Last autumn a group of about fifteen Beaumont-Wilshire neighbors, together with scouts and their fathers from Troop 107, gathered together to pull, rake, trim, and cut down unwanted vegetation from both the 42nd and 43rd Avenue public stairways along Alameda Ridge. It was a great success, since it gave the stairwells a more open and safe feel. This was the first step in revitalizing these public spaces.
The second step is to plant drought tolerant, native plants in the planting beds next to the stairs. The group’s efforts will focus on the 43rd Ave. stairway for this first planting effort. Representatives from the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association (BWNA) applied for grant funding from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) to buy native plants and install them in the beds, and in December, EMSWCD awarded BWNA a grant of $1,500, enough to cover the purchase of somewhere between 400 and 500 plants. Installation will take place on a yet to be determined weekend in February.
Heartfelt thanks go out to the folks at the EMSWCD for providing this grant funding and to the Audubon Society of Portland and the Columbia Land Trust for assisting in getting the stairway certified as an official Backyard Habitat through the Backyard Habitat Certification Program. If you use these stairways or are interested in the project, consider pitching in to help with the weeding of the beds and installation of the plants. Once a planting date has been chosen, notifications will go out to residents on the Nextdoor website and the BWNA list. This is a project that will keep on giving to the community for years to come.