Friends of Baltimore Woods donates Tricycle to Community Cycling Center

In early 2013, thanks to a North Portland Neighborhood Services Grant, the Friends of Baltimore Woods (FOBW) acquired a tricycle, with the aspiration of having a human-powered way of transporting tools and supplies to and from work parties.

FOBW members designed and built a cargo box to fit the trike, with the Baltimore Woods logo adorning each side of the box.  The trike made appearances at our plant sales, at several of our book sales, and even in the St. Johns Parade!

But after a few years of use, it became apparent that our unique human-powered means of transport wasn’t able to meet the demands of real-world habitat-restoration work.  Sadly, the tricycle was spending more time in storage than out on the trail.

In November, Friends of Baltimore Woods decided to donate its tricycle to Community Cycling Center, the local non-profit dedicated to spreading bicycle culture and making bicycles available to young people who otherwise couldn’t own one.  They repair donated bikes, teach bicycling and bike repair and sponsor community events to help popularize the benefits of cycling.

The Community Cycling Center mission “to help build a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected” contains elements we can apply to our own Baltimore Woods Natural Area: “vibrancy,” “health” and “connection”.

Qualities such as “vibrancy” and “health” are certainly, broadly speaking, goals to work toward when restoring and maintaining a natural area. But those same qualities could also be looked at as qualities we are receiving each time we engage in making the goals a reality; qualities imparted to us as gifts from the Woods itself. Don’t we actually become healthier, more vibrant beings when we’re in nature, especially as we engage in the activities of caring for nature?

And, of course, big goals that require many hands are easier to reach by “staying connected”. It’s thanks to the coordinated efforts of our FOBW members and partners that the goal of health and vitality for new and established native plants is possible.

Friends of Baltimore Woods will continue to foster the quality of good connections by continuing to advocate for completion of the North Portland Greenway Trail through the Baltimore Woods corridor — the Greenway Trail as officially adopted in the City of Portland’s River Plan/North Reach.

The Trail, in the end, will be the connection that enables more and more people to experience our common inheritance in all it’s beauty and urban fragility: native wildlife.  We applaud Community Cycling Center for working to make that experience possible for more people.

And, who knows — maybe some of those people will someday be powering a newer, bigger, badass FOBW cargo trike!