News Articles

Do you know what the state flower of Oregon is?

It is this beautiful woodland native plant, Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium, that can be found growing along Terwilliger Parkway and throughout most of the city. Oregon designated the Oregon grape blossom as the official state flower in 1899. The following description of this remarkable plant has been adapted from the Portland Nursery website (http://portlandnursery.com/plants/natives/mahonia.shtml).

Have you ever noticed the need for street repairs or clean-up as you run, walk or bike in Terwilliger Parkway; or anywhere in the city for that matter? PDX Reporter provides this easy connection with our city departments and employees.

Friends of Terwilliger volunteers have spent thousands of hours over the past 23 years removing invasive vegetation in Terwilliger Parkway. Perhaps chief among the bad-news invasives is English or Irish ivy. We all know what it looks like and that it is Bad—but what is it, really?

With a few good workers, Friends of Terwilliger was able to rid the Terwilliger Parkway of more invasive plants.

We’re Back!! September is upon us and the return of our Terwilliger Parkway restoration work parties.

For over 25 years, board member Susan Egnor and her husband have lived
with and enjoyed the natural beauty of Terwilliger Parkway; just outside their
front and back doors.

What does the Totem Pole at Elk Point, within the Terwilliger Parkway, have in common with the 1959 Oregon’s Centennial Celebration, Operation Deep Freeze, New Zealand, Antarctica, The Oregon Zoo and John F. Kennedy?

You’ve probably been hearing the term partnership more often lately. Especially here in Portland where collaborative spirit runs deep. Partnership is defined as an association of persons for business, companionship, or an alliance of persons for a common enterprise. Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) has been in existence over 30 years and find ourselves in the company of many like-minded and similarly focused organizations. Here’s the story of one of them.

What would you say is the most identifiable and “iconic” thing about Terwilliger Parkway? The views and lush natural vegetation may be what people most like about Terwilliger, but they don’t really signify the parkway itself. The roadway and adjoining path are the spine of the linear park and are the most significant piece of park infrastructure, but they aren’t very iconic. We think that the historic streetlights that line the roadway are its most identifiable feature.

English Ivy (Hedera Helix) was brought to Oregon in the mid-1800’s as a way to remind early settlers of home. What started out as an innocent plan has come to represent one of the toughest problems Portland’s natural areas face today. It now invades more and more of our parks and will ultimately destroy our cherished tree canopy unless we remove it now. By allowing ivy to grow unchecked it will climb trees where it will mature, produce seeds, and continue the “seeds of destruction” by being transported by non-native birds.

Terwilliger Parkway has provided a fitness course with many exercise stations since the late 1970s​, but they haven’t been maintained and are largely lost to the public.

From our interviews with neighbors, we know that many locals walk, run, and bike through the Parkway. But can you guess how many?

Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) continues to partner in restoration grants awarded in SW Portland. As a founding member of the West Willamette Restoration Partnership (WWRP), we help define the restoration parameters to measure and areas to target for invasive plant removals, as well as coordinating and doing restoration work.

Friends of Terwilliger President Anton Vetterlein describes why we need well-designed signage to help identify just what Terwilliger Parkway is.

That’s a prerequisite for effective preservation!

Twenty years ago, we began partnering with a Multnomah County program called Alternative Community Service (ACS) for on-the-ground restoration efforts in the Terwilliger Parkway natural areas.

After 110 years, once-private Eagle Point on the Terwilliger Parkway has become a public overlook.

A blog post by Laura O. Foster

[Read the full post].

My guidebooks offer walking explorations of the neighborhoods, trails and parks of Portland, Oregon and its nearby towns. More info: lauraofoster.com

Sep 29, 2014