Depave

Depave, an organization dedicated to empowering disenfranchised communities, strives to overcome social and environmental injustices and adapt to climate change through urban re-greening. By transforming over-paved places, Depave creates resilient community greenspaces and promotes workforce development and education. The organization also advocates for policy change to undo manifestations of systemic racism.

In 2022, Depave engaged over 400 volunteers, accumulating over 1500 volunteer hours. These efforts led to the removal of 19,800 square feet of pavement, reducing annual stormwater runoff by 530,000 gallons per year. Depave also planted over 2500 trees, shrubs, and native plants at five sites.

Notable projects included the transformation of a parking lot into a Native American Healing Garden at the Nara Northwest Residential Care Facility in Gresham, Oregon. This project, completed in late 2022, removed a 10,000 square foot parking lot and saw the construction of the new healing garden over subsequent months. Depave also completed a 3900 square foot green schoolyard at Oliver Elementary School in the Centennial School District. The project elements, including rain gardens, an outdoor stage, benches, gravel paths, a mural, native plantings, and trees, were completed through several planting events in early 2022.

In addition to these projects, Depave removed 7,000 square feet of pavement and created a nature playground at Patrick Lynch Elementary School in the Centennial School District of East Portland. The project included a stage, benches, gravel paths, native plants, rain gardens, and shade trees. Depave also hosted a community Depave event at Patrick Lynch and began construction of the new nature playground.

Throughout the year, Depave also expanded existing tree wells and created a courtyard food garden at Peninsula Elementary School in the Portland Public School District. Depave returned to Whitman Elementary, the site of a 2021 project, to plant trees and shrubs in the newly depaved schoolyard in early 2022. Depave also revisited past sites to refresh and update them with new plants and to remove weeds through the Green Thumbs program. Past sites revisited in 2022 included King SE Uplift, and King and Powell Butte Elementary Schools.

In 2022, Depave also initiated an update to its organizational strategic plan. A consultant was hired, and one board and staff retreat was completed to kickoff this effort, which continued into 2023. The organization also focused its work on design and outreach for a City of Portland Central Eastside Street Greening and Safety Improvement Project, dubbed SE 7th and Sandy Green Plaza. This project is expected to break ground in 2024.