Depave playground, reclaim nature

By Edie Sidle
The Portland Upside
November 2009

Hindi Iserhott volunteers with City Repair’s Depave project to remove asphalt from the playground at Vestal Elementary School to make room for gardens.

Depave/City Repair (see “City Repair’s efforts inspire neighborhoods”, p. 1) recently helped reclaim a significant portion of the playground at Vestal School on Northeast 82nd Avenue.

Early Saturday morning, August 8, after a series of speeches by dignitaries including Mayor Sam Adams, City Repair coordinators explained the depaving process and safety considerations. Approximately 70 volunteers had gathered for the series of warm up exercises designed to get them ready for the physical work of tearing up 15,000 square feet of asphalt and concrete comprising the Vestal School playground. The number of volunteers for the project was truly impressive considering the hard work ahead.

While paved surfaces are useful for some objectives, depaving can improve the beauty and usefulness of cityscapes through habitat restoration, urban farming, and the planting of trees and native vegetation.

Today the depaved area of Vestal’s playground is filled with topsoil and compost and will eventually become an outdoor learning garden for the community and school. The City of Portland has already installed a water meter and spigots. Women in Trades has also built a shed to service the garden project. Later, Portland Youth Builders will add a second shed. Fencing added in the coming months will make the garden almost ready to use.

AmeriCorps volunteer Laura Benjamin will manage the garden, involving parents, students, and teachers in its use. The school has formed a Vestal Garden Committee comprised of 20 students who will meet once a week to discuss plans for the garden.

Already the students at the school have been involved with measuring and doing basic math to figure out how to add raised planter beds. A fourth grade class is learning about vermiculture so that in the spring worms can be added to the compost. Other students are busy considering winter cover crops for the garden. Clearly, to participate in the miracle of growing plants in their backyard will be a much richer experience for Vestal School students than to stare at black asphalt.

True to the goals of depaving, the entire community has already greatly benefited from the garden. Pooled resources from the City of Portland Parks and Recreation, Friends of Portland Community Gardens, and East Community Gardens, will continue to bring citywide resources to bear fruit on a once barren patch of pavement.

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For years, Edie has been involved in “business writing” but more recently has been exploring creative writing, even trying her hand at poetry. She may be reached at edeegee@yahoo.com