Other Campus Green Spaces

NASCC Rooftop Garden, Salmon and Chief Joseph Courtyards, and Deerwalk

SW Broadway and Jackson

The Native American Student and Community faces the park blocks with doors

to the North and West accessible to the Public. When entering, double doors

beside the North Entrance lead to a staircase to the rooftop garden.The roof is

open Monday-Friday from 9AM-5PM when weather is pleasant. By request, the

garden is always open from these hours.

When entering the roof, one is entering the lifecycle of a Salmon. The winding

pathway travels through 7 beds of meaningful and historically important plant

relatives with roots in the Pacific Northwest; representative of one’s actions

affecting the future 7 generations. Additional courtyards surrounding the building

offer similar peace. You’re invited to relax, refresh, and greet the plants with your

presence.

Just southwest of NASCC, native plants with medicinal and cultural significance

cover the I-405 overpass through a partnership with the Oregon Department of

Transportation (ODOT). {Ongoing Project}

Open hours: Rooftop garden - from 9am-5pm weekdays with pleasant weather, or

by request; Deerwalk - all hours.

Reach out to nascc@pdx.edu to get involved.

Oak Savanna 

SW 11th and Montgomery, just south of the Science Research Teaching Center

The journey to reclaim an Oak Savanna in the Portland State University urban landscape for food, medicine and ceremony began more than a decade ago with students seeking sanctuary on campus; a place to come together. Guided by student voices and their desire to experience and understand the cultural significance and value of connection with the land to heal and build community health and resilience, the Oak Savanna site was incorporated into Indigenous Nations Studies courses centered in Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK). They include courses like Indigenous Gardens and Food Justice, Indigenous Ecological Healing Practices, and Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability. Students and Indigenous community partners gathered on site in Talking Circles to listen to and share stories of Place and People, to participate in land blessing and seed scattering ceremonies, and to cultivate relationships with the land as they planted native White Oaks, Camas, Spirea and Serviceberry. 

Over the years the Oak Savanna site has been the focus of student research and projects as well as seasonal gatherings and work groups. We recognized that reclaiming the urban forest for food, medicine, ceremony, and healthy lifeways had found a timely synergy with agencies and community partners working in culturally responsible restoration, education, reclamation and protection practices. Indigenous students and community members visited the Harrison Street Building (HSB, now ITECK Center) to envision an ITECK Center embedded within the Oak Savanna. This led to the start of a collaborative partnership in 2019 with Professors Judy BlueHorse Skelton (Indigenous Nations Studies Department) and Sergio Palleroni and the School of Architecture. Together partners, students, and community gathered on the site to assess the building and begin an imagining process that culminated in a Spring 2021 Design Studio course focused on creating an ITECK Center from the HSB. Studio students and INST ITECK staff met several times throughout the term with onsite visits and class conversations reflective of Indigenous community practices and priorities guided by ITECK. With the site being located on the south end of the site that runs along the Walk of the Heroines, we imagined the possibilities of a building to host diverse gathering spaces for people, plants, and items of cultural significance for learning, understanding and healing. Community and students imagined indoor spaces: a kitchen, Indigenous library, a classroom and seating areas transitioning seamlessly into the outdoors, featuring culturally significant native plants, storytelling circle, and an outdoor kitchen for traditional Salmon bakes and Camas roasting. The thoughtfulness, humility and compassion students brought to our conversations are reflected here. Their work embodies themes of cultural, social, environmental and restorative justice, resiliency and sustainability, and the thinking, designing and living for the Seventh Generation.  It is an honor and joy to continue this healing journey together, sharing in this transformative process with the Land and one another. 

Open hours: All hours.

Shattuck Hall Ecological Learning Plaza (SHELP)

SW Broadway and College

The Plaza is dedicated to research in sustainable building practices through community interaction. It features green walls, green roofs, original furniture design, vertical gardens, and permeable paving. The plaza was created by PSU students in Architecture, Engineering and the Green Building Research Lab, in collaboration with design and engineering professionals, manufacturers and public agencies. Over time, the Plaza will become a space for further research and experimentation with building materials and methods. Look for a wide variety of pollinator plants and native species when you visit this space. 

Open hours: All hours.

Contact the School of Architecture at corlc@pdx.edu or (503) 725 8420. Or visit the SHELP website at pdx.edu/eco-learning-plaza/.

SRTC Native Garden

SW 10th and Montgomery, west of Science Research Teaching Center

This block-long collection of native plants was restored from an ivy patch in the 1990s by students in the Environmental Studies department and Environmental Club. Over the years, this space has grown to showcase a variety of beneficial plants including Oregon Iris, Salal, Spirea, many types of ferns, Showy Milkweed, and Red-Osier Dogwood. Because these plants are adapted to our local climate, the garden rarely needs watering. Stop by to experience nature in the city.

Open hours: All hours.

Learning Gardens Lab

Off Campus, 6745 SE 60th Ave, Portland, OR 97206 

The Learning Gardens Lab (LGL) supports academic achievement, leadership development, and local sustainable food systems.

Open hours: During regular scheduled work parties and by arrangement.

Contact: Leadership for Sustainability Education program, lglvolunteer@gmail.com.