This walk got rained out during March, so we’re bringing it back for April:  Missing your local farmers markets during the winter months?  The Lloyd Farmers Market is open every Tuesday, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm throughout the winter and we’re going to walk there!

South Waterfront Community Relations will be giving out handy reusable shopping bags, so bring some cash for the market and stock up on fresh groceries or grab a bite to eat.

This walk is approximately 4.6 miles round trip and is almost entirely flat.  Want to go for a shorter jaunt?  Cut this walk in half by hopping on the MAX (across the street from the market) and transferring to the streetcar on SW 11th Avenue for you return.

Please RSVP Community Relations Manager Heather Bayles at heather@southwaterfront.com or 503-972-3289.

Join the South Waterfront Walks There Google Group at: http://groups.google.com/group/swfwalksthere.   

Tuesday, April 17, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Meet at South Waterfront Community Relations
Atwater Place, Suite 115
0841 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR Map It

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Southwest Charter School is having its second annual plant sale.  All sales are pre-order.  Order forms are due by April 12 and plants arrive on May 8, just in time for Mother’s Day.

Forms due April 12
Plants arrive May 8
SW Charter School
0680 SW Bancroft Street, Portland, OR Map It

For information and to get your order form, contact Sarah Gilmore at fourgilmoresinpdx@clear.net

Team up with South Waterfront Community Relations as we partner up with the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (WPC) and others in Portland’s first-ever Walk to Work Day on Friday, April 6. WPC will be coordinating four starting points throughout the city and each group will converge on City Hall around 8:30 am for free coffee, light breakfast, and games.  Community Relations will lead a group from the South Waterfront (meeting location below).  For more information or to see the four official meeting locations click here.

Friday, April 6, 7:30 am – 9:30 am
Meet at South Waterfront Community Relations
Atwater Place, Suite 115
0841 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR Map It

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Portland is a bike-friendly city with great bike infrastructure and a thriving bike industry. Soon enough, Portland will have a new bike toy to add to its collection in the form of Bike Share. Already hugely successful in Europe and in US cities such as Washington D.C., Boston, and New York, Bike Share is a means to get people out of their cars and onto rent-able bikes. Bike Share lets people connect to destinations by simply renting a bicycle at one of the many stations planned throughout the city and then dropping it off at another station. To vote for where the stations should be located (think South Waterfront!), check out this link:  http://www.portlandbikesharestationmap.com/

Portland City Council put out a Request for Proposal for potential bike vendors to operate the bike share program on March 14, 2012. In 2011, the City was granted a $2 million award to fund the program. Bike Share is scheduled to open spring of 2013.

REACH CDC and City Commissioner Nick Fish recently announced that the first affordable housing development located in the South Waterfront District will be named Gray’s Landing.  The building, previously known as “Block 49″, has been named after philanthropist and developer John Gray to honor his longstanding support of affordable housing and his contributions to the built environment in Oregon. Construction on Gray’s Landing is expected to be completed in late 2012 and will provide 209 affordable homes.

Sauvie Island Organics, another wonderful farm fresh CSA option, will have two new drop sites in the South Waterfront at Center for Health & Healing and the Bancroft Building. Space is limited. Sign up at http://www.sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php.

Contact Francesca at francesca@sauvieislandorganics.com or 503-621-6921 for information.

C’est Naturelle Farms, our new CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm fresh food option, is ready to accept membership at their new pickup location at South Waterfront Community Relations, Atwater Place, 0841 SW Gaines Street, Suite 115.  Click here to get started!

Located in Oregon City, the farm raises all of their vegetables, herbs, and fruit without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.  They also offer free-range eggs, pastured chicken and turkey, and raw cow’s milk herd-shares.  One of the beautiful things about the program is the option to choose what you want delivered each week, or you can opt for their more traditional CSA basket option.

Visit the website for more information about the program.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating.  Call or email South Waterfront Community Relations Manager Heather Bayles at heather@southwaterfront.com or 503-867-5766.

We are starting the fresh food and gardening season off right by welcoming back Master Gardener Tim Lanfri of Community Garden Creators for another informative and fun gardening class in March.  Tim will present Maximizing Your Veggie Garden.  This is the perfect class for South Waterfront Community Garden plot owners and anyone else who wants to learn how to grow lots and lots of veggies in a small space.  Tim will share great space saving tips, discuss plant spacing and vertical growing methods, and illustrate how to interplant your crops to maximize harvests.  Sip a glass of wine during class, courtesy of South Waterfront Community Relations.

Please RSVP to South Waterfront Community Relations Manager Heather Bayles at heather@southwaterfront.com.  The class is free, but donations are encouraged.  Donations will benefit Community Garden Creators.

Wednesday, March 28, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
South Waterfront Community Relations
Atwater Place, Suite 115
0841 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR Map It

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Other Urban Harvest Classes Coming Up!

April 25, 6:00 pm - Edible Container Gardening with Maggie Stuckey, author of The Bountiful Container.  Demonstration class, a couple of lucky winners will go home with the demonstration container or a copy of The Bountiful Container.
RSVP heather@southwaterfront.com.
$10 (Paypal, check, or cash)

May TBD: Learn to Make Chevre and Other Soft Cheeses with Scott Catino of Quail Run Creamery.  Hands on class, go home with fresh cheese and a full stomach.
RSVP heather@southwaterfront.com.
$50 (Paypal, check, or cash)   

June TBD: Worm Bin Composting for Condo Dwellers with Francesca Benedetti.  Go home with your own kitchen worm bin from this hands on class!
RSVP heather@southwaterfront.com.
$20 (Paypal, check, or cash)

July 14, 9:00 am - Forage for Wild Fruits of Northwest Forests with John Kallas, Ph.D. of Wild Food Adventures.  Register in advance to secure your spot on this workshop/nature hike!  Also RSVP heather@southwaterfront.com.
$25-$40

C’est Naturelle Farms, a new CSA farm fresh food option delivering to the South Waterfront, will be visiting our neighborhood on Tuesday, March 13 to give a presentation and answer your questions about the farm and what they offer.

Located in Molalla, Oregon, the farm raises all of their vegetables, herbs, and fruit without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.  They also offer fresh, free-range eggs, pastured chicken and turkey, and raw cow’s milk herd-shares.  One of the beautiful things about the program is the ability to pick and choose what you want to have delivered to the neighborhood pick up site each week!  You can also go with their more traditional CSA “surprise basket” option.

Please visit their website for more in-depth information about the program.  Visit this link for a list of FAQ’s.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating.  Call or email South Waterfront Community Relations Manager Heather Bayles at heather@southwaterfront.com or 503-867-5766.

Tuesday, March 13, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
South Waterfront Community Relations
Atwater Place, Unit 115
0841 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR Map It

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

We’ll be in the garden from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (and maybe longer!) getting ready for spring. Come help us clean up the borders, plant a few early spring flowers, and prepare beds for the growing season.

Contact Geoff Granum, Community Garden Manager, at grow@swfcg.org for information.

Saturday, March 10, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
South Waterfront Community Garden
in the block south of Atwater Place, Portland, OR Map It
www.swfcg.org

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC