Dickinson Community Garden Concerns

Summary

This page presents concerns that have been raised about a community garden in Dickinson Park. There is a focus on the concerns raised through the petition process, which came about after the public Open House held about the garden concept (June 15th). There is also a page with reasons in support of the garden.

Sequence of events

On June 29, a group of concerned residents sent an email message to Crestwood and Ashcreek Neighborhood Associations indicating their intention to circulate a petition in opposition to the community garden project. At the July meeting of Crestwood NA, a group of petitioners were present to review the results of the petition and to voice their concerns to the project. Several residents who support the project were also in attendance. The petition results were submitted with 154 names signing in opposition to the garden. The opposition is focused on the proposed location at the top (east) of the park. There was an extended discussion and all present were encouraged to state their views.

The Neighborhood Association Board decided that the next step was to capture all of the concerns that had been raised about the project. It was decided that a request should be made of Portland Parks and Recreation to reconsider the proposed garden site to see if another location with the park could be considered.

Purpose

This page is intended to capture concerns raised about the Dickinson garden project. It is based on the assumption of the garden site being at the top (east) of the park just south of the existing play area. If there are additional concerns not stated below, please send them via email to jure@comcast.net.

Reasons in support of a garden

Summary

This page lists reasons that support a community garden in Dickinson Park. It represents views gathered during the neighborhood survey, the Open House, from the Crestwood Board and from work done with the Portland Community Garden Office. This list was created in response to the list of concerns raised.

Dickinson Park - Garden Questions & Answers

• Where in the park would a garden be located??
  We are considering two locations - one at the top of the park and south of the playground area. The other potential location is at the bottom of the park, on the southwest side.
• How big would a community garden be?
  The Portland Community Garden office requires a minimum of 10,000 sq feet for a new garden. This would allow for about 20 full size garden plots (20' x 20'). The space at Dickinson would support a larger garden area.
• How much of the total park area would this cover?
  A 10,000 sq foot area would be about 3 - 4% of the total open area of the park. A larger garden space would still leave plenty of open space in the park.
• Has a decision been made to develop a garden in the park?
  No. The neighborhood associations (Crestwood and Ashcreek) are planning for community outreach activity. This will gather community input which will be used by the neighborhood associations as the basis for recommendations about the possibility of pursuing a garden.
• When would the garden be built?
  A garden in the park hasn't yet been approved and no timetable has been set.
• What about the slope? Isn't Dickinson too steep for a garden?
  A study of the site hasn't been done, but the Portland Community Garden office has visited the park and considers that a garden site here is feasible.
• What about the Dickinson Park Master Plan?
  Portland Parks & Recreation established a master plan in 2000 with input from a Citizen Advisory Committee, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and Metro. At that point, a community garden was not considered, but it was also not excluded. The activities of a community garden are consistent with the goals established by the Master Plan.
• What is needed to build a garden?
  A community garden needs to have water, fencing, plots staked out, foot paths and possible soil improvements. A water meter would have to be installed along with piping for several water spouts.
• How much will this cost?
  Costs will vary depending on the size of the garden and how many plots and raised beds there are. The full cost of a community garden in Portland can be $25,000 or more.
• How will this be funded?
  The neighborhood association has some funds remaining from other projects. There are some potential sources of grant money. However, at this point, funding is not secured.
   
• What other options are there for a community garden location?
  There are no existing community gardens in the Crestwood / Ashcreek region. Other spaces of public land were considered, but there is no other feasible space. The closest existing community garden is in Gabriel Park.
   
• What level of demand is there for community garden space? How do we know it will be used?
  Demand for community garden space has significantly increased in recent years. Portland Community Gardens has waiting lists of 150 people for Gabriel and Vermont Hills gardens, and a waiting list of over 1600 city wide.
   
• Why are community gardens popular now?
  There has been a surge of interest in local food and establishing a food chain apart from large industrial food production. Community gardens represent an alternative way to grow food and a great way to form ties within a community.

Dickinson Park Garden Survey Results

Here are the summary results of the recently completed Dickinson Park Garden survey. You can also review the complete results document which includes all of the individual narrative responses and some comparative analysis showing support levels by response grouping. It is also a file attachment at the bottom of this page.
Thank you to everyone who participated!

