PPF’s annual Parks Champion Award recognizes individuals who provide outstanding volunteer service to a park, community center, natural area or community garden. The two winners each receive the opportunity to direct a $1,500 grant from PPF to a community organization that aligns with our vision: to help Portland communities create more equitable access to nature, play, health, and places of connection.
This year, we received nominations for 19 people and groups across Portland, and they are involved in some impressive work!
Some of the nomination highlights include:
Hauling thousands of pounds of trash from the Columbia Slough, even balancing tires on the fronts of kayaks
Devoting decades to a neighborhood garden patch, tended to it with the help of friendly neighbors
Establishing new educational opportunities for community youth to support the native ecosystem
Near-daily attendance to Forest Park trails’ maintenance, dangers, and repairs
Advocacy in parks areas for increased resources and infrastructure to support recycling, waste reduction, and accessibility
Creative pathways to recovery and to community activity through skateboarding and skate park access
Sharing expertise and scientific knowledge with the community to improve green space and wetlands stewardship
Activating (and re-activating after COVID!) parks for community events, play days, and work days
Our 2023 Parks Champions are…
Stephanie LaMonica
Friends Pier Park
Paul Taylor
Columbia Slough, Whitaker Ponds
Zora Hess
Columbia Slough,
Kelley Point Park
Stephanie LaMonica | Friends of Pier Park
Stephanie is a Board Member of Friends of Pier Park and an enthusiastic member of her community. She has started two programs with Friends of Pier Park since 2021. Next-Door Nature, which aims to empower local underserved youth as community green-space and earth champions through education and parks engagement, and Pier Park Understory Establishment, which is restoring large, formerly mowed areas of Douglas fir understory with native plants. Through her work, over 1000 small trees, shrubs, ferns, perennials, and ground cover have been planted in the park - 100s of those carefully planted by Pier Park’s youngest, newest community stewards: students from Sitton Elementary.
Zora Hess and Paul Taylor | Columbia River Slough
Paul Taylor is an adoptive caretaker of the Columbia Slough, and a meticulous one at that! He has removed over 500 bags, 674 needles, 114 quarts of oil, and over 120 tires from the natural area since becoming involved with SOLVE in 2020. Paul is known to have a particular skill of balancing oddly shaped and heavy trash objects on his kayak as he cleans the water in an area which unfortunately faces a lot of dangerous dumping. His work and enthusiasm have positioned him as a Columbia Slough ambassador, greatly improving the natural area and getting more people involved in its health and beauty.
Zora Hess is a volunteer on multiple projects across north and northeast Portland. She has negotiated to get support from City, Metro, and State governments to get fishing line recycling stations set up around the Columbia Slough, decreasing harmful waste and improving the ecosystem. Zora is known as an advocate for the houseless community and for getting creative solutions for excess trash and advocating for better dumpster access. You can find her cleaning the Slough and surrounding areas, lugging tons of trash by kayak even with a broken wrist!
Learn more and support work in
the Columbia Slough here:
Read about each of the nominees and the amazing volunteer work they are doing in our city!
Our 2023 Parks Champion Nominees include:
Allio O'Sullivan, Zenger Farm
Bill Bannister, Forest Park, Forest park Conservancy, Soft-Surface Trails
Bill Bradford and Kathy Olliver, Johnson Lake natural area
Bill Dudeiros, Clear Creek Middle School Eco Student Field Study Restoration Site
Darrick Stiers, Push Movement
Daveed Fleischer, Powell Butte
Ginger Edwards, Arbor Lodge, Hoyt Arboretum, PPF Friends & Allies Summit steering
committee, North Portland Parks Friends GroupJane Roffey Berry, Argay Park
Javier Puga-Phillips, Community Leader for Concordia Neighborhood Association
Mackenzie Dunn, The Wetlands Conservancy
Paul Taylor, Columbia Slough, Whitaker Ponds
Robin Jensen, Friends of Marquam Nature Park
Malden Court Community Orchard Volunteers
Sarah Farahat, Black Futures Farm
Shaun Sullens, Piedmont Neighborhood Association, Peninsula Park
Sheina Posner, The Fields Park, Tanner Springs Park and Wallace Park
Stephanie LaMonica, Friends of Pier Park
Tim Copeman, Gateway Green
Zora Hess, Kelley Point Park, the Columbia Slough, Columbia Slough Trail