2013 Partners in Conservation Grants Awarded

Partners In Conservation Plus Grants

Columbia Slough Watershed Council, $28,660 – Gresham
Fairview Creek Riparian Habitat Enhancement

Three year grant to maintain existing 5 acre restoration enhancement activities and increase by 1.5 acres.

Friends of Zenger Farm, $73,106 – East Portland
Farm School

Three year grant to support the Farm School partnership with the David Douglas School District (DDSD) during the 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. Funding will also expand the programming to new schools in a new partner district and to develop a deeper relationship with DDSD.

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council, $225,000 – Troutdale
Sandy River Delta Restoration

Three year grant to continue the habitat restoration work on a key 110-acre parcel as well as provide educational opportunities for the thousands of visitors and hundreds of volunteers who enjoy the Delta for recreation, research and stewardship opportunities.

Verde, $140,000 – Northeast Portland
Let Us Build Cully Park!

Two year grant to develop a former 25 acre brownfield into a new environmental asset that restores habitat, educates youth, provides local green jobs, creates open space, and establishes a replicable community-based model for Park development.

Partners in Conservation Grants

Association of Slavic Immigrants USA, $5,000 – East Portland
Slavic Park

To teach children and adults in the Slavic community about ecosytems and to plant trees along the I-205 Path and Lents Park.

Centennial School District, $25,000 – East Portland
Centennial Community Gardens

To create two community gardens in East Multnomah County that will provide an underserved population with sustainable food growing opportunities, environmental and agricultural education, and access to community assets.

City of Gresham, $25,000 – Gresham
Butler Creek Greenway Restoration and Outreach Project

To address the invasive weeds in the Butler Creek Greenway through the restoration of 12 acres, stabilization and restortoration of eroded stream banks, and enhance habitat for fish. Community engagement with home owners and neighborhood associations will also take place.

City of Portland-Parks & Recreation, $20,000 – Portland
Greenspaces Restoration and Urban Naturalist Team

To connect at-risk teens to nature through environmental education, stewardship, recreation and employment.

Columbia Land Trust, $30,000 – East Multnomah County
Backyard Habitat Certification Program – East County/Gresham Expansion

To expand the Backyard Habitat certification program in East Multnomah County and City of Gresham by focusing on technological investments, planning, and collaboration.

Columbia Riverkeeper, $10,000 – Gresham, OR
Columbia River Water Quality Monitoring Project

To complete a restoration project and monitor water quality on the Columbia River and tributaries in East Multnomah County. Project will also include development of a “Swim Guide” app and intern training.

Ecology in Classrooms, $27,000 – East Portland and Corbett
Kelly, Lent and Corbett Schools Ecology Projects

To continue the habitat restoration project at the school’s campus, including invasive species removal and mapping project.

DEPAVE, $50,000 – East Portland
Depaving and Re-Greening for People and Watersheds

To support four depaving and re-greening projects in East Multnomah County in 2013, and to continue and expand outreach and education efforts about the theory and practice of depaving for watershed health.

Dharma Rain Zen Center, $40,000 – Northeast Portland
Siskiyou Square Ravine Restoration

To restore the heavily impacted Siskiyou Square Ravine, part of a prominent, 26-acre brownfield on NE 82nd Ave, to a healthy, resilient, native state.

Friends of Gateway Green, $10,000 – East Portland
Gateway Green Stormwater Infiltration Capacity Investigation

To provide critical data needed for the Restoration Plan of the Gateway Green stormwater treatment facility.

Friends of Trees, $50,000 – Various locations
Building Capacity as a Watershed Leader in East Multnomah County

To grow their organizational capacity to restore natural areas, maintain and monitor activities on several program sites and to strengthen our watershed education and outreach program in five proposed project areas.

Groundwork Portland, $20,000 – Multiple locations
Green Team Education and Skill-Building

To combine environmental education with activities that allow youth to address natural resource issues and environmental disparities in their neighborhoods, along with career exposure and job-skills training.

