Madison High School is well on the way to becoming an oasis on NE 82nd Avenue. I pulled off the highway, with its multitude of strip malls and fast food joints, into the circular drive of the 52 year-old school. I saw a couple of staff members busily covering a concrete bench with a multi-colored mosaic, I watched several skateboarders practicing at the Glenhaven Skate Park adjacent to the school, and I observed several volunteers moving mounds of mulch from a pile on the side of the building onto paths that led to the back of the building. I followed them in, knowing they must be leading me to my destination. I rounded the corner to see it there—a corridor of green. There were raised beds being prepped for planting, then further out a veritable kitchen garden—rows of kale, peas, herbs, potatoes—flanked by fruit trees and pole beans and edible flowers. In the middle of all of this prolific plant growth stood the outdoor classroom. A wood and cob structure, it is both earthy and other-worldly. The cob, still in the final stages of drying, has been molded into subtle wave-like patterns and is interspersed with colorful glass bottles creating a look reminiscent of a river bottom—water lapping over rounded stones. Getting a bit closer I realize that there are actually two structures, with a different type of roof covering each. One is metal and tilts slightly backward in a way that suggests it will be used as part of a rainwater catchment system. The other, tilted at a slightly different angle, is covered in live plants and features a downspout chain at the corner, so that the excess water from the roof can be diverted to a nearby garden bed. I see right away how well thought out the entire garden is, and I'm excited to learn more.
From behind the garden shed comes Anna Gordon, the garden coordinator who has been working, through Americorps, at Madison High School for nearly two years. Bearing the badges of a dedicated gardener (great tan, dirty fingernails, and a couple of bandages to protect her various pruning injuries), she smiles and waves—fresh faced and looking eager to talk about the work she and a multitude of students, community volunteers, and teachers have accomplished during her tenure here.
Anna started working with the students at Madison High School as an environmental science field trip coordinator, but soon learned from students and faculty that what they really wanted was a school garden of their own. Last year, the school applied for and received a grant that would help them create it, with Anna's support as coordinator of the program. With her background in environmental science, she sought to create an "educational permaculture garden." Its design and implementation followed many of the permaculture movement's guidelines for creating a garden. The first year was mostly spent working on the garden design and improving the soil. There was no digging, but rather an introduction of composted material—in keeping with the permaculture practice of mimicking how plants grow in nature and minimizing labor and resource depletion. Later, fruits and vegetables were planted in a way that would maximize production while requiring minimal labor from the gardeners, use water and other resources wisely, and encourage pollinators to join in garden maintenance and growth. Anna has had the opportunity to worked with all MHS' science classes in the garden, and even the health teachers have brought their students out for lessons on nutrition and the benefits of eating fresh, locally grown produce. The consensus among the students—shy kids, those with difficulties concentrating in a classroom setting, and budding environmentalists alike—is that the garden is totally cool. Now beds for community members have been added through a collaboration with Portland Community Gardens, making the site a treasure for everyone living in the area.
This year, it was time to take it to another level. Through Anna's endeavors, the Madison High School site was chosen to be part of City Repair's 2009 Village Building Convergence (VBC) program. Working with staff and students, Anna proposed a vote on building an outdoor classroom. Was there value in it? What types of activities would take place there? What would it look like? Through potluck, lunchtime meetings in which students, faculty, and community members alike were invited, the group came up with a plan.
Working with VBC coordinators, architect Sebastian Collet, community volunteers, and MHS students and faculty, the Madison High School outdoor classroom began to take shape. What I saw before me now was the nearly-finished product—a beautiful structure that would shelter the students and community members who had worked so hard to design and build it. As I shook Anna Gordon's hand hello, I marveled at what she had already accomplished, all as a volunteer, just a few years out of college.
We notice the vandalism at about the same time. The glass bottles built into the cob walls—filled with time capsules the students had created during the construction—have been smashed. Small trinkets and hand written notes intended for future gardeners to discover lay scattered on the ground. The large skylight above is a mass of web-like cracks—beyond repair.
Anna's bright smile dissolves into first confusion, then disbelief, then utter sadness.
"I'm sorry, I can't..." her voice trails off as she tries to process what has happened. She tries to articulate the thoughts that must be racing through her mind.
"All this work..."
"Who would do this..."
"The kids...."
It is heartbreaking to watch. I feel crushed for her, for all of the volunteers, and maybe especially for the students who worked to help make this project a reality. I pick up a note, intended for someone in some distant time. In it, the student explains how she helped to build this classroom, and how she hopes whoever finds the note will look her up and say hi.
It would be so easy to get angry; vandalism is such a hateful crime. But Anna says only this: "I know that some kids are bored in the summer. They just don't have enough to do." She hasn't yet wiped away the tears of frustration and disappointment this senseless act has caused her, and she is already willing to forgive. We report the incident to the Portland Police, who send a very compassionate officer out to survey the scene, and who promises to add the garden area to the night patrols. Then we continue with our interview.
Composure regained, she gives me a tour of the beautiful garden, explaining the layout and plant choices, sometimes stepping away to pick up a shard of blue glass or a tiny bracelet made of hearts and beads. She is picking up the pieces, both literally and figuratively. I think she knows there are far too many people now who are counting on this space—who were involved with taking a dream and turning it into a reality through their own efforts—to give up now. The damage will be repaired. The classroom will be put to its intended use. With Anna Gordon, members of the surrounding neighborhood, and the students of Madison High School as its guardian, this site is destined to be a place of learning and growing in a thriving community.
View the slideshow for more images of 2009 VBC or visit our Flickr gallery.
