February 23, 2012

By David Nguyen

After three years in the works, the Frazer Community Garden in the Rose City Park neighborhood is set to open at long last, just in time for planting season, writes Jennifer Anderson in today's Tribune. The new garden is one of five PP&R community gardens that will open this spring and summer as part of our '1,000 Gardens' campaign, the effort to add 1,000 new community garden plots by the end of the year.

Together with our partners, we launched the '1,000 Gardens' initiative in 2009 as part of the City's Climate Action Plan. Portlanders are increasingly excited about the idea of growing their own fresh, healthy food and spending time outdoors with their neighbors.

As Anderson reports, we currently have about 40 community gardens, many with years-long waiting lists. We're working hard to bring new plots to folks in the community, particularly in areas with high demand and few gardens.

In addition to Frazer, two other gardens are under construction and set to open in May: Errol Heights at SE 48th and Tenino, and at Grant High School, NE 36th and US Grant Place.

As with many of our garden projects, the local non-profit Friends of Portland Community Gardens was instrumental in helping the neighborhood secure grants and navigate the system to bring their vision to life. The Friends were able to raise more than $20,000 for the Frazer garden.

Click here to visit our '1,000 Gardens' blog and track our progress!

Photo: Courtesy Christopher Onstott, the Portland Tribune