Today the DJC reported that a new child care center will be opening in the South Waterfront this fall.  Click here to read more.

Article in the DJC this week about a unique opportunity for South Waterfront to implement a district wide energy infrastructure.

http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/04/21/ohsu-plans-ahead-for-south-waterfront-district-energy/

Join the South Waterfront, and the rest of the world, on Saturday March 26th for Earth Hour.  At 8:30 pm (PST) turn off all the lights in your home to help raise awarness about global warming.  For more information about Earth Hour visit the following resources:

Earth Hour: Office US Website
City of Portland: Earth Hour Page

There are only a few spots remaining for the 2010 CSA season, if you are interested in joining please contact the SIO CSA today for more information or to sign-up.

Francesca Benedetti
CSA Coordinator
Sauvie Island Organics
Office: 503.621.6921
Mobile: 503.312.0183
www.sauvieislandorganics.com
Email: francesca@sauvieislandorganics.com

Simmer away those wintertime blues with exotic Hot Pots at Bambuza.  Cook dinner at your own table every Tuesday night in January. Bambuza will offer a special menu that includes a featured appetizer and hot pot selection for $14.90 per person (minimum two people).

The Oregonian reported today that Zidell has submitted plans for cleaning up their parcels of land in the South Waterfront – most likely to make way for development.

Read the Oregonian Story Here and Here.

Our neighborhood farmer, Mark Harvey, of Old House Dahlias (oldhousedahlias.com) was recenlty highlighted in the Oregonian for his pioneering urban farmer attitude.  Way to go Mark!

Read the article here:  A field of sustainable dreams blooms under South Waterfront towers

Let’s celebrate Oregon’s bounty by discovering how sustainable food is grown, harvested, produced, shipped, prepared and served across this great state. South Waterfront Community Relations has assembled some of our region’s foremost food experts, from farmers, restaurant owners, chefs, and grocers to help dispel myths and give us the facts on sustainable dining.

The Sustainable Food Panel will include:

John Orlando, owner of Meriwether’s Restaurant
Steve Cohen, Food Policy Program Coordinator for the City of Portland
Mellie Pullman, Board Member of the Food Alliance
Earl Hook, Chef of Meriwether’s Restaurant
Josh Volk, Farmer for Meriwether’s Skyline Farm
David Yudkin, President of Hot Lips Pizza
Ann Forsthoefel, Executive Director of Portland Farmers Market
Sheila Nicholas, Owner of Anam Cara Cellars

Eat while you’re learning: Meriwether’s Restaurant will provide some delicious appetizers using ingredients from their Skyline Farm.

SWF Sustainability Speaker Series
Wednesday, October 28,  6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Umpqua Bank | South Waterfront
3606 SW Bond St. Portland, OR  97239 map it

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
RSVP appreciated, but feel free to stop by
RSVP: communityrelations@southwaterfront.com or 503.222.7788

Oregon is a stunningly beautiful state. Unfortunately, there is a lot of work to do to keep it that way. One challenge is water quality. Right now, every major river in Oregon fails federal clean water standards. The first step towards cleaner, healthier rivers is proper enforcement of environmental laws. Attorney General John Kroger is committed to improving environmental enforcement in Oregon. But to succeed he’ll need help.

Come be part of the solution!  Join Attorney General Kroger and other local officials for a discussion about the current challenges facing the Willamette Watershed and what steps we need to take to clean up our state.

Thursday, October 1
6:30pm – 8:00pm
John Ross Plaza Studio
3623 SW River Parkway
Portland,OR 97239

If you plan to attend please RSVP to Julie Rutherford at julie.rutherford@doj.state.or.us.

To learn more about the Oregon Department of Justice’s efforts to protect our environment please see the Department’s homepage at www.doj.state.or.us.

Together we can keep Oregon beautiful.
Hope to see you there!

Mark of Old House of Dahlias will be selling dahlias every Friday, beginning Sept. 25, from 12 to 6 pm.  The South Waterfront dahlia stand will offer pre-cut dahlias, 10 stems for $7. 

There will also be a Dahlia Festival open house Saturday and Sunday from 10-5 at his Old House of Dahlias at 8005 S.E. Mill St. (between Stark and Division off 80th).

www.oldhousedahlias.com

Who would have thought I could look out the window of my downtown condo and see a tractor plowing through a muddy field? Amazingly, I have the most incredible view of the Ross Island Bridge, the Willamette River, Zidel’s barge builders, the OHSU buildings and the Tram. Now I will get to see dahlia’s in bloom, thanks to Mark Harvey of Old House Dahlias.

