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The 2024 Spring Sparrowhawk FOBW Native Plant Sale was a huge success! All in all, 480 habitat gardeners picked up 6,300 pre-ordered native plants on Friday and Saturday morning the last week of April. Additionally, about 50 folks showed up for the overstock flash sale on Saturday afternoon and cleaned out the lot. This was the very first time we didn’t have one single plant left over at the sale’s end! Together, Sparrowhawk staff and Friends of Baltimore Woods volunteers helped every one of more than 7,000 plants find new, loving homes. These plants will fight the good fight to support pollinators, wildlife, and help promote climate resiliency. The sale earned $3,250 for Friends of Baltimore Woods to continue advocacy and stewardship of the 30-acre strip of woods and green space running along N Decatur St, between residential and industrial areas. Baltimore Woods is located between Cathedral and Pier Parks in the St Johns neighborhood. We couldn’t have done it without the assistance of volunteers who generously donated their time to help throughout the sale. Thank you so much Sparrowhawk staff, plant sale customers and all you wonderful volunteer helpers! By Betsy Valle and Caroline Skinner

When we last wrote of our propagation project, we had sown seeds of 8 species of wildflowers and 3 species of grasses into planting containers in a greenhouse setting so that we could have many new, healthy plants for the Baltimore Woods meadow. We found, with a couple of exceptions, that our seeds germinated well, and we spent many weeks this spring planting the first small grass and lomatium plants into the meadow, as they had outgrown their nursery pots and needed to be transplanted to their permanent home. We hoped to take advantage of the generous spring rains for these few hardy species. However now, as the warm season begins, we have many dozens of trays of still vulnerable baby plants which FOBW members are tending at home over the summer, with the hopes of planting many of these young plants into the meadow this coming fall. Fall planting is advantageous for both seeds and small young plants, for it takes advantage of our longest rainy season, allowing new plants to develop deep roots over the fall and winter in preparation for a new flush of growth in the spring.  Some of the small bulbs, mostly in the lily family, but also including the tuber “Yampah”, will need at least another year of human care before they are large enough to transplanting into the meadow’s rather challenging environment. This is a long-range project, to be sure! Another aspect of our project is to monitor and maintain the small plants which we purchased and planted into our meadow last fall with grant money and planting help from Portland Garden Club members. We are pleased with the progress of the plants so far, but, inevitably, there are some challenges. We had expected some damage from herbivores, mainly rabbits, but it appears they have a special taste for native lilies, milkweeds, and grasses! We have plans to try some fencing or wire “cloches” around the more vulnerable plants to deter the nibblers. Additionally, we will have to consider watering the new plantings for their first summer. So far this year, we have been fortunate that nature has taken care of the job for us, and the frequent rains have kept the soil moist and plants thriving. Of course, this includes weeds, and controlling them is a never ending task for Baltimore Woods members & volunteers. As we work and plan for the survival of these small plants, we keep in mind that they are a small but significant investment in the future of natural areas big & small throughout the Willamette Valley, and hope that our efforts insure the survival of the many species of plants & animals that depend on this beautiful and threatened ecosystem.

On the warm sunny morning of May 30th, thirty 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from Catlin Gable School arrived with their teachers and chaperones for a community service day in the woods. After introductions, a tool safety talk and an exploratory scavenger hunt in the Lower Meadow, the students were divided into 2 groups of mixed age levels. One group tackled the ivy and blackberry patch under a large mature big leaf maple, the remaining pulled sweet pea vines that were choking native shrubs in the Upper Woodland.  The students were focused, hard working and a joy to supervise with their attentive instructors and adult partners. They saw turkey vultures, purple lupine, heard songbirds and enjoyed a healthy slice of nature in North Portland. Our hope is that they will be inspired to return next year to again enjoy the native oak and savannah habitat of Baltimore Woods, and continue to help care for it.

