On Thursday, the Metro Council awarded eight Portland-area nature groups restoration and community stewardship grants totaling $205,000 as part of Metro’s Nature in Neighborhoods program.
The restoration and community stewardship grants support local organizations with projects that preserve and restore fish and wildlife habitats, improve water quality and connect people with nature. The grants are paid for by the parks and natural areas levy that was approved by voters in 2013.
Grantees were chosen from a robust pool of contenders, with the grants reviewed by a committee of environmental and community development experts. The projects supported by the grants range from creating a greenspace in Hillsboro to improving pollinator habitat in Wilsonville and increasing shade in the Johnson Creek watershed to nature education programs across the metro area.
The eight grant recipients aren’t working alone. The grants connect with dozens of partner organizations, extending their impact far beyond the awarded program.
Full list of recipients of Nature in Neighborhoods Restoration and Community Stewardship grants 2016
Backyard Habitat Certification - Clackamas County Expansion
Recipient: Audubon Society of Portland and Columbia Land Trust
Grant Amount: $12,000
Partners: Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District, Clackamas County Water Environment Services, City of Milwaukie, City of West Linn, North Clackamas Urban Watersheds Council, Johnson Creek Watershed Council, Oak Lodge Sanitary District
This project will expand the Backyard Habitat Certification Program to new areas of urban and sub-urban Clackamas County.
Bee Stewards in Wilsonville
Recipient: City of Wilsonville
Grant Amount: $22,662
Partners: Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP), West Linn-Wilsonville School District (CREST), Friends of Trees, Xerces Society, Habitat Landscape Design, Northwest Youth Corps, Oregon State University (North Willamette Research-Extension Center)
The City of Wilsonville will see an expanded pollinator habitat with increased student education, community awareness and stewardship on private lands. The project will also safeguard pollinator health by enacting sustainable pest solutions on City lands.
A Green Community Plaza for Hillsboro's M&M Swap Meet
Recipient: Depave
Grant Amount: $30,000
Partners: M&M Swap Meet Marketplace, Clean Water Services, City of Hillsboro, Hillsboro Downtown Partnership
Depave plans to transform the M&M Swap Meet property from gray to green by engaging community members in urban re-greening activities involving pavement removal, rain garden creation, native plant installation, and related neighborhood greenspace elements.
Increased Tree Shading for the Johnson Creek Watershed
Recipient: Johnson Creek Watershed Council
Grant Amount: $30,000
Partners: Verde, Wisdom of the Elders, African Youth and Community Organization (AYCO), multiple committed landowners
Johnson Creek Watershed Council will work with private landowners in the Johnson Creek watershed to provide critical shade to watershed streams by employing workforce training crews from communities of color to plant native trees and shrubs.
Rinearson Creek Stewardship Initiative
Recipient: North Clackamas Urban Watersheds Council
Grant Amount: $22,811
Partners: North Clackamas Urban Watershed Council, Dig In Community, Rex Putnam High School
The North Clackamas Urban Watershed Council and Dig In Community are joining forces with community members, schools and agencies to expand and improve restoration outcomes and environmental education to the youth of the Rinearson watershed.
Pollinator Parkways
Recipient: Pollinator Parkways
Grant Amount: $3,300
Partners: The City Repair Project, Bridgeport United Church of Christ, Creative Science School
Pollinator Parkways creates urban pollinator habitat and eliminates pesticide use by replacing lawn/ornamentals/invasive plants with native plants of staggered bloom times.
Lents Conservation Partnership
Recipient: ROSE Community Development
Grant Amount: $35,000
Partners: Green Lents, Portland Parks and Recreation, Portland State University
The Lents Conservation Partnership expands and enhances pollinator habitat restoration and connectivity in the Lents portion of the Johnson Creek watershed. The program will use existing conservation projects to increase youth engagement and community stewardship.
Creating Community Natural Area Stewardship
Recipient: West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District
Grant Amount: $50,000
Partners: West Willamette Restoration Partnership, Tryon Creek Watershed Council, SW Watershed Resource Center, Friends of Terwilliger, Friends of Marquam, Portland Parks and Recreation, City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Backyard Habitat Certification Program.
This project will build upon a successful engagement program. Tools are designed for the community to engage residents around natural area stewardship.