Restoration Articles

Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) Board Members met with the new Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) Director Adena Long and PP&R City Nature Manager, Rachel Felice recently. The goals for the meeting were to provide Director Long with information about FOT and its mission of protecting and advocating for Terwilliger Parkway, to describe the challenges FOT sees for the Parkway today, and to review the partnerships FOT has established with PP&R over the past 30 years.

November’s restoration work party brought us back to the Norris “foundation” to remove tree and ground ivy as well as blackberries. This 2-acre site was once considered by the Portland chapter of the Rhododendron Society for its test garden before locating to its current site at Crystal Springs.

Thanks go out to all of you hearty volunteers who made the most of our calm fall weather to rid Terwilliger Parkway of those nasty invasive plants.

Students from Lewis & Clark College, as part of their New Student Orientation (NSO) Service Day, helped Friends of Terwilliger “groom” Eagle Point in preparation for the upcoming Harvest Moon Social September 14th. Check out the before and after photos!

It’s only March and already Friends of Terwilliger’s dedicated volunteers have planted hundreds of native plants.

WOW, another year of amazing Terwilliger Parkway restoration comes to an end. December 15th was our last work party of the year. Mark your calendars for a productive 2019!!

April 2018-Volunteers worked to rid the Terwilliger Parkway of invasive plants.

Earlier this winter Friends of Terwilliger board member Wesley Risher wrote to the City of Portland’s Urban Forestry to find out how to replace the dead Douglas-fir tree (Pseudotsuga Menziesii) planted as part of BES’ SW Vincent Place/SW Capitol Hwy Sewer Replacement Project.

2018 is off to a good start as we battle invasive species, particularly that darn ivy.

We’ve hosted 5 work parties, so far this year, with volunteers coming from all over the Portland metro area as well as from around the world!

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).

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.

Work has been completed on the retaining rock wall leading to Eagle Point; part of Terwilliger Parkway. Here’s a photo of the completed wall. Stay tuned for plans to celebrate here in fall 2019!

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.