Mark was living in Southeast Portland with his sister. She got married and  moved out, so he needed a source of income to be able to keep the home they bought together. He decided to grow dahlias. For two years he planted the flowers at his home until he decided to expand. He began planting the flowers in Corbett on a leased farm. He kept the dahlias as a display at home and sold the potted ones while raising tubers. From February of 2009 until the end of April, dahlia disasters keep happening: cuttings got too hot in his greenhouse, next he moved them outside and they got root rot. So he tried putting 75 flats in his garage, but there was not enough light for growth. Finally he began to look for a piece of urban land to plant his dahlia cuttings. He had a friend living in the South Waterfront who told him about the land right on the river. So he approached the developers to get their permission to lease the land until the housing market improves. Once he got permission to use the land, he began to grow the cuttings in his garage.

So one morning in May I look out my window and see a green tractor and two men, one wearing a cowboy hat. Being from Montana, I was curious and went down the elevator to introduce myself to this cowboy. It was Mark and his recruit… Dad, of course. His father, Dwight, told me that Mark just has it in his blood to be a farmer. His grandpa farmed in Nebraska. Mark is an environmentalist and worked for the Department of Fish and Wildlife for five years. Now he works during the week for his brother-in-law at Pacific Foods in Canby. But on the weekends, he becomes an urban farmer. His goal is to sell cut flowers in the fall.

The most recent Dahlia disaster came in June with temperatures in the 90’s. For the first time since I can remember, we were able to attend the Starlight parade with no umbrella or raincoat. Mark thought he had until July to solve the problem of not having an outlet to water his flowers. Dahlias are a kind of desert flower, however, Mark planted mostly cuttings and only a few tubers. It’s July now and half the field is finally green, the half with the tubers. The cuttings are still struggling a bit from the heat, but July 4th weekend Mark showed up with a water truck that he borrowed from his brother-in-law. For two days he patiently watered, talking to the condo residents and napping intermittently on the lawn. In September, the South Waterfront residents will all benefit from a field of dahlias in the midst of high-rise buildings, thanks to the persistence of an urban farmer! Check out Mark’s website: www.oldhousedahlias.com

Portland RiverFest returns to South Waterfront this year on Saturday, August 22. This free, family-friendly festival celebrates life on the river with live music, food and drink, attractions and fun activities. Last year’s RiverFest was a huge success, and this year is shaping up to be even better. Festivities take place throughout the day beginning at 11 a.m. on the expansive South Waterfront greenway. Mayor Sam Adams and other city officials will be present to kick off the celebration. Look for a complete schedule of events coming soon. Festival highlights include:

*   PDX Jazz at RiverFest Mary Kadderly, Darrell Grant & On TheTerritory, Stephanie Schneiderman, and Tom Grant with Shelly Rudolph
*   Food & drink vendors
*   Open marketplace with over 50 booths, including Handmade NW
*   River education center
*   PURE river blessing ceremony
*   Urban Willamette photo essay
*   Art exhibition by Portland sculptor Mike Suri presented by Heidi McBride Gallery.
*   Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission lodges
*   Kid Fun Zone
*   Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde big canoes & drummers
*   Dog activities, including games & prizes

Join your fellow river lovers in restoring, appreciating, and recreating on the Willamette. The festival at South Waterfront is part of a four-day celebration along the Willamette that runs from Thursday, August 20 through Sunday, August 23. Other RiverFest events include the Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon, bridge tours, Portland Spirit/KINK Cruise, kayak tours, walking tours, SOLV riverbank cleanups, Portland Audubon events, and more. For a complete four-day schedule of RiverFest activities, visit www.portlandriverfest.org.

Saturday, August 22, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Old House Dahlias, a Portland-based farm located in SE Portland, has planted over 5,000 dahlias in lot 27 just north of Meriwether East. Blooming should start with Foxy Lady in late August and be in full force by the middle of September. All dahlias are grown green with organic products. Most of the varieties make good cut flowers, which you will have the opportunity to purchase. For more info about our little South Waterfront Dahlia farm and Old House Dahlias’ yearly Dahlia Fest in September, call Mark Harvey at 503-771-1199 , or go to oldhousedahlias.com.

Through a generous donation from Williams & Dame Development and Block 37 Investors, LLC, a temporary site for the South Waterfront Community Garden is born! The residents of South Waterfront worked with Community Relations to plan and construct the garden this spring, resulting in 13 garden beds on the lot south of Atwater Place. The beds are completely full this year, but don’t despair. If you are a South Waterfront resident you can become a Friend of the Community Garden and help out. Contact the Community Relations office at communityrelations@southwaterfront.com for more information.