Baltimore Woods’ 7-acre meadow is blooming with an assortment of native wildflowers that can easily be viewed from the gravel path that runs approximately north-south through the grassy habitat. The Friends and their partners at Portland Parks and the Bureau of Environmental Services have planted many of the native wildflowers. The meadows are being restored for the benefit of ground nesting birds and pollinators. Both are experiencing declining numbers due to a loss of habitat. The Friends ask that walkers stay on the path to allow birds enough undisturbed space for ground-nesting. Walkers can start a stroll on N. Decatur at N. Baltimore, or at N. Decatur at N. Catlin. Or for a shorter walk, you can enter the meadow directly at N. St. Johns Alley from N. Edison. Another option is to enter at N. Reno and N. Decatur and walk south toward Cathedral Park to enjoy views of the St. Johns Bridge.  

The Friends of Baltimore Woods are delighted to announce the recent acquisition of a new parcel nicknamed Acorn Acre near the North Reno Entrance of the Baltimore Woods Natural Area. Purchasing of this lot, formally known as the Erickson Property, has long been on the back burner FOBW “To Do” list, until the spring of 2023 when a realtor “For Sale” sign was posted on North Reno, alerting the board into action. Over the summer, a weekend neighborhood petition drive gathered over 120 signatures in favor of protecting the lot, plus many emails and phone calls to Metro, Portland Parks and Bureau of Environmental Services were made. The most significant boost to the effort came when board members attended North Portland and Northeast Portland town hall meetings in August with City Commissioner Dan Ryan and his Communications and Special Projects Director TJ McHugh. Once TJ was informed of the board’s interest in protecting the property, and received the petition and letters of interest from the FOBW board, the ball began to roll. The property was taken off the Zillow website and Portland Parks planned to seek approval from city commissioners to complete the purchase and protection of this beautiful woodland habitat to be added to the 30 acres of Baltimore Woods. City Council approval was granted in January 2024. Portland Parks has already begun work on the site, clearing invasive shrubs, ivy and blackberry vines. The Parks botanist in charge of the restoration, Laura Guderyahn, has a 2 year plan to get the site under control and natives planted using park crews and Friends volunteers. FOBW is also planning walking tours of the new site and surrounding meadows of the Baltimore Woods corridor sometime in the future. Stay tuned to the website for dates. It took a village. None of this would have been possible without the accessibility of Dan Ryan and his staff at neighborhood Town Halls this past summer, a concentrated neighborhood petition drive, a letter of support to City Council, the help of Andrea Berkley with Metro, Laura Lehman with Portland Parks, and the action of several hard working FOBW board members. We are so grateful for our city stewardship partners and this combined community support for protecting local native oak woodland habitats.

The longer warmer days of summer are here. The Friends of Baltimore Woods weekly Thursday evening Golden Hour Work Parties have begun. Every Thursday, weather permitting, we will host the hour-long volunteer parties from 7 to 8 pm. It’s a wonderful way to relax at the end of the day, get some fresh air, exercise, and meet new generous-spirited people. Please visit our web calendar for weekly locations, a brief description of the work we will be doing that day, tips for what to wear and who will be leading. In the event of extremely hot weather, the event may be cancelled. Be sure to check the FOBW website calendar. The Thursday evening Golden Hours usually run until mid-August, and often include the added benefit of rosy sunlit skies.

Jane Hartline, owner of Sauvie Island Natives, is a dedicated and generous supporter of native plants for landscaping and propagation within the Portland metro area. She is an advocate for use of native plants as a wonderful gardening option.  In the past, she has often donated to the habitat restoration mission of FOBW. So it was welcome news when she again informed us that 25% of all sales on Saturday September 16, 2023 would be donated to the Friends of Baltimore Woods. Jane rounded that total up to $300! A win-win for your garden, native plants provide habitat for native pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies who have co-evolved with native plants over millennia. Over 90% of these insects are specialized to feed and lay eggs on a limited number of native plants, and in turn birds, amphibians, fish and mammals rely on these plants, and the insects which depend on them, to survive. Natives are also naturally adapted to the climate variations of local ecosystems, and can withstand the developing drought conditions better than non-natives. Since 2020, Jane’s native plant nursery on Sauvie Island has been supplying local gardeners with a wide selection of local native plants, while providing knowledgeable advice for growing them. If you need recommendations on how to grow native plants in your garden, Jane and her crew will help you. Any native plant you plant in your North Portland backyard to qualify for the Portland Audubon Backyard Habitat Program, provides complimentary benefits to all native creatures of neighborhood natural areas, including the oak woodland ecosystem of Baltimore Woods. We are so grateful for our many community partners, including Jane Hartline! Thank you Jane and Sauvie Island Natives for your continued bountiful support!