Survey Responses: 172

Ashcreek / Crestwood Open House

OPEN HOUSE
for Crestwood and Ashcreek Neighborhoods

~ Including a discussion about a potential community garden in Dickinson Park ~

Schedule

• 6:30 (optional): Meet at Dickinson Park to preview the proposed garden site - (~ 1 block south of 55th & Alfred)
• 7 pm: Open House - welcome and greet your neighbors
• 7:15: Presentation on the Dickinson Park Garden Outreach Project and Grant
• 7:30: Open Discussion on the Dickinson Park garden and related topics
• 8:00: Meet your Neighborhood Associations – Introduction of the Ashcreek and Crestwood Board members and committee functions
• 8:15: Open Discussion on Neighborhood topics

Discussion Topics

1. Community Garden in Dickinson Park - what do YOU think?
   • We will go over the results of our survey, talk about what a community garden would mean and then have an open conversation.
   • Staff from Portland Parks and Recreation and the Portland Community Garden Office will be present.
2. What do you want for our neighborhoods? (Open Discussion)
   • Do you have ideas for our parks?
   • Are you concerned about roads and transportation? Safety? Emergency preparedness?
   • Do you know what your Neighborhood Association does?
   • What topics are important to YOU?
3. Introduction of the Neighborhood Association Board members
   • Meet the people who volunteer to work for the neighborhood. Find out who they are and what they do.
   • Find out how you can get involved.

Steps Towards a Community Garden

This page documents the steps that we are taking towards a community garden in Dickinson Park. Since Dickinson is part of the Portland park network, we made an assumption early on that we would work through the Portland Parks Community Gardens Office.

Initial concept - Crestwood Neighborhood Association (July, 2010)

 At the July 2010 meeting of the Crestwood NA, we discussed the concept of a community garden in Dickinson Park. There was some remaining funds from the playground project and pursuing a community garden seemed like a good idea. We agreed to contact Leslie Pohl-Kasbau of the Portland Parks Community Garden Office.

Crestwood NA - September Board meeting

Leslie Pohl-Kasbau come out and did a site visit of Dickinson Park and determined that this was a suitable location for a community garden. She liked the location near the playground and felt that the slope was not a problem. Leslie attended our board meeting and shared information on what it takes to develop a garden, including the minimum size (10,000 sq ft) and the typical costs. She indicated that Portland Parks has an established process for working in an area with an established Master Plan and that community outreach is considered to be important.

Partnerships

The next step was to reach out to other organizations, to build support and get guidance on how to approach this process.

• SWNI - I spoke with Sylvia and Payal and they provided input on how to start planning community outreach activity. They also provided input on how to work on a neighborhood grant.
• SWNI Parks Committee - Getting input and support from this group was helpful and led to further interaction with Portland Parks & Recreation.
• Dickinson Park Stewards - I approached Tony Hansen for his ideas and input about a garden in the Park.
• Ashcreek Neighborhood Association - Since Dickinson borders both Crestwood and Ashcreek neighborhoods, it was important to meet with Ashcreek and get their input and support.

Working on a SWNI Neighborhood Grant

We started with the concept that the Dickinson Movies and Garden projects could apply for a grant together since both activities are in Dickinson. However, the timing and cost needs made this not feasible. It became important to have Ashcreek sponsor the grant application, which led to a need for a deeper partnership. This turns out to be a good thing. Residents from both neighborhoods use Dickinson. Both neighborhoods should review the community outreach input and be involved in making recommendations about the future of the park. Working with others who have completed other grants successfully was an important step. Our grant is specifically to support the community outreach needed, and includes:

• Community input survey
• An input session for residents in high density housing areas
• An Open House
• A final report, summarizing all of the community input

Community Outreach & Portland Parks

Portland Parks considers community input to be essential for new projects. They have an established policy on community input (Public Involvement Policy) and a Public Involvement & Community Engagement Manager - Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong. For any new initiative, a Public Involvement Plan must be established using the Public Involvement Toolkit (officially referenced by the BIP #9, the Bureau Innovation Project). I met with Elizabeth in December on got her input on how to focus outreach efforts. The essential things are to 1) identify users of the park, and 2) determine how they feel about a garden. The process needs to determine stakeholders (who cares about the park) and their level of interest, support or opposition. She also outlined a broader approach used for Parks projects:

1. Is there community support for this?
   If so, how was it collected and measured? If not, what are the barriers?
2. Understanding the nature of community input.
   A mix of positive and negative input for public projects is typical. The essential thing is to understand the drivers and motivations that shape the input.
3. Cultivate interest in a project.
   Build a volunteer pool, find those who will support an idea, etc.

Survey

Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong (PP&R) also had good input on how to structure a survey.

• Keep the survey scope narrow and focused on the topic.
• 10 question limit
• Don't ask for information you won't use.
• Help people self-identify by interest or stakeholder group (very important in summarizing input)
• Ask how they would feel about a garden in the park & would they prefer it to be elsewhere.
• Use response categories to gauge interest level (strongly support, support, neutral, opposed, strongly opposed)
• Having a question that helps people visualize options is helpful
  For example: What ammenties would you favor in a garden? Information Kiosk, children's plot, seating area, water fountain
• Use an online survey but give people a number to call to request a printed survey (not everyone has online access or wants to use it)
• Determine the target areas/boundaries for inclusion with a survey mailing
  You don't have to mail to the entire community address list.
• Put up a sign in the park promoting the survey