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½ûÂþÌìÌà Schoolyards: What's New?
We have a long way to go to having an outdoor learning space and a thriving green schoolyard at every school in ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, but we're also really proud of all the greenery and garden programming we do have.
As of the 2023-24 school year, ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ:
- Has over 60 school gardens;
- Has 19 schools that partner with garden education organizations, including Grow Portland, Growing Gardens, and FoodCorps, plus many more schools that directly hire part- or full-time school garden educators;
- Has over 200 stormwater facilities that cover more than 5,000 square feet of ground and help replenish and filter ground water back into Portland's soil;
- Partners with Depave and other local organizations to remove asphalt at our schools whenever possible. During the 2022-23 school year, ½ûÂþÌìÌà supported 5 depave projects across the district;
- Partners with Learning Landscapes and others to plant trees in our schools that help create shade and play for our students;
- Planted over 50 trees in the 22-23 school year, and has plans to plant over 100 trees in high priority areas in the upcoming year;
- Is working with partners to study the state of our schoolyards so that we can better understand how to strategically and equitably plan their improvements over the next five years.
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Garden education
Outdoor learning and garden education is growing at ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ! Through our outstanding partner organizations, more and more ½ûÂþÌìÌà students are getting into the garden to learn about nature, stewardship, nutrition, and food system sustainability. Engaging youth in gardens gives them a sense of belonging and new perspectives on food, health, and the world around them.
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In the 2023-24 school year, for the first time, will be partnering with 7 ½ûÂþÌìÌà schools to provide garden education: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, César Chávez K-8 School, Marysville Elementary, Woodlawn Elementary, Jason Lee Elementary, Chapman Elementary, and Woodmere Elementary.
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will continue to partner with Lent, Scott, Kelly, Whitman, and Faubion, plus Rigler where Growing Gardens plans to offer culturally specific programming called Semillas Indígenas.
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currently partners with 9 sites: Bridlemile, Beverly Cleary, Clark, Creston, Grout, Harrison Park, James John, Rose City Park, and Vestal.
- Additional schools across the district partner with local organizations or directly hire garden teachers to provide outdoor learning at their schools.
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Stewardship Clean Up Events
Help steward our beautiful schoolyards by signing up for one of the many SOLVE and ½ûÂþÌìÌà collaborative clean up events taking around ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ. You can sign up for an event that exists already, or, if you don't see an event for your school, you can organize one!
Contact communitycare@pps.net to learn more about signing up for an event or hosting a community care day at your school.
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Tree Plantings
In 22-23, ½ûÂþÌìÌà planted over 50 trees and engaged over 175 students in urban forestry education!
For the 23-24 school year, we are planning to plant over 100 trees at schools that reside in low canopy areas of the city. Many of these tree plantings start with community members, teachers, and parents; we are grateful that there is so much community enthusiasm for this important work.