Lawn games, such as Croquet, Golf, and Slinky Ball (the image below illustrates the game, as it was played in the Mt. Hood Wilderness area) have fascinated competitive and recreational players for centuries.

Croquet - tracing its origins to France in the Middle Ages - requires a level playing field and set boundary conditions.  The game inspires images of quaint cocktail parties and wickets proudly adorning an impeccable lawn.

Golf - Scotland’s gift to the world, with the first recorded game taking place at Musselburgh Links in 1672, places a set of strict demands upon the gardener:  perfect grooming of fairways, tee boxes, and greens are a key subset to any successful course.

Slinky Ball - a game spotted on campsites, backyards, large lawns, and beaches - is a great way to spend an afternoon on a field with an unobstructed throwing line.  Deriving its rules from Horseshoes and Shuffle Board, this game is a great addition to a lawn party.

So what do these great games have in common with the South Waterfront?  The answer is that we have our own very large lawn between Bond and Moody.

Another, equally important opportunity, is the one to participate in the process of planning the park’s layout.  The South Waterfront Nature & Greenspace Committee is engaging Portland Parks and the City of Portland in the planning and design process.  Now is the time to let the us know what features are important to you as the SWF Community resident!

On a more general note, I am very excited to make this first post on behalf of the Nature & Greenspace Committe.  I will keep you updated both on the outdoor activities in the neighborhood and on the committee’s participation in the planning and development processes of both the Neighborhood Park and the Willamette River Greenway projects.  I look forward to your dialogue!

There has been a lot of buzz lately about our Greenway here in South Waterfront since the story in the Oregonian on November 24th reporting a 76% increase in the cost to build the Greenway due to rising material prices. You can read the article here.

Now the original proposal costs were done in 2004, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the overall price of the project rose, the longer you wait to begin a project the more the price tag increases due to inflation and other market factors. Did they actually think the price would decrease?

An excellent editorial was written in the Oregonian yesterday titled “Portland deserves something spectacular” and I couldn’t agree more. Not only do the citizens of our city deserve this green space for recreation, but our down trodden river (one of the most polluted in the USA) and ecology deserve this restoration and revitalization as well. The editorial said it best:

Restoring a working river, revitalizing industrial lands that have complex histories, is an immensely complicated task. What’s at stake here is a regional amenity that will serve, both recreationally and environmentally, a community far larger than that inhabiting those high-rise condos. As a community, we committed here to creating something spectacular.

Portland deserves nothing less.

The Friends of Ross Island and Portland Audubon Society would like you to get “Wild in the City’ with light watercraft tours of Ross Island. For more information on tours, visit www.friendsofrossisland.org or www.audubonportland.org for tour dates.

If you’re like me it’s about the journey, not the destination. Or rather, it’s the vegetation that makes the outdoors fun. The Leach Botanical Garden (www.leachgarden.org) is a great place to start for those of you with a nascent interest. There are so many trails and parks around Portland that have interesting species and varieties. Let’s start a log book of finds and locations.

Never was there a better city for dog owners than Portland. Those of you new to the city have probably already seen the bowls and treats out on sidewalks, but there’s much more to the dog culture here than the free snacks. I’ve had a lot of luck with this website (www.portlandpooch.com). It’s got a very well organized list of good dog parks that you can sort by rating, location, etc.

We’re an active lot, and why not? Portland is home to Forest Park, the largest natural urban forest in the country. That’s right, even bigger than Central Park. Trail heads off of Thurman Ave. are just a few minutes from downtown; 70 miles of recreational trails in the reserve in all. Adjacent to that is the Audubon Society of Portland sacntuary, which has an additional 143 acres and four miles of trails. Here are a couple of websites to get you started on your outdoor adventures.

portlandhikers.com

www.trails.com/activity.asp?area=10404