Who are we?
Our Mission: Grow Portland supports schools and communities by facilitating hands-on garden experiences that foster connections to food, nature and each other.
Our Vision: Grow Portland envisions a future where tending relationships with food and the land are central to the wellbeing of communities.
Our Values:
Rooted in Relationships: Relationships are at the heart of what we do; they require time and intention.
Centering Equity: Our actions are grounded in environmental justice, equity, and accessibility to build collective meaningful engagement.
Learning Together: We celebrate that we all learn differently and we learn from each other. We recognize there are things to unlearn, and that we can learn from our mistakes.
Embracing Joy: We learn through play and center a sense of wonder, exploration, and joy.
Connecting to the land:
Grow Portland has the great honor to care for school gardens with children on the ancestral lands of the Indigenous peoples of Portland, including the Multnomahs, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, Cowlitz and Watlala bands of the Chinook, and many other Tribes who make their homes along the Columbia River. These Native people live here now and have lived here and cared for this land in partnership with the soil, water, and living beings since time immemorial --before remembered time.
We honor the strength and resilience of Native people, and we thank the past, present, and future elders and ancestors of this land. We know that it is our responsibility to show kindness and respect for all living beings each and every day. We show respect by learning about Native people, plants, and ways of growing and by taking care of the soil, water, and all living things in the garden.
History & Founding
In 2010, David Beller, founder, had a vision of connecting people and bringing healing and health through gardens. From that vision, Grow Portland:
Sponsored or built 10 community gardens serving primarily immigrants and refugees
Connected nearly 750 families and 4,000 people with growing healthy food and their communities.
Distributed over 10,000 of low-cost or free seed packets.
Taught over 100 community members about seed saving and twice that many people in seed swap events
Offered 50 classes on gardening, about half specifically focused on refugee & immigrant populations.
Supported 1200 participants in a collaborative growing program and harvested $80,000 worth of produce for participants and food banks.
Trained 25 urban farming apprentices in partnership with Oregon State University.
Led produce marketing for 20 small farmers through Growers Alliance Project. Sold nearly $200,000 in produce.
Created and developed 400 guides on fruit tree care.
Developed garden school programming that to date has engaged over 20,000 students in the metro area.
In 2015, Grow Portland expanded to develop garden school programming. Our school garden program was created in direct response to the needs of busy teachers, administrators, and parents who value the benefits of garden-based education, but do not have the skills or capacity to implement without outside support. Simultaneously, Portland Earth, Art & Agriculture Project (EAA) was creating an affordable, imaginative, and mobile program to teach kids about ecology, art, and food.
In 2018, these two programs merged their work in public schools, spaces where a community-supported garden could also be a classroom, a lab, and an art gallery. The new team worked together to raise the standard for how we partner with schools, and how we serve children in our community.
Today:
We have served over 20,000 students; over 60% are students of color, primarily from low-income schools. We have worked with 20+ school communities to improve garden sites and integrate hands-on, culturally responsive environmental science education into the school day. Additionally, we partner with community organizations to offer out-of-school and summer garden engagements with hundreds of students and are working with a Medicaid facility to build and support accessible gardens and education to low-income seniors with physical challenges.