December 2013
NEWS
The Southwest Portland Post • 5
Friends of April Hill Park needs to raise
$24,000 to begin building bridges
COMMUNITY LIFE
(Continued from Page 3)
7
The No. 1 Hillsdale Knitting Soci-
ety: Learn basic knitting skills or get
help with an existing project. Crochet-
ers welcome too. For children 5 years
and older as well as adults. Saturday,
December 7, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at
the Hillsdale Library, 1525 SW Sunset
Blvd., 503-988-5388.
Garden Home’s 29th Annual Holi-
day Bazaar: Saturday, December 7, 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Join the community
and 100+ vendors! Breakfast with Santa
at 8:00 a.m. followed by all-you-can-
eat pancake breakfast, used book sale,
entertainment and more! Held at the
Garden Home Recreation Center on the
corner of Southwest Oleson and Garden
Home roads.
Used Book Sale: Saturday, Dec. 7,
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Hundreds of
books including children’s, travel,
mysteries, how-to, history, novels,
cookbooks & more! Hard backs for $1;
paperback for 50 cents, and CDs, DVDs
and tapes for $1. Collectibles as priced.
Entertainment books also for sale for
$30. All proceeds benefit the Garden
Home Community Library. 7475 SW
Oleson Rd. More info: 503-245-9932 or
www.wccls.org.
Sellwood Bridge Project
Right now, people entering the wetland trudge through dense vegetation and standing
water. Because there aren’t any defined trails, narrow and muddy paths criss-cross through
the wetland. (Photo courtesy Friends of April Hill Park)
By Melinda Hasting
The Southwest Portland Post
The Maplewood Neighborhood As-
sociation met November 13 and a key
highlight was the ongoing fundraising
campaign for April Hill Park improve-
ments.
Friends of April Hill Park, of which
Maplewood Neighborhood Association
is a member, has launched an Indiegogo
campaign to raise more funding to
match its recent $83,000 Metro grant
to improve the park’s wetlands and to
create safer access to nature for park
visitors.
The entire improvement budget is
estimated at $250,000, much of which
will be provided through pro-bono
and in-kind contributions. Friends of
April Hill Park must raise the remain-
ing matching funds of $24,000 for the
project to be green-lighted.
Due to weather sensitivities related
to construction, the organization is
pressing to achieve the goal quickly in
order to undergo the necessary (and
sometimes lengthy) permitting pro-
cess. Construction could begin during
the dry season in late spring 2014.
The concept plan for the project,
which is subject to review
and approval, includes creat-
ing 2,000 feet of sustainable
soft surface trail, along with
a 900 foot boardwalk with
handrails. Two bridges would
be constructed across Woods
Creek to help protect the banks
from erosion.
Soft surface trails are more
sustainable and help prevent
erosion. Organizers believe the
trails will minimize other im-
pacts to the water and will cre-
ate a new access point from the
dead-end street and entrance to
the park and its natural area.
The boardwalk area would
alleviate the negative impacts
of social trails that currently
exist, crisscrossing the wetland
and potentially degrading the
habitat. Bridges would allow
vegetation along the creek to
regrow, eventually increasing
the stability of the banks.
In order to create outdoor
classroom learning opportu-
nities for children and youth,
including Maplewood Elemen-
tary School students, a wetland
observation platform is slated
for construction and would ac-
commodate an entire classroom
of students.
Though the park is rich with
opportunities to observe na-
ture, it is currently unsafe for groups
of students to participate in outdoor
learning opportunities.
Maplewood Elementary School staff
intends to utilize the platform as a way
for students to get outside in fresh air
and observe nature firsthand.
Another important component of the
plan is to introduce signage through-
out the park that tells the story of the
wetland, its uniqueness in an urban
setting, and more about the variety of
its inhabitants.
Moreover, the signage will under-
score why off-trail and dog off-leash
activities introduce bacteria and in-
vasive plants that are harmful to the
wetland.
Thus far the Indiegogo campaign
has raised $3,176. Maplewood Neigh-
borhood Association has also paid to
mail a flyer to more than 1,000 house-
holds in the neighboring area. The
Indiegogo website is http://www.
indiegogo.com/projects/wild-about-
the-april-hill-park-wetland.
Donations can also be mailed to
Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc.
(SWNI), at SWNI, 7688 SW Capitol
Hwy. Portland 97219. In the memo
line, it is important to note “April
Hill Park.”
(Continued from Page 1)
“To be certified for Greenroads attain-
ment,” Pullen described, “the contrac-
tor, Slayden/Sundt, must go above and
beyond the minimum environmental
requirements.”
This includes efficiently using re-
sources and reusable materials; manag-
ing waste; reducing emissions; design-
ing accessibility for all; and creating
new pavement technology.
Cedar trees that had to be removed
on the westside were donated to local
tribes to be made into traditional gar-
ments and ceremonial items.
And the bridge will never have to
be painted since the arches are being
constructed with weathered steel.
In addition to the project website
(sellwoodbridge.org), project infor-
mation is available by calling 503-
209-4111 or by signing up for email or
twitter updates at the project website.
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