Boise Eliot Native Grove - A Lush Labor Of Love For All To Enjoy

Andrine points to the cracks on the statue now held together by glue, she’s had to pick up the pieces and glue them back together twice now. Howard suspects that it’s the same mystery baseball bat-wielding perpetrator responsible for shattering its various parts. “I’ve had to pick these up one by one,” Andrine runs her fingers over the tiny salmon eggs and alevin, all of which were thoughtfully crafted by a member of the Oregon Potters Guild. The sculpture illustrates the life cycle of salmon – from egg to its adult form.

The Boise-Eliot Native Grove is a community-built green space that’s open to the public for recreation and education. This hidden gem can be found just west of Vancouver Ave, along the short Ivy St corridor, standing in direct contrast to the leveled-out concrete of the American Red Cross parking lot next door. You can’t miss it.

Spearheaded by Andrine de la Rocha and Howard Patterson, this labor of love sprouted in May 2017. With Howard’s extensive background in Environmental Management and Andrine stepping up as project leader, the pair made the perfect team to bring this undertaking into being. Before the Native Grove became the pollinator paradise we know today, it was once a dormant lot of land that couldn’t be developed because of utilities running underground. They saw potential in what was once “a vacant lot littered with garbage,” and with the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s approval, they were able to source grants and jumpstart the Grove’s development. These initial grants ranged from  200 dollars to the whopping ten grand from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. They also came in the form of in-kind donations and volunteer work from local businesses and organizations helping build the Grove from the ground up. 

During the design process, students at Boise-Eliot Elementary were asked to draw what they wanted to see in the Grove. “We obviously can’t give them the robots they asked for,” Howard recalls, but The Amphitheater section was one of the requests they were happy to add to the Grove’s design. It is now a space where students can gather and have discussions during field trips. Today, the Native Grove gives students opportunities to directly connect with the land while being close to home, learning the importance of native plants & pollinators, and people’s responsibility as stewards of the environment. “I want to see MY tree grow!” Andrine fondly quotes one of the Boise-Eliot students, who helped work on the Native Grove for a week. She says it’s good to instill a sense of wonder and ownership to strengthen people’s connection to the land.

In a 2023 study exploring nature-based techniques in helping with urban heat, Portland State University describes the Boise-Eliot Native Grove as a “guerilla gardening style rewilding project.” To break it down simply, guerilla gardening is considered to be an act of activism and resistance, and rewilding is reintroducing wildlife into an area. The study says areas like the Native Grove can help lower surrounding temperatures, especially during the Summer. Public native gardens like the Grove are proven to be impactful in alleviating the worsening and very real symptoms of climate change in cities. Andrine states that she personally checked the temperature difference within the Grove and said that it was about 20 degrees cooler within its lush, leafy confines. 

Not only has the Grove been found to lower surrounding temperatures, it also serves as a place of respite for birds and insects. Howard says that “reestablishing a native space in the middle of the city” is one of their goals. He sees it as a part of “a large mosaic of native landscapes” across the land. These benefit not only local pollinators such as humming birds and bees, but also migrating species, ensuring their safe journey through what Howard calls the “migration corridor from the mountains to the sea.” So far, certain birds have made a reappearance at the Grove such as the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwings, and Varied Thrush. 

Despite their leaps and bounds as a duo in this continuing project, the community is encouraged to pitch in. One of their events happens every Earth Day in which the pair hosts a 4-hour work party for neighbors, who want to get their hands dirty. Andrine makes sure to update the Native Grove’s socials (Facebook & Instagram) for community members, who want to know how they can connect and volunteer. Andrine and Howard do not get compensated for their care of the Grove, so donations for supplies will help to keep the community reaping the benefits of this neighborhood asset. The couple also expressed their willingness to give people resources to start their own native grove, the more the better.

Seven years after its inception, this personal project turned community asset has had its wins and challenges. When asked how many working hours went into building and maintaining the Native Grove, Andrine jokingly says “a million working hours.” “It’s like a part-time job,” she adds, estimating the grove sees about 200 hours of volunteer work yearly. During the early stages of its development, the pair needed to irrigate newly-planted saplings weekly with 15 gallons of water in buckets straight from their house. Absurdly enough, there was even a time when there was too much water as the pipes that lay underneath exploded one day and flooded the Grove. Despite the challenges, Andrine and Howard say they love having this space, which is why they’ve kept at it. Andrine calls it a sacred space, where she meditates regularly. The couple also share that they’re doing it for their grandson, who is now savvy at identifying invasive plants at just four years old. Looking to the future, they envision a self-maintaining urban garden. Pointing to the young oak tree in the middle of the Oak Meadow section, Andrine says that it’s bittersweet to think about how they won’t live to see it fully grown, but their grandson, whom they see continuing their work, will.

By the end of this interview, the couple lists the exciting upcoming additions to the Native Grove –  updating the arch, a chess table for neighbors to play, and an addition to the bee hotel made by a local female metal artist. It’s amazing to see how far the Native Grove has come. From having to glue bits and pieces of a statue back together over and over again, to helping others start their own grove, the cycle continues. In spite of the upstream hurdles, with the help of the community, the Boise-Eliot Native Grove will continue to bloom.

Photos and Written by Michelle Porter