On Saturday, June 26th, 40 volunteers gathered to clean up trash and maintain Peace Memorial Park. We at Lloyd EcoDistrict are happy to have again partnered with SOLVE to plan the event and to have joined their collective cleanup event, “Pick it Up Portland.” Over the two day event,, 1,515 SOLVE volunteers joined in picking up trash around Portland, collecting a total of 14,025 pounds of trash! Our volunteers at Peace Memorial Park contributed 500 pounds to that final haul, collecting from around the park itself as well as around the Moda Center, Oregon Convention Center, and into the Eastbank Esplanade. 

We’d like to offer a big thank you to all the volunteers who made it out during the beginning of Portland’s heatwave. Temperatures that Saturday later hit 108°, a new record for the area. We were lucky enough to stay within the lower temperatures of the mid-morning and stayed cool under the trees of Peace Memorial Park (and with some freezer pops!). We know it was a hot one and deeply appreciate your commitment to cleaning up Lloyd. 

Workers from Central City Concern also showed up during our event to clean up a large collection of trash that had accumulated off of NE Lloyd Boulevard. Look at the area before and after their hard work!

Litter cleanup is an essential aspect of keeping Lloyd a safe and beautiful area for birds, fish, mammals, and humans alike. These efforts also contribute towards our long-term goal here at Lloyd EcoDistrict of rebuilding Peace Memorial Park to be a community gathering space for Lloyd. In the last year, we have been working on the plans for this re-constructed area, including benches, signage, a large sculpture, and the replanting of the center greenspace with perennials, shrubs, and native pollinators. We recently received a grant from the Bureau of Environmental Services to begin this process, specifically in preparing the site for full replanting. Volunteer work is essential in these early preparation steps, so thank you to all who have gotten involved this past spring and summer. You can find more information about the redesign here or donate to the Park’s Go Fund Me here. 

Are you interested in getting involved with cleanups at Peace Memorial Park? We are hosting another cleanup with SOLVE on July 17th from 9:00 to 11:30 AM! While we still will be doing lots of litter pickup, this time we are also hoping to focus more on landscaping and invasive species removal and would love your help. If you have a lawn mower, weed trimmer, or hedge shears you can bring, please let us know! You can find more information and register here.

Check out photos from the day!

Tags: Park Cleanups, Peace Memorial Park, Pollinator Placemaking