We will be providing garden updates in both the E-Current and here on the Green Living Blog: stay tuned for more Garden related news and events

PCC and South Waterfront Community Relations have teamed up to bring continuing education classes to the South Waterfront! Sign up today for one of these three courses being offered during the spring term:

Container Gardening: Hands-on instruction to create lush floral arrangements for your garden or patio. Go home with one planted pot completed in class! For more information: Click Here.

Tai Chi, Beginning: A gentle approach to exercise emphasizing mind/body harmony, relaxation, centering and coordination. For more information: Click Here.

About Your Dog: Gain insight into your dog’s behavior and leave with tried-and-true tools to communicate effectively for a long, happy life with your dog. For more information: Click Here.

Dates and times vary by class.
All classes will be held in the John Ross Plaza Studio.  PCC code: JROSSP
3623 SW River Pkwy., Portland, OR 97239 map it

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – enrollment through PCC is required

The Daily Journal of Commerce gave us an update last week about the next block to be developed in the South Waterfront.

“A new, mixed-use development has been designed by Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects for the South Waterfront District.  The Tamarack, which will have affordable apartment units as well as ground-floor retail and office space, will occupy what is known as Block 49 at the south end of Portland‘s South Waterfront District.”  For the rest of the article, click here.

At the end of January the South Waterfront Community Relations office invited all of the movers and shakers of South Waterfront to participate in a District Update.  They host these meetings twice a year and it gives everyone a chance to hear from the folks in charge how the district is progressing.  For those of you who did not or could not attend they have released a summary from that event – click Here for a PDF.

The January edition of the Portland Monthly had a nice long expose about our new Mayor – what I find most interesting is the long introduction that takes Amanda Burden on a tour through South Waterfornt.  Definately worth a read – which you can now do online (finally!) – read it here: Becoming Sam Adams.

http://www.portlandonline.com/ONI/index.cfm?c=43746&a=218694

Thanks for helping to make this city such a great place to live!

Location:  Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Boulevard | 2 -4 PM | Public Welcome

The Ross Island Vision Team (made up of Audubon Society of Portland, Greenworks, PC, Urban Greenspaces Institute, Willamette Riverkeeper, Melissa Meideros and Christina Frank) invites you to join them, along with Portland Parks and Rec. to discuss plans for the future management and restoration of  Ross Island. Here is the agenda for the meeting:

> Presentation by City of Portland to manage and restore the 45-acre site on Ross Island that are currently in public ownership.

> Presentation by Ross Island Vision Team regarding future restoration and management of entire 4 island complex.

> Volunteer Opportunities at Ross Island

> Strategies to establish a No Wake Zone in Holgate Channel

> Next steps to establish a formal structure for the Friends of Ross Island.

For more information, please click here.

What an amazing inaugural event for the South Waterfront – Riverfest was a big hit on Sept. 6th – with over 2,000 people attending the event to see Bobby Torres…

the Devin Phillips Funk Band….

the Oregon Ballet Theatre…

and much, much more.  In case you missed it, be sure to check out our Community Gallery and click on the Category for “Events.”

However, if you were there and took photos of the event, please feel free to add them to the Community Gallery, just click here.

(photos provided by Kent Anderson.)

On Saturday, during the Riverfest festivities in South Waterfront (pictures to come), Dan Kent, the executive director of Salmon Safe gave a plaque to Homer Williams of Williams & Dame Development officially announcing that the South Waterfront is the first neighborhood to ever receive Salmon Safe certification. Certification means the neighborhood’s design and operations exceed regulatory mandates to protect the Willamette River and is a leader in restoring the health of the Willamette River and tributaries. This is a huge achievement for the South Waterfront district and yet more proof that this neighborhood is working hard to be the “greenest” in the nation.

