood Library, 179th SE Stark, Gresham OR, from 2:30pm -4pm. For more contact Sandra Casillas by phone at 503-707-6074, or email rockwoodaction@gmail.com Grow Portland is an entrepreneurial nonprofit organization dedicated to the expansion of urban gardening and urban agriculture in the Portland metro area. To grow healthy food, the organization uses a simple, powerful approach: connect diverse populations with knowledge, supplies and land.
Grow Portland
Meyer Memorial Trust. Investing in people, ideas and efforts that deliver significant social benifit to Oregon and Clark County, Washington
Meyer Memorial Trust