Portland’s first official nature play area is officially open!

On any given day, Portland’s brand new nature-based play area at Westmoreland Park is packed with up to a hundred kids playing in the sand and water area, climbing on the boulder and log climbing features, or building forts with large sequoia branches. Parents are not only watching the imaginative play that all the natural elements inspire, but are also participating with the kids to explore the play area’s unique features. Located in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood of Portland, Westmoreland Nature Play Area was born of the desire to update the existing outdated play area and replace it with a 100% custom nature-based play environment. The total play area is approximately one acre and allows families to build their own play experience.  The project received a 2014 Honor Award from the Oregon Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects. GreenWorks was selected by Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) to update the existing outdated playground and replace it with a 100% custom nature-based play environment. PP&R recognized the value in nature-based play for local children and proposed that the Westmoreland Playground be a pilot project for a natural play environment. GreenWorks worked with the client, public, and design team to define how nature-based play would function for this particular site. The design team included environmental artist, Adam Kuby. Adam not only helped envision individual artistic elements within the park as play features, but also collaborated with the design team on the overall conceptual design of the playground that represents the restoration of the adjacent Crystal Springs.

Echo Valley and Clackamas High School, in the press!

GreenWorks partnered with Clackamas County’s Water Environment Services (WES) to complete two exciting projects -- Echo Valley and Clackamas High School Low Impact Development Retrofit. Check out a recent article on their current impact from the Portland Tribune here!  

Poetry at the Beach Grand Opening

Come join GreenWorks and the Human Access Project (HAP) for Poetry at the Beach! Mike Faha, Principal of GreenWorks and current board member of HAP, and GreenWorks Landscape Designer Jeff Boggess assisted with the design of this poetry walk. GreenWorks is excited to support Will Levenson as Director of the Human Access Project and we look forward to further collaborations. See details of the event below.

Check out what’s on our radar in the Portland area!

Cully Neighborhood Park

Portland Parks and Recreation is moving forward with a neighborhood park in the Cully area this spring. The park will include a nature play area, picnic facilities and a Skate Dot. For more information about the park and GreenWorks’ role in its development,click here.

Gateway Green Campaign

After years of grassroots campaigning, there is opportunity to transform public land into Gateway Green, a multi-use off road bike park. The Gateway Green Campaign is underway as organizers hope to raise $100,000 in donations necessary for the project. Click here to read more and participate.

Salem's Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge in the News

Click here to read about the history and overview, as well as some of the technical issues surrounding this transformative project in downtown Salem.

Metro Natural Areas Levy Passed!

On Tuesday, Metro region voters approved a property tax levy to pay for parks and natural areas funding. The tax will provide Metro with approximately $10 million a year for maintenance and restoration at its properties. Read the full article here. GreenWorks is pleased that the region has spoken in favor of funding parks and natural areas. As landscape architects we support this movement to protect the area’s vibrant network of outdoor destinations and protected land. As volunteers and consultants we’ve collaborated with Metro for many years and look forward to working together on future projects that safeguard our parks and natural areas for future generations.

Mirror Pond Visioning Project in Bend, Oregon

GreenWorks has started consulting work with Bend Parks and Recreation District on alternatives that will provide four different solutions for the community to  consider for the iconic Mirror Pond on the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. Each option, ranging from taking out a dam to dredging or something in between, will illustrate the visual impact, cost estimates, regulatory requirements, challenges and opportunities. GreenWorks visited the site recently. Click on this link to watch a video for more information

Mirror Pond in Bend, Oregon

Madrona Studios Revitalizes Rose Quarter Housing

As part of the design team for Madrona Studios, GreenWorks provided landscape architecture services for the project, which is featured in the Fall Oregon Facilities issue highlighting the revitalized affordable housing building. Formerly a Ramada Inn within Portland’s Rose Quarter, Madrona Studios added 176 affordable housing units that now use, “27 percent less energy than a standard building of the same costs.”  The article explains ways the project team found to cut water, energy, heat, and lighting consumption for the retrofitted building.  The project resulted in an overall $42,000 annual cost savings for the project led by Central City Concern. The full article can be found at:

http://issuu.com/jengomedia/docs/orfall2011?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

GreenWorks designed frontage improvements that improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists in and around the site. Frontage improvements include the conversion of a vacated street into a striking and lush new planting area that provides year-round interest along this heavily travelled corridor. Additionally, GreenWorks worked closely with architects and engineers in retrofitting the building’s parking garage deck to accommodate new ecoroof planting areas, a gathering area with special paving, and improved ADA-accessibility for residents.

Confluence Project Featured this Week on OPB's "Think Out Loud"

Tomorrow's Oregon Public Broadcasing "Think Out Loud" broadcast will feature Artist Maya Lin and the Confluence Projects for which GreenWorks is providing landscape architectural services.  Artist Maya Lin and Confluence Executive Director Jane Jacobsen will be sitting in with host Emily Harris at 9 a.m. Thursday  to discuss Ms. Lin's approach to the series of interpretive sites in Oregon and Washington along the major rivers of the Pacific Northwest. Individual sites are located along the Snake, Columbia, and Sandy Rivers and include site developments in support of Ms. Lin's artwork, including:  viewpoints and overlooks, trails, parking, comfort stations, fish cleaning stations, information kiosks and other site facilities.  GreenWorks is responsible for detailed site design for multiple sites as well as leading an interdisciplinary team of engineers, designers, architects and regulatory professionals in the development of these sites.

You can listen to the broadcast and learn more at:

http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/maya-lin-and-confluence-project/

GreenWorks Receives Julian Prize for Sustainability in Public Works

GreenWorks recently received the Julian Prize for Demonstrating Sustainability in Public Works based on their development guidelines work for the Clean Water Services Low Impact Development (LID) Approaches Handbook.

“The award recognizes individuals, practices or projects that showcase the role of public works in furthering the principles of sustainability. The awards are intended to recognize systems thinking, long term design practices, and infrastructure systems that sustain society. The awards are intended to further APWA’s purpose of education and recognition of excellence.” – APWA Oregon Chapter

GreenWorks worked with Clean Water Services to complement and update their current design and construction standards. The Handbook encourages the use of and simplifies the application of low impact development approaches that improve water quality and attenuate stormwater flows for the Tualatin River Watershed. GreenWorks created a series of easy-to-read sketches and fact sheets that clearly show what current LID applications look like and how best to apply them through illustrative diagrams, explanatory text and photographs.