Certified Backyard Habitat. Click to enlarge

The Backyard Habitat Certification Program

By Neta Courcey
Certified Backyard Habitat
Wilkes East Resident

Like neighborhoods are to cities, cities to counties, and counties to states, backyard habitats connect our yards to greenways and to wilderness, providing the essential pathways of interconnectedness that nourish the larger community. Communities of humans thrive when they are connected to each other and to the larger community. Just as neighborhood groups like Wilkes East are essential to building and maintaining the larger community, backyard habitats are essential to the community of birds and other wildlife. The swath of habitat that neighbors create is vital, providing refuge areas containing food, water, nesting places and shelter. I am proud to have my little yard be a piece of the bigger network that creates a web of natural habitats throughout the Portland metropolitan area and the Pacific Northwest.

by Monica McAllister
Nadaka Nature Park Coordinator

Summer is here, delicious berries are ripe, baby birds are taking flight, and we hope you have been able to get out and enjoy it all at Nadaka Nature Park! The past couple of months have been bustling with families enjoying the new swing set, community members gathering for parties at the picnic shelter, gardeners tending their veggies and flowers, and nature lovers of all ages exploring the forest. The past few months ‘Friends of Nadaka’ (FON) has been hard at work providing environmental education activities, community events, and stewardship opportunities for our neighbors, schools, and partnering organizations.

We are most excited about the upcoming Seventh Annual Nadaka Nature Park Festival that will take place August 12th from 12-3pm. This family friendly event will include a visit from the Audubon Society of Portland’s Education Birds, free hot dogs and drinks, crafts, games, face painting, dance and music performances. Various partnering organizations will have information booths and fun hands on activities for the whole family. We would love to have volunteers from the Wilkes East neighborhood to help with the event. If you are interested please contact Monica, the Nadaka Coordinator.

2017 Summer Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

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Inside This Issue:   Rockwood Town Center Awaits Approval Come Visit Zimmerman House Backyard Habitat, Providing Community Nadaka Update, Happenings & More Neighborhood Meeting, Aug 14th 7PM

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

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Bring Your Gloves, and a Friend! When: Wednesday & Saturday Weekly Where: Vance Park Pollinator Garden (behind the Park Place Cafe) 1400 SE 182nd Ave Gresham, OR Get Map!

Bee the first on your block to help us plant flowers for our new community pollinator garden at Vance Park! We must get these native and other bee-friendly plants, generously provided by the City of Gresham, in the ground in time for our V.I.P. (Very Important Pollinator) visitors.

So bring your garden gloves, water bottle and flower power spirit to the Vance Park Peace Garden, each and every Wednesday and Saturday, from 12 to 3 (weather permitting), beginning Wednesday, April 12th. Refreshments and tools will be provided. 1400 SE 182nd Ave, Gresham. The garden is the fenced area behind the Park Place Cafe parking lot, on the north western side of the park off of 182nd.

As you help build this new pollinator garden, you'll also learn more about our North American native bees and what you can do to help them in your own backyard. Celeste, our local native bee advocate, will be available at all the planting parties to answer any questions you may have about these essential pollinators and the flowers they visit.

We ask that you please confirm your attendance by contacting Keri Handaly, City Watershed Steward, at 503 618-2657, or by emailing her at: Keri.Handaly@GreshamOregon.gov. You may also contact Celeste directly at celeste.ets.hokin@gmail.com, if you have any questions about a planting event or to confirm attendance. This will help us keep track of how many people plan to participate on a given day and enable us to communicate directly with volunteers, should there be any last minute changes to the schedule due to weather or other factors.

See you there!

2017 Spring Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

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Inside This Issue:   Rockwood Town Center Design Chosen Friends of the Children in Rockwood Improving Bicycle Safety Along Halsey New Wilkes Elementary, Mar 14, 6PM Nadaka Update, Happenings & More Earth Day Recycling, City Hall 4/22

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

View archive   |   Policy & Ad Rates

2016 Fall Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

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Inside This Issue:   Gresham Women’s Shelter Update Nadaka Park Delights Neighbors Reynolds HS Athletics Hall of Fame Holiday Cooking: Freeze the Grease WENA Board Elections Nov 14, 6PM

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

View archive   |   Policy & Ad Rates

Complete with bird walks, play spaces, and a community garden—and soon Gresham’s first handicapped-accessible swing.

Source: Portland Monthly Magazine (November 2016)

One spring morning in 2007, Lee Dayfield took her dog for a walk. As she passed an empty field, she saw a sign that would forever change her life. It read “for sale.”

The desolate plot of grass sat next to 10 acres ringed by a chain-link fence and barbed wire. Where others may have seen a $900,000 meadow, Dayfield saw a two-acre opportunity: a nature-based play area for the Gresham neighborhood’s children, many of them Native American.

2016 Summer Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

Read it now!

Inside This Issue:   Shelters Quickly Fill with Homeless Waterside Apt Selects Design Summer Happenings at Nadaka Wilkes Elementary Design Chosen 6th Nadaka Festival, Sat Aug 20th WENA Summer Meeting, Aug 22, 7PM

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

View archive   |   Policy & Ad Rates

We are beginning design. Help us this June!

WHAT IT IS: We're creating an economic engine to transform Rockwood into a prosperous, healthy, and thriving community that welcomes and creates opportunities for all.

WHERE: A 5.5-acre Commission owned property at 18535 SE Stark Street - the former Fred Meyer site. We are designing several new buildings and a public plaza.

Visit us at Rock the Block! Friday June 3rd, 3pm-8pm Saturday June 4th, 10am-4pm 30-minute "Place It!" hands-on workshops will happen both days - Friday at 4pm and 6pm, and Saturday at 11am and 2:30pm in the STEAM tent. Visit our booth and learn more about the project, engage with the interactive model and learn about the architectural process from our development team and designers.

What's Next? Learn. Listen. Speak Out June 8 Sunrise Community Center 18901 E Burnside, Gresham, OR Doors open at 6pm. Presentation at 6:30pm. Food, translation, and childcare provided. Join us to preview design concepts, give feedback and provide ideas for future development. Meet the development team and city staff working on the project!

S-t-r-e-t-c-h  your grocery dollar!

Enjoy the freshest produce, flowers, and plant starts direct from the garden.

Healthy and fresh
Farmer’s markets are a fantastic source for fresh, seasonal, locally produced foods and artisan products. Plus, you'll find great activities and fun for the whole family. Come experience the markets. Meet the vendors. Meet local cooks. Enjoy the freshest produce and products. Make your own statement in support of local food.

2018 Portland's Eastside Farmer's Markets

• Fairview Farmers' & Artists' Market (Apr 7-Oct 2)
• Gresham Saturday Market (Apr 16th-Sep 24th)
• Gresham Farmers Market (May 7th-Oct 29th)
• Hollywood Farmers' Market (year-round)
• Lents International Farmers' Market (Jun 5-Doc 30)
• Lloyd Farmers Market (year-round)
• Montavilla Farmers Market (year-round)
• Parkrose Farmers Market (May 7-Sep 10)
• Portland Farmers Market (year-round)
• Rockwood Farmers Market (Jun 12-Oct 16)
• Troutdale Farmers' and Artists' Market (year-round)
• Other Area Farmers Markets

(Complete details on these area markets below)

You'll find plenty of root vegetables, braising greens and lettuces, and of course plant starts for your own vegetable garden.

Bring your reusable shopping bags and plenty of small bills, though some of the markets will trade you a credit/debit card for wooden tokens that all vendors accept, which can be easier to handle than cash. We've indicated those markets that accept EBT or other food assistant coupons.