On Saturday September 6th from 11am – 5pm, you’re invited to a big party celebrating green living on the Willamette River at Riverfest ’08’s South Waterfront Day. This FREE family and dog-friendly festival focuses on restoring, appreciating and recreating on the Willamette. South Waterfront Day is chock-full of events; they include:

• PDX Jazz presents Concerts in the Park:
  • 11am – Portland Revels
  • 11:15am – Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra
  • 12:50pm – Bobby Torres
  • 2:20pm – Devin Phillips Funk Band
  • 5:00pm – Calynco Steel Drum Band

• Live Performances:
  • Oregon Ballet Theatre, feat. a duet from Swan Lake, apprentice performances and a 30 minute class for the public.
  • PICA / TBA: Sojourn Theatre performances of BUILT at the Discovery Center – 2:30, 4:30, & 6:30 pm.
• Sailing Regatta presented by West Coast Sailing – over 30 boats will compete for prizes; 3 – 5 pm.
• Open Marketplace including over 40 South Portland Business Association vendors.
• Bridge Stories and Portland Aerial Tram Ride / Walk: meets at lower Tram station at 10am & 1pm.
• Food, Wine, and Beer Vendors: featuring Ponzi Vineyards, Deschutes Brewery, Bambuza Vietnamese Bistro, Macadam’s Bar and Grill, Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille, and Jimmy’s Smokehouse.
  • Don’t forget: FREE wine and beer tasting at1:30PM.

• SWF Art Exchange: enjoy sounds from the Calynco Steel Drum Band from 2:30 – 5pm.
• District Walking Tours: tour the South Waterfront and learn about the district’s sustainable features, 12, 1:30, & 3:30pm.
• Audubon Society of Portland: Birds of prey.
• Willamette Shore Trolley: Trips from SWF to Lake Oswego at 11 am, 1, 3, 5 & 8pm and trips from Lake Oswego to SWF at 10am, 12, 2, 4, & 6pm.
• Sand Mandala: the Wholistic Peace Institute brings five Tibetan Monks from the Gaden Segyued Monastery in India to create a breathtaking and healing sand mandala at OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
• Family Fun Zone: Many kids activities including interactive sports and games, face painting, balloon artists, cookie decorating and free ice cream from the Umpqua Bank Ice Cream Truck.
• Raffle: Enter to win fabulous prizes! You don’t need to be present to win, the drawing will be held at 4pm.
• PDXDog Town – Well behaved dogs are welcome at our dog-centric festivities! Dog day spa, creativity center, dog adoption groups, training classes and police dog demos will be going on all day. Costumed dog parade and competition at 11:30am, costume prizes given at 12:15pm.
• Free Bike Tune-Ups: provided by En Selle.

On September 6th, living in South Waterfront will not only mean inhabiting the banks of the largest north flowing river in Oregon. Being in SWF on that day will also put you right in the heart of the action for Riverfest ‘08.

Riverfest has three goals: make the Willamette River a focus of fun and learning; actively improve river and watershed health through increased community engagement; and promote economic activity on the riverfront.

The festival, which kicks off on August 28th with The Oregon Symphony Waterfront Concert, features events throughout the city. It will be a big affair here in South Waterfront; Saturday September 6th is South Waterfront day, and the district will be pulling out all the stops.

Highlights include a SWF Neighborhood Park concert, produced by PDX Jazz with Bobby Torres, Devin Phillips Funk Band and Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra. Look for performances by Oregon Ballet Theatre, and as part of PICA’s TBA Festival, Sojourn Theatre. Countless attractions and activities will be on offer including a sailing regatta, large retail marketplace, food, wine & beer vendors featuring Salmon Safe Ponzi Vineyards and Deschutes Brewery, 85 foot hot air balloon, art exchange, children’s activity city, PdxDog ™ Town, bike tune-ups and an exciting announcement from Salmon Safe.

SWF Community Relations needs resident ambassadors for this event. Please contact communityrelations@southwaterfront.com or go to www.portlandriverfest.org. Public welcome.

Our own South Waterfront Sustainable Lifestyle and Transportation Committee, along with the folks with South Waterfront Community Relations have put together a series of talks with local gurus of sustainability. The first talk was in April with Eban Goodstein, Professor of Economics at Lewis & Clark College and author of several books about sustainability and it’s affect on the economy.

The next talk in the series is coming up next week – July 10th to be exact – and will feature Regina Hauser, the Executive Director of the Oregon Natural Step Network. Hauser will pick up where Prof. Goodstein has left off, by presenting on the Natural Step framework, which provides the principals and steps to take to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. For more information on this event, please click here.

The last event will feature Michael Armstrong, the Deputy Director of the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development. The date of this event has yet to be determined – so stay tuned! I hope to see everyone at the upcoming speakers, they are particularly relevant to the culture of the South Waterfront.

