Location: Ashcreek Natural Area
Meeting Location: 10711 SW 55th Ave., Portland, OR 97219, near SWT #5
Leaders: Portland Parks, Recreation Natural Area Stewardship, Dave Manville
Help us help the trails for our regular 1st Thursday Work Party in February 2026 from 9am to noon. We will be working out in the Ashcreek-Crestwood neighborhood on SWTrail #5 as it works its way through the Ashcreek Natural Area. Our partners and leaders for these work parties are Portland Parks and Recreation Natural Area Stewardship.
We will meet on the side of SW 55th near where SWTrail #5 crosses this is down the hill a ways from the playground at Dickinson Park. This month we will be doing lots of drain cleaning and drain reconstruction along the full length of that section of trail.
If you plan to join in the fun, give me a heads up on email, (reply to this one) or text (503-753-8186) with your name and “I Will Be There”), I can then pass a head count to our Parks leaders. It is also OK to just show up on the workday. Please be at least 15 minutes early (8:45AM) to sign in for our work parties and be ready to go.
We will be using lots of time-honored trail tools: the Grubber, McLeod, Pulaski, and the usual wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, pruners, saws, and more. Tool use and safety will be covered as we start the work party. These are fun community events, and we need volunteers in 2026. Please join us – everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary.
These work parties need a wide range of worker capabilities and build community in our neighborhoods. We welcome all with all levels of abilities. So, give some thought to joining us or just stop by and say hi. Youth participants must be at least 14 years old without a guardian and at least 10 years old with a guardian.
As always, our work is guided by the Portland Parks Natural Area Stewardship folks. Parks will bring all the tools, gloves, and materials we need, and also, possibly, coffee, snacks and water. On these work parties it is not necessary to stay for the whole event, and you can work at whatever level your skill and energy allow. It is just great to meet the neighbors and get in a little trail work exercise.
When you join us, please wear work clothing, sturdy closed toe shoes, long pants, long sleeved shirts. It is the Pacific Northwest so who knows what weather we will get but several layers are always a good idea. If you like, bring your own water and snacks. Although often less, we may walk up to a 1/2 mile to get to our work area and return at the end.
I look forward to seeing you out there helping us … help the trails.
Dave Manville
dave.manville@swtrails.org
SWTrails Project Coordinator
