Restoration Articles

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

Work began recently to replace parts of the failing rock wall leading to Eagle Point; part of Terwilliger Parkway. Eagle Point was first identified by Portland city founders as a key viewpoint in the late 1890s. A house was soon built here and stood for over 100 years. It was probably at this time that the retaining rock wall was built.

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.

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.