West Gresham

Columbia View Park. Click to enlarge

Gresham parks languish as funds dry up. Neighbors pitch-in to care for Columbia View Park.

Gresham $32 million behind in park maintenance

Because of lack of funds the City's Parks Department has only been able to mow the perimeter of Columbia View Park (See 'Related Content' below. Editor). Columbia View Park is located at NE 169th & NE Pacific Dr. Get Map!

Neighbors pitch-in

Neighbors who frequent the park have been picking up litter, mowing areas the City isn't, mulching around new trees, hauling debris to disposal stations and watering young trees that have been planted in the last couple of years. A big THANK YOU to these many volunteers.

How you can help

Some ivy is beginning to appear under the tree canopy areas and this needs to be removed before it spreads to the trees. This is something anyone can do anytime on their own. It is a good project to take your children to the park, teach them to identify ivy and remove it. This activity can be as simple as taking one grocery bag, filling it with ivy, taking it home and disposing of it.

Click to enlarge

Get your Green on! Join us for Invasives removal at Nadaka Nature Park

solv.org

Help restore our urban habitat

When: Saturday, Oct 10, 2009 9AM-2:30PM
Where: Nadaka Nature Park
NE 175th Ave & NE Pacific St
Gresham, Or
Get Map!

Volunteers will meet at the entry gate into Nadaka Nature Park.

Event Info

Be prepared to get a little dirty and to have fun by supporting and volunteering with Friends of Nadaka and Wilkes East Neighborhood Association in their efforts to restore this natural area by removing invasive underbrush such as ivy, holly & blackberries Saturday, October 10th,

This is a SOLV Clean & Green Project. Rain or shine! Come by and give us a hand. Spend all day or whatever time you can. Bring your own gloves if you have them.

Refreshments will be provided by Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. Cloth tote bags given to volunteers and a raffle for an original framed photograph of Nadaka.

Volunteers paint the plaza Click to enlarge

Splashes of Color mark a new beginning! Plaza del Sol comes to the Rockwood Cultural Marketplace

Rockwood, Sep 19, 2009
When Rockwood coverage happens its commonly due to negative events. So, we felt it was very important to share an amazing community building event that took place today in Rockwood.

Welcome Rockwood's Plaza Del Sol painting!

Plaza del Sol is one of several new interim uses being sited by the Gresham Redevelopment Commission on the Cultural Marketplace (former Fred Meyer store) property in Rockwood at SE 187th & SE Stark St. Get Map!

The plaza is the first piece of a recently approved interim use plan for the Rockwood Cultural Marketplace to transform the site with new sidewalks, paths, benches, a wildflower garden, play area, basketball courts, a food-cart area, and many other family friendly activities.

Using supplies donated by Parr Lumber and Miller Paint, volunteers worked throughout the day to paint the huge 13,000-square-foot “Plaza del Sol,” a colorful scale model of the solar system on the Southeast corner of the site.

Click here for details!

Put on your painting clothes! Come Help Paint Plaza del Sol at the Rockwood Cultural Marketplace (187th & Stark) Friday, Sep 18th 2009

Come for an hour, or come for the day!

When: Friday, Sep 18, 2009 9:30AM-6PM
Where: Rockwood Cultural Marketplace
(former Fred Meyer site)
SE 187th & SE Stark St
Gresham, OR
Get Map!

Help us paint the Plaza!

Plaza del Sol is one of several new interim uses being sited by the Gresham Redevelopment Commission on the Cultural Marketplace (former Fred Meyer store) property in Rockwood.

Volunteers are needed to help paint the “Plaza del Sol,” a scale model of the solar system. Come for an hour or come for the day! Wear casual clothes if you want to paint.

Food and refreshments will be provided for volunteers. Pastries by La Mexicana Market, burritos by Don Pedro, and coffee and hot chocolate by Dutch Bros Coffee. Supplies donated by Parr Lumber and Miller Paint.

Zimmerman House 1874

Enjoy an afternoon on the farm! Zimmerman Heritage Farm Open House 10AM - 3PM

When: Saturday Sep 19, 2009 10:00AM - 3:00PM
Where: Zimmerman Park
17111 NE Sandy Blvd
Gresham OR
Get Map!

A delightful 1874 Victorian farmhouse

Take a step back into history at the Zimmermann House, a Victorian era farmhouse, built in 1874 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This beautiful farmhouse is a perfect reflection of typical Columbia River dairy farm life in the late 1800s. The Zimmerman Heritage Farm is a unique cultural education and recreational resource that is being created for the benefit of the public on a 5.98-acre historic site in Gresham, Oregon. Open house and tours are available every third Saturday. Don't miss this unique opportunity to step back in time!