Growing Gardens, $30,000 – Multiple locations
Growing Youth Grow: A Sustainable Future for a Model Environmental Education Program

To expand Youth Grow, an after-school garden club and summer garden camp, teaching youth to become more environmentally literate.

Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization, $10,000 – East Portland
East Portland Intergenerational & Intercultural Garden Project

To facilitate community engagement and garden-building for IRCO’s Africa House and East Portland Community Center, including removing invasive weeds, restoring garden space with natives, planting community gardens, and engaging immigrant elders & youth.

Janus Youth Programs, $28,000 – North Portland
Village Gardens Train the Trainer

To build and support a program empowering adult and youth leaders from low-income housing developments to provide technical assistance and trainings focused on sustainable gardening with other residents of housing facilities.

Johnson Creek Watershed Council, $24,360 – Johnson Creek Watershed
Johnson Creek Fish Passage Assessment & Prioritization

To survey and assess approximately 80 public culverts and 50 private culverts for fish passage with partners, resulting in a detailed list of highest priority barriers for replacement.

Johnson Creek Watershed Council, $20,000 – Southeast Portland
Tacoma Street / Johnson Creek MAX Salmon Habitat and Interpretive Boardwalk

To enhance aquatic habitat, restore native riparian forest and build an interpretive boardwalk next to a reach of Johnson Creek by the future Tacoma Street / Johnson Creek light rail station in southeast Portland, opening in 2015.

Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership, $59,941 – Columbia Gorge
Multnomah and Wahkeena Creeks Restoration Project

To complete Phase I restoration actions on Wahkeena and Multnomah Creeks, including modifying a pond, constructing a sustainable stormwater facility to treat runoff from a parking lot, and placing approximately 60 logs for in-stream habitat improvement.

Morrison Child and Family Services, $6,000 – East Portland
Hand in Hand Therapeutic Garden

To complete five months of comprehensive garden programs that support the physical, cognitive, and psycho-social development of each Hand in Hand child, as well as preparation, planting and maintenance of the Therapeutic Garden.

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council, $25,000 – Gresham
Camp Collins Habitat Restoration & Education Project

To implement the habitat restoration projects undertaken on the lower Sandy River. Partners will construct large log jams to improve channels for a range of salmon life needs. Students will monitor water quality and habitat conditions.

SOLVE, $20,000 – Gresham/Troutdale
Beaver Creek-The Home Stretch

To continue the restoration of Beaver Creek below Mt. Hood Community College by adding one piece of riparian corridor and finalizing active restoration activities on another parcel.

The Wetlands Conservancy, $9,997 – Gresham
The Gresham Meadowlands Project

To improve the breeding and upland habitat for amphibians, educate neighbors and Gresham residents about the unique functions of wetlands, the life cycles and needs of amphibians and encourage participation in local stewardship of Gresham wetlands.

Western Invasive Plant Alliance, $8,809 – Unincorporated Mult. Co.
John Yeon State Park Herb Robert Control

To continue herb Robert control in the John Yeon State Park.

Willamette Riverkeeper, $17,180 – North Portland
North Portland Confluence Project

To expand restoration and education program efforts to restore riparian forest habitat in the lower Willamette Reach, to connect more North Portland residents to nature, and involve more diverse community groups in the Superfund conversation.

Wisdom of the Elders, Inc., $10,000 – East Portland
Wisdom Gardens Youth Project

To hold a 2-week summer field science camp for Native American youth and families using holistic climate change and environmental restoration curricula that integrates western environmental science and traditional ecological knowledge.

Xerces Society, $10,000 – Southeast Portland
Citizen-science investigations of the effects of improved fish habitat on existing populations of native mussels and invasive Asian clams following restoration activities in Crystal Springs Creek

To assess the impact of fish habitat restoration on freshwater mussels in Crystal Springs Creek, building upon baseline mussel distribution data gathered in the past four years in Crystal Springs Creek to implement a long-term study.