Friends of Baltimore Woods will again be partnering with Sparrowhawk Native Plants for our annual native plant sale in St. Johns on April 26 and 27 this spring.  The sale takes place this year in the St. Johns Church parking lot located at 8044 North Richmond Avenue, a block east of last year’s sale location. Pre-ordering online begins Sunday February 25th and lasts until March 24 or until plant supplies last, additionally you are now able to window-shop the 100 native species for sale on the Sparrowhawk website. Every Spring and Fall, Sparrowhawk Native Plants partners with community organizations around the Metro region, providing eco-minded gardeners the opportunity to order habitat-friendly and climate-resilient plants online and pick them up on scheduled weekends in close proximity to their neighborhoods. FOBW volunteers help plan and publicize this annual sale. Timelines and tasks go on our calendar as the organizers meet to plan the event.  Soon posters will be designed, printed and put up around the North Peninsula business district. The day before the plant pick-up weekend is busy with sale preparations.  On Thursday April 25, many volunteers will be needed to help set up canopies, tables, wheelbarrows, and label and set out hundreds of pre-ordered plants that are grouped to match how they’re coded on customer order sheets to make them easy to find. Look for information on volunteer sign up to be posted on the FOBW Upcoming Events link starting February 25. The April 25 “set up” volunteers will be able to pick up their pre-ordered plants on that day. So whether you are transitioning a lawn to a natural habitat; attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds; or filling a shady corner in the backyard, browse through the Sparrowhawk Natives online plant photos. The site has descriptions of all their plants. It includes much valuable information for successfully growing these natives and designing native garden landscapes.

This fall the Friends of Baltimore Woods were indeed fortunate when Garrett Kaiser of Scout Troop 71, focused his beam of Eagle Scout volunteer light on the slippery dirt trail along the undeveloped portion of North Alta Avenue, which is a trail that walkers can use to access the postage stamp sized parcel of Baltimore Woods known as the Old Oak Lot. To earn Eagle Scout status, one needs to plan, organize and provide leadership on a beneficial community service project.  To increase the safety for walkers, Garrett chose to mobilize his troop members to build a set of stairs and a hand rail along the steep dirt path. In verifiable leadership fashion, he contacted FOBW to explain his plan, assessed the physical conditions of the site, identified the materials needed, and how to acquire them along with designing the stairs and railing for the project. On Saturday November 18, more than 30 volunteers from St Johns Scouts Post 58, Portland State University and Friends of the Baltimore Woods joined the stair building work party. Thanks to a donation of logs by Lars Limburg of Arbor Pacific Tree Works and his back hoe, logs were placed and bark chips distributed along the path to Cathedral Park. Native plants were also planted at the adjacent Old Oak property. So many accomplishments were achieved that day due to the enthusiastic hands of numerous generous volunteers. Thank you to Jim Barnas for bringing the donuts, all the wonderful participants, and especially to Garrett Kaiser for helping to lead such a successful trail upgrade for the Old Oak Lot of Baltimore Woods. The new stairs and railing are a sturdy and beautiful addition to the trail.

