The Back 40 Project
Spring 2018 Update
Some of you have been asking when the next Back 40 event will take place. We were in the process of connecting with some of our Back 40 leaders from last year to talk about exactly that, when we received some unwelcome news:
PGE is in the process of replacing the elevated power lines along Highway 26 with buried cables. We had heard that this was a possibility, but had understood that this work would happen on the ODOT side of the fence and would not have an impact on our property.
It turns out that either we misunderstood the plan, or the plan