Get your Green on! Help restore our urban habitat. Join us for Invasives removal at Nadaka Nature Park

When: Sunday Sep 06, 2009 9:00AM - 2:30PM
Where: Nadaka Nature Park
NE 175th Ave and NE Pacific St
Gresham, OR
Get Map!

Event Info

Be prepared to get a little dirty and to have fun by supporting and volunteering with Friends of Nadaka and Wilkes East Neighborhood Association in their efforts to restore this natural area by removing invasive underbrush and ivy.

Rain or Shine! Come on by, and give us a hand! Spend all day, or whatever time you can. Dressed for weather. Bring your gloves, waterbottle, clippers, and yard tools.

Coffee, juice, water & refreshments provided by Wilkes East Neighborhood Assn.

Nadaka Nature Park

Great things are happening! "Nadaka Nature Park" sign and a new nature-based play area enhance the park

Volunteers remove invasives, create new play area

Approximately 25 hearty volunteers showed-up to the July 11th cleanup to help restore Nadaka Nature Park's urban habitat. Volunteers removed and disposed of wood waste, including invasive ivy, blackberries and holly, filling a 40 cubic yard drop box provided by the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association to capacity. Volunteers pitched-in to create a small nature based play area at the south edge of the park beside the meadow (photos below).

Nadaka gets a "sign"

Volunteers also installed a beautiful new "Nadaka Nature Park" sign at the entrance to park, and added "Friends of Nadaka" and "Wilkes East Neighborhood Association" to the list of groups contributing to park improvements on the Park Supporter's sign post (photos below). The signs, purchased by WENA through a generous grant from the City of Gresham, are a great addition to our wonderful park.

Cypress Park neighbors send a message to criminals! Residents join-in the 26th National Night Out

Neighbors gather against crime

The Wasco St. Neighborhood Watch (NE Wasco St. from 172nd to 179th) celebrated their first National Night Out "block party" Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 from 6PM-9PM. Two watch members took the initiative to prepare a flier invitation and others members distributed it.

Great participation

The block party attracted 40 members of the neighborhood, some who had never met. Conversation was fun and lively, one student performed magic.

The neighborhood potluck consisted of wonderful dishes from all families including Russian and Philippine cuisine. Everyone commented on what a great time it was.

An annual event

Wasco St. Neighborhood Watch plans to host an annual National Night Out block party each year.

NE Glisan Street Information Meeting City to micro-seal street in mid-August. No more curbside parking, cars & bike use only.

When: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 6:30PM
Where: St Aidan's Church
17405 NE Glisan St
Get Map!

Information Meeting

Jonathon David, City of Gresham Department of Roads, will be presenting an informational meeting Tuesday July 28th at 6:30PM at St. Aidan’s Church to discuss the resurfacing (micro-seal) of NE Glisan from 181st to 162nd beginning mid-August, and to answer questions regarding the City's decision to end curbside parking on NE Glisan St.

Residents along NE Glisan St are urged to attend this important meeting.

Wilkes Community Group Emergency Meeting. Public Invited Trees to be removed along Columbia Slough at NE 164th to make way for new solar array

When: Thursday, July 16th, 2009 6:30PM
Where: East Portland Neighborhood Office
1017 NE 117th Avenue
Get Map!

Purpose of meeting

As part of the City of Portland’s commitment to sustainability and the development of alternative energy sources, the Portland Water Bureau is currently working with a Solar Developer to install a 270 kW Solar Array in a field on Water Bureau property at the Groundwater Pump Station at 16400 NE Airport Way. This $3.5 million solar project will generate approximately 300,000 kWh of electricity; enough to offset part of the electricity consumed by the pump station and the equivalent to approximately 50 Oregon homes.

Unfortunately the orientation of the Solar Array requires removal of 32 red alder, Douglas fir and western red cedar trees along the south property line in order to prevent shading of the panels. All of the trees are between 15 feet and 30 feet tall.

The removed trees will be replaced by a 36 native cascara, western flowering dogwood and black hawthorne trees, which will not grow tall enough to shade the solar array.

Agenda

To prepare testimony for environmental land use review of Portland Water Bureau's Application (LU 09-128253EN) to remove trees from and environmental zone along the Columbia Slough in Wilkes at 16400 NE Airport Way. Click here to review the City of Portland's complete proposal.

Because the City of Portland must publish their decision within 28 days, they must to receive written comments by 5PM on July 17, 2009.

Questions?

Please contact Alice Blatt phone 503-253-6247 email aliceb@pacifier.com.