K-12 Education & Community
Ever since my son started preschool over 15 years ago, I have been working for schools by designing outdoor learning spaces, promoting plant literacy, and creating opportunities for connection. My work with schools connects students to plants and also gathers people within a school community in celebration of botanical beauty and bounty. This abundance is then shared in wider and wider circles, radiating out in the form of service work for local non-profits, donations to public schools and food banks, student leadership in the local community and citizen science networks both nationally and internationally.
Riverdale Grade School Garden
& Outdoor Classroom
This was a true from scratch project. When my two children started school at this K-8 school in SW Portland, there was no garden or outdoor learning program. But, there were talented and creative educators and a community that wanted and supported outdoor learning. The entire community pitched in for a slow and steady 3 year build. From the boy scouts moving yards upon yards of beautiful soil donated by Dean’s Innovations, to students who pitched to the PTC for start up funding, to guest growers and speakers, to partnerships with Tryon Creek State Park and other local non-projfts, we created new pathways for learning and connection.
Oregon Episcopal School
& Greenhouse
My role as OES Greenhouse Coordinator initially involved restoring an existing greenhouse
while also building new connections to both curriculum and community. The newly renovated
space now serves all three divisions (lower, middle and upper school), workshops for parents,
as well as non-profit work the broader Portland Metro Area.
For a closer look, follow these links
https://www.oes.edu/post/~board/aardvark-posts-content/post/upper-school-greenhouse
Taking Ownership PDX
Gardening is a beautiful way to connect community and give back. I have volunteered in this capacity for over 30 years now...directing diverse community gardens at Lake Merritt in
downtown Oakland, teaching permaculture at Merritt College for a reintegration program for
incarcerated adults, facilitating restoration projects for Friends of Sausal Creek, and most recently fixing up home gardens for elders living in gentrified neighborhoods of Portland.
For a closer look, follow this link:
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/taking-ownership-pdx-displacement-gentrification-portland/