Cully Park

Cully Park is a new 25-acre park in Portland’s most diverse and park-deprived neighborhood. Led by nonprofit partner Verde, community members raised funds and designed a new neighborhood park that supports cultural expression, educates youth, and restores habitat.

The park is home to a community garden, a Native gathering garden, sports fields, and an off-leash dog area. A great post ahead.

History

The Cully neighborhood is bordered by Sunderland and Concordia neighborhoods to the west, Portland International Airport to the north, Sumner to the east, and Rose City Park and the Roseway to the south. Despite this diverse neighborhood, Cully has the lowest amount of parkland per capita and the highest percentage of people living more than a half mile from a park in any Portland neighborhood.

ESA has worked with the neighborhood and city to make a change. Previously, a landfill site occupied part of the neighborhood and was releasing harmful pollutants into the air. Through a partnership with the nonprofit developer Verde, the City of Portland, and other community partners, this site is now a 25-acre community park.

The park features a community garden, an off-leash dog area, sports fields, paths, and a Native gathering garden envisioned by the Cully neighborhood’s Native American Youth and Family Center. The project was financed by System Development Charges (SDCs), one-time fees paid by developers to fund community benefits.

Master Plan

Located in a neighborhood that is rich with ethnic and racial diversity, Cully Park has less access to parks, healthy recreation, and green space than other parts of Portland. When Portland’s Parks Bureau purchased a 25-acre landfill in the neighborhood in 2000, it was clear that this site could become the community park that the area needed.

A master plan was developed, but funding was not available to build the park at that time. This prompted the creation of a public-private partnership between the city and Verde, a community development and outreach non-profit organization. Together they formed the Let Us Build Cully Park coalition.

Since the coalition’s inception, over a million dollars have been raised for the park. In addition, a diverse group of volunteers is working with city staff to transform the landfill into Thomas Cully Park. The project will include sports fields, a community garden, and off-site street improvements that enhance the park’s accessibility. Learn more about Tigard here.

Community Garden

The community garden at Thomas Cully Park is a flagship project in the Living Cully initiative. Living Cully seeks to leverage environmental investments by bringing them in concert with social and economic justice goals. It empowers local residents and reaches beyond a single community through partnerships with other organizations working in the area.

The former Killingsworth fast-disposal landfill was purchased by the City of Portland and converted into a park. It now includes a large playground, community garden, trails, fitness course, and picnic areas as well as a youth soccer field, dog park, and Native Gathering Garden.

During the fall, kids from the neighborhood pick thimbleberry, yarrow, and salal in our first Native gathering garden at a City of Portland park. They work alongside members of the local urban Native community to re-learn indigenous land practices. Their work contributes to the restoration of the site, creates healthy recreation opportunities for kids and families, redresses long-standing gaps in parks, and builds a sense of community ownership and pride.

Native Gathering Garden

On a hot July morning, a group of teens wearing gardening gloves and T-shirts pull armfuls of vetch from the ground. They’re part of the first garden at Cully Park, a 25-acre community park built over a former landfill. Kids from east Portland neighborhoods face a dearth of green space, and the neighborhood surrounding Cully Park contains the city’s highest concentration of low-income families.

The community worked with a team of designers and contractors, including ESA, to create the Intertribal Gathering Garden. The design features berry bushes, red osier dogwood, and other plants indigenous to the Northwest that are suited for harvesting and basket making.

The project also includes a medicine circle, raised earthen mounds to block strong East winds, and a 3-acre north slope designed to mimic the terrain of Mount Hood. The garden reflects the local community and celebrates Native culture and heritage. It’s a symbol of hope at a moment when national efforts to arrest climate change seem stalled. Next article.

Driving directions from Rise and Shine Cleaning Service to Cully Park

Driving directions from Cully Park to Luuwit View Park