What would happen if the Friends of Baltimore Woods (FOBW) had access to rare and unusual native plants, beyond the familiar favorites Portland Parks can provide? How would we plant them in the Baltimore Woods Lower Meadow, which was once covered in asphalt, and has hot, dry clay soil in summer? And what would be the best way to plant them, so that they aren’t in soil either too rich or too hard-packed for them to succeed? These are questions we hope to answer, thanks to a $3,000 grant from (Gardening in America) Garden Club of America.  When the Garden Club of Portland (PGC) approached Friends of Baltimore Woods with the idea of partnering on a project with the grant, Portland Parks Ecologist Laura Guderyahn had the idea to purchase uncommon native plant starts and seeds that are hard to find and might thrive in hot, sunny conditions. Some would be sowed immediately, and some would be propagated for a year until sturdier for later planting. Laura ran her idea by FOBW, and we jumped on board. Laura then wrote the grant proposal to Portland Garden Club (PGC). That group, in turn, submitted the grant request on FOBW’s behalf to Garden Club of America. On July 1, 2023 FOBW won the grant of $3000 to purchase plant species indigenous to our meadow site. We had one year to spend the money on this ambitious project, it was time to get busy! While the news was exciting, uplifting and overall wonderful, it left a few questions unanswered, namely who would do what to realize the project. After some reflection and discussion, a plan emerged. Leah Passell and I took on the fun but challenging project of deciding on a list of plants that could be suitable for the specific harsh growing conditions at the site. We created a list of 28 possible species, heavily based on Portland Plant List. The final list included native lilies like Cat’s Ear Calochortus, Fool’s Onion, Taper Tip Onion, Harvest Brodiaea, Ookow, Yampah (an important first food), two types of milkweed and several native grasses. Next we reached out to more than 15 native plant nurseries to check on availability. We sought plants at wholesale prices. In the end, we narrowed our list down to 15 types of native plants that we were able to locate at four local nurseries. Leah wrote up and submitted orders and picked up all the plant materials.  Suddenly, we had an abundance of plant materials and a rapidly closing window of time for ideal fall-season planting. Our complex project got a great boost when Liz Dally, a retired business person and active member of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, stepped up to help lead the project. Our PGC lead, the appropriately named Cynthia Grant, suggested we improve soil conditions in the lower meadow for planting. Laura secured the use of the city’s Dingo the Digger, a sturdy digging machine, to loosen soil in about a dozen areas along the main trail to be used as planting beds. The digger loosened and dug out rocks, then compost was mixed in to prepare the planting beds that run along the main trail. What had seemed like a daunting task started to seem like an achievable one. On November 11, about 20 members of PGC helped FOBW members get 200 plants, about 1180 bulbs and nearly 3 pounds of grass seed into the ground. We worked together like a well-oiled machine, which couldn’t have happened without an organized plant placement layout that was flagged the day before thanks to Liz Dally’s leadership and organizing skills. We are grateful to Cynthia Grant for her guidance in spurring us to identify how we would achieve our ambitious goal, to Laura Guderyahn for her help securing Dingo the Digger to prepare planting beds in our lower meadow and especially Liz who stepped in to coordinate the project. Now it’s winter and new seeds and bulbs are quietly sleeping beneath the soil. We hope to see new life at the Baltimore Woods Lower Meadow in spring. Thanks to the many people from PGC and FOBW who helped actualize a habitat restoration dream!