November’s issue has a great article about the state of LEED certification in America called “Can LEED Survive the Carbon Neutral Era?” which addresses the challenges that the LEED certification is facing and how LEED standards are evolving. The article even highlights landmark LEED buildings in the USA – including the South Waterfront’s very own OHSU Center for Health and Healing – click on the image to the right of the article. Between those two articles and the article “Beyond the Spectacle,” which describes Dubai’s development plans, of which most will be certified by the UAE’s LEED system, it seems to me that sustainable development is becoming the standard rather than a luxury. If that is the case it still baffles me as to why the Homebuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland has a problem with Portland’s carbon tax initiative (see Oregonian article here). Seems to me that if they are already building green as many developers claim to be they should be excited about the potential tax rebates they could qualify for.

In a recent article published by Kevin Maney in the Conde Nast Portfolio, a discussion regarding the effects of bottled water is introduced. Since water bottles consist of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), aka oil, it is estimated that 17.6 billion barrels of oil are used in their manufacturing. That roughly projects out to the use of enough fuel to power one million vehicles annually.

The EPA monitors municipal water systems and grades them accordingly. Most places in the United States succeed in producing water that is safe and some even add fluoride. The two largest producers of bottled water, Aquafina and Dasani actual do nothing spectacular in the creation of their water. Aquafina’s water comes from filtered municipal taps while Dasani’s water comes from a plant in Canada that also produces cars and paint.

As far as municipal systems go, Portland was recently rated as having the second best drinking water in the nation. The EPA was quoted as saying that the water is so pure coming from the taps that filtration was not needed. Several other cities across the United States can claim almost the same thing which leads us again to question why we are wasting the precious oil on bottling water. Let’s not just hold water responsible. Bottled sodas and juices are also at fault. Imagine how much oil could be saved to heat our homes and power our vehicles if fluids were not plasticized.

The dams that make Hydropower impede fish runs and the reservoirs behind dams warm the water above natural temperature or in some cases release deep reservoir cold water into a normally warmer river. Both these situations harm native river ecosystems. So by reducing the need for more energy we reduce the need for dams built to supply power. Since some dams across the country are reaching the end of their physical life the opportunity to remove them becomes an option. These are serious issues that not only affect the human population of the world but also affect the rest of the world’s wildlife. Without a wide diversity of life on the planet we will have a very lonely planet.

   Next on the hierarchy of transportation is public transit, of which South Waterfront is unparalleled in the US, with the exception of New York City, because of the Portland Ariel Tram. The  Tram makes for a easy connection between one of Portland’s largest employer, OHSU, and the Portland Streetcar. The Tram also allows for OHSU to expand on the land they own in South Waterfront such as they have done with the Center for Health and Healing at the base of the Tram. Also by having the base of  the Tram surrounded by the high density residences in the South Waterfront neighborhood will make for an easy commute for OHSU employees or patients who live there without any other transportation link. The Streetcar loop through the district makes it easy to exit a full streetcar on the southbound trip and do pickup on the northbound trip. The Streetcar also connects South Waterfront in a linear route through the heart of Portland; River-place, Portland State University, MAX Light Rail and multiple Bus routes, Downtown, the Pearl District and Northwest Portland. Bus routes on SW Macadam Avenue provide addition links out of the district. Automobile use in South Waterfront is also easier because of the grid style street-scape just as it is friendly to pedestrian and bicycle use. Flex cars are also parked in the district for those who do not own or those people who need a 2nd car occasionally. 

By our calculations, the average American home uses 10,968 kWh of energy annually. This figure averages data from several sources that provide information about average annual home energy consumption. Instead of using just one figure, we created an average from figures provided by a number of sources. These sources include the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the US Department of Energy and Underwriters Laboratories By comparing the projected annual energy usage for South Waterfront residences with the average annual household consumption of energy, we calculated the anticipated annual energy savings for South Waterfront. Natural gas use was included in the calculations. Therms – the units of measurement for heat – were converted to kWh to obtain a standard unit of measurement across all of our energy calculations. 29 Therms is equivalent to one kWh.

Energy Savings in Dollars

To get the energy savings in dollars, the energy savings in kWh was multiplied by 7 cents per kWh, which is the cost per kWh of electricity in Oregon and Washington according to the Department of Energy’s Information Administration Website.

This annual water usage for SWF was then compared to the national average water use per person per year, multiplied by the same number of occupants.  The annual water savings was then equated to number of showers saved per year.  The average shower was calculated at 20 gallons of water or 8 minutes of shower time with a 2.5 gallon/minute water flow.

Smartwater.com, npr.org, supplyht.com and the American Water Association were sources for this information.

www.branchhome.com

www.nau.com

www.gaiam.com

www.fabulouslygreen.blogspot.com