Seeds are like a promise, yet to be kept. They encompass hope, toughness, fragility, survival, and new beginnings. They are like a gift, wrapped in the most homely of gift-wraps, but with the best possible payoff when opened – a continuation of new life in our ecosystem. The Friends of Baltimore Woods (FOBW) group is in the midst of a new restoration project, which includes the growing of native wildflower and grass species from seed to increase botanical diversity in our meadow. We hope our project results in a natural area which more closely resembles the incredible biodiversity of Willamette Valley oak meadowscapes, now largely lost to human development. When we were researching plant materials to add to our meadows, we found that most native plant growers did not have many of the less common plant species which we sought for our hot and dry site, or had them in only very limited, or very expensive quantities. However, our project, funded by a grant administered by the Portland Garden Club, had propagation as one of its goals, with the hopes of fostering not only more species of plants, but an opportunity for our group to learn more about propagating native plants from seed. This has benefit of being less expensive than purchasing nursery-grown plants, and offers a wider variety of species, greater botanical diversity, and a greater overall number of plants. Our aim is to transform the hottest, driest parts of our meadow, by adding plants most acclimated to those conditions. In our research, we found many amazing native plant nurseries which promote ecological restoration as a core part of their mission. We chose to purchase plant materials from four local nurseries; Echo Valley Natives, Scholls Valley Native Nursery, Xera Plants, and Heritage Seedlings. However, we found a bonanza of native seed varieties at Heritage Seedlings, which has a native plant propagation program overseen by botanist Lynda Boyer, a noted Willamette Valley restoration ecologist. The seeds are locally sourced and verified Willamette Valley natives, many of which are becoming rare in our area due to the constantly shrinking meadow landscapes which were once a dominant ecosystem here. Now FOBW members are learning about the practice of sowing native seeds, and are trying a variety of growing approaches to see what works best. We are learning about terms such as seed-dormancy, stratification, scarification, and imbibing. Our methods include sowing seeds in propagation flats in an unheated greenhouse, in outdoor home garden plots, and sowing some of each seed variety directly into our meadow. The cool, damp winter weather of the Pacific Northwest provides ideal conditions for seeds to break dormancy come springtime. But whether these tiny seeds will find the soil conditions they need, and survive the roaming & hungry populations of native birds & rodents, remains to be seen. It is all fodder for the great experiment of increasing our plant species diversity, and we will aim to track and note where our successes and failures lie in the months, and even years, of plant propagation that lie ahead. But hope is still there, still thriving, at the back of our minds, as we sow these tiny packages of ecological miracles into the augmented soil plots of the Baltimore Woods Lower Meadow.

  The Friends of Baltimore Woods are thrilled to co-sponsor the showing of the “Once a Braided River” documentary at St Johns Cinema this month. It will play one night only on Tuesday September 12, at 7pm. A panel discussion follows the 53 minute film. For thousands of years the North reach of the Willamette River was a braided waterway of shallow channels and islands, rich in biodiversity and a home to many indigenous communities. Today, after years of human engineering of this natural riparian habitat, the area is designated an Industrial Sanctuary, and a Superfund Site. Along a six mile stretch of Portland Harbor, hundreds of aging tanks store over 300 million gallons of volatile fossil fuels, which is 90% of the state’s liquid fossil fuel inventory, on top of major earthquake fault zones. “Once a Braided River,” a new documentary by Barbara Bernstein, focuses on the part of Portland that most Portlanders don’t know about or ignore. It braids together the strands of many issues that face us – climate chaos, rivers contaminated with toxic pollutants, fish and wildlife brought to the brink of extinction by these perilous practices, and the dire hazards of storing immense amounts of explosive fossil fuels upon liquefaction zones underlain by major fault lines along the shorelines of our Willamette River. The film begins with the story of the river before it was transformed into a Superfund Site and features community groups and activists working to replace the current Industrial Sanctuary with a green working waterfront defined by good jobs, clean energy, and healthy ecosystems. The documentary explores a vision to reclaim this stretch of river as a place where people and wildlife who depend upon the river for their homes, jobs and migration routes can thrive. Barbara Bernstein, the producer of the film, is a local, award-winning independent audio engineer, musician, and composer with 27 years experience in creating radio documentaries, audio art, theater, dance scores and sound design. She specializes in reporting on environmental, social justice and human rights issues. This film is critical for beginning the conversation about long term solutions for the Willamette River. At the Cinema 21 showing of this film last May, panel discussion member Bob Sallinger reminded the audience that people can bring positive changes successfully if we gather and work together. Tickets are available for purchase on this link. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Bob Sallinger, Sarah Taylor, John Wasiutynski and Jay Wilson, who are featured in the film, and moderated by Barbara Bernstein. This event is co-sponsored by the Braided River Campaign, Friends of Baltimore Woods, Columbia Riverkeeper, Willamette Riverkeeper, KBOO Community Radio, 350PDX and Oregon PSR. Artwork: Kandace Manning. Article written by Barbara Bernstein and Lisa Manning. “Once a Braided River” at the St Johns Cinema.  [ Tuesday, September 12th at 7PM ] Purchase Tickets [ Watch the trailer | View our upcoming Events Calendar  ]

Has the record breaking summer heat made you concerned about climate change? Do you wish you could do something? For one day only, on Saturday September 16, if you mention the Friends of Baltimore Woods at check-out, the folks at Sauvie Island Natives Nursery will generously donate 25% of your plant purchase to our native habitat preservation mission. Native plants are naturally drought tolerant and provide habitat and food sources to insects, bugs and bees, which in turn feed native birds and other wildlife. Your investment will have a double benefit. You’ll add plants to your garden that are adapted to thrive in this climate and you’ll support the continuing stewardship of the local native oak woodlands and meadows of Baltimore Woods. Sauvie Island Natives Nursery, located at 14745 NW Gillihan Road on Sauvie Island, is conveniently open four days a week, on Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. You can click on this link to their website for directions and to schedule a visit: https://sauvienatives.com/ If you take a walk in the lovely peaceful landscape around the nursery, you’ll pass a pond and feel like you’re in a wildlife sanctuary, plus owner Jane Hartline is an excellent resource for information and advice on gardening with native plants.

Once again, the Sparrowhawk & Friends of Baltimore Woods Native Plant Sale helped to distribute thousands of new plants into Portland gardens this April.  Thank you to all the volunteers, the FOBW board and owners of Sparrowhawk Native Plants who helped to make this spring plant sale another glowing, or should we say, growing success! This year 8,550 native plants were purchased to be planted in Portland landscapes, including the St Johns neighborhood.  Approximately, 534 people placed plant orders and FOBW earned $4,000 from this event. This is our only annual fundraiser, and helps with our mission of preserving a North Portland nature corridor scheduled to be aligned with the future NP Willamette Greenway from the downtown Esplanade to Kelly Point Park. The funds fill our coffers for year round habitat restoration work in Baltimore Woods. Native plants are a win-win option for your garden providing habitat for native insects, bees and butterflies, which in turn pollinate vegetable flowers, fruit trees and shrubs and also provide essential nourishment to wildlife including birds, those beautiful springtime serenaders. Natives are also naturally adapted to the climate variations of local ecosystems, and can withstand drought conditions better than non-natives. In recent years, Nikkie West and Tracy Cozine, the owners of Sparrowhawk Native Plants, have partnered with FOBW for our annual plant sale and their superior organization skills and hiring of additional temporary staff, makes this big job more manageable. Thankfully the beautiful St Johns Church parking lot space on North Charleston Street, the sale location in St Johns, has a wall of tall native cedar trees that naturally cooled and shaded the potted plants during the unusually warm spring days of the sale. The white Sparrowhawk canopies provided shade but not the cooling effect of the trees! A reminder that one of the best options for cooling our planet is planting more native plants and trees! 

Did you know you could adopt a local bioswale and take care of it as a steward? Bioswales are areas along city streets and sidewalks containing rain gardens intended to collect stormwater. They use soil and plants to capture and filter rainwater to reduce the load on the city’s stormwater system. They also help prevent pollution from washing into our rivers. The streets that have bioswales on them are called “Green Streets.” The City of Portland Environmental Services builds and maintains Green Streets all around Portland. Many of the bioswales are available for adoption! The primary stewardship tasks involve trash collection, weeding and clearing of debris from water inlets. Watering can also be part of the job in summer. It’s fun and easy. Many bioswales include hardy native plants like sedges, rushes, Spirea and great Camas. According to Portland BES Green Street program, you can help support Portland’s Green Streets in two ways. The first is to be a good Green Street neighbor. This means: Keep people, pets, and trash out of the planters. Keep inlets open. Don’t prune or cut the plants. If needed, you can water the plants during a dry spell. Report Green Street maintenance issues. The second way is to volunteer as a Green Street Steward and adopt a Green Street. Stewards perform regular maintenance on their adopted Green Streets and enjoy the benefits of making a difference. If you would like to tend a little garden near your home or apartment, you can go to the Portland Green Street Program to search for bioswales near you and sign up.

After an unusually cold and wet May, the Portland area experienced a sudden and rather drastic change to hot and dry conditions. While the sudden heat gave us humans “weather whiplash”, wildflowers in the meadow proceeded to burst into bloom. Friends of Baltimore Woods has been gratified that so many of the native plants, which were planted several seasons ago, are beginning to spread and propagate themselves, with the result that some areas of the meadow were putting on quite a floral display this May! Care has been taken to cultivate many varieties of flowering native plants which bloom throughout the entire growing season, providing a steady supply of food for pollinators, plus shelter, food and habitat for a multitude of bugs, birds and mammals. We’ve added some new varieties of plants this spring, and have plans for more planting projects in the fall. *A special note for people visiting Baltimore Woods with their loving canine friends:  Although Portland Parks has posted the Baltimore Woods and Meadows as a “No Dogs” Nature Park, people and their dogs are frequently seen visiting this natural area. While we know that people love their dogs and need natural spaces to walk them, the local wildlife can be compromised by encounters with your pet.  Free-running dogs can scare ground nesting birds, chase local wildlife, trample plants, and generally disrupt the feeding and rearing of young during this busy season. Therefore, we respectfully ask you to keep your dog on a leash at all times when visiting the Baltimore Woods natural area. Even if other people do not abide by this rule, your leashed pet will provide a good example. With your help one less dog will be interrupting daily survival routines of our local wildlife, and we can continue to enjoy wild creature sightings on the landscape.

Who can say what Betsy Valle was thinking that day when walking her little four-legged pal, Coco, along a section of grim alley recently inhabited by mangled vehicles and abandoned dreams that the intersection of N. Decatur alley at N. St. Louis had become? Nonethless, it’s not a rare sight to see pedestrians and bicyclists passing by on this segment of the future North Portland Greenway Trail. To see beyond the nexus of desperation and litter that have dominated the site a person needs rose tinted glasses. Or, maybe, simply the naturally sunny nature and can-do spirit that is Betsy’s. Walking north on Decatur adjacent to Baltimore Woods corridor, there’s a particular place where Decatur rises gently to meet the gravelled N. St. Louis Avenue right of way, an unimproved road on the downside that on the hillside disappears into a small cluster of established Big Leaf Maple trees and shrubs shading the ground underneath. It needs to be said that spot, since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, had been effectively taken over by a succession of illegal RV and trailer campers. Portland Park Rangers and PBOT did what they could to address locals’ concerns about the impact to the immediate natural area; and vehicles would then be moved out, only for others to show up to take advantage of the site next to the dirt roadway that by now had been made level and easy to pull into. And on this particular day, not long after the most recent eviction, most people would be expecting the next caravan to soon arrive. Betsy, though, looked around and recognized the site for what it was: a leafy bower that naturally attracted people to rest under its filtered light and to gaze out at the panorama it offered of the St. Johns Bridge, the Willamette River and Forest Park blanketing the hills beyond the opposite shore. Betsy thought to herself, what if it could be a rest area for people walking and biking? Within a day or two, other Friends of Baltimore Woods, Leah Passell and Barbara Quinn, had joined in on the idea and planning was underway. Portland Parks and BES, the Friends partners, were notified of the proposal to make a trailside rest stop. FoBW purchased a nice heavy wood picnic table advertised by a St. Johns neighbor on craigslist. Tim Wessels from Green Anchors and Lars Limburg of Arbor Pacific Tree Work, LLC delivered a huge heap of wood chips and Lars placed a couple dozen giant tree rounds and limbs strategically around the soon-to-be rest stop. Lars can be reached at arborpacifictreework@gmail.com. With the logs placed around the perimeter in time for November’s SOLVE volunteer work party at the site, twenty local Scouts, some parents, troop leaders and other volunteers joined FoBW to spread the wood chips, and dig weeds such as blackberries, clematis vines, ivy, and holly. Volunteer Liz Dally donated several trays of native plants that she’d propagated and the Scouts and volunteers then helped plant them. The picnic table was set and anchored to the ground and a welcoming sign designed by Barbara was mounted on a post. At the end of the work party, after group photos, and collecting tools and supplies, there was a moment to reflect, savor the accomplishment and smile at the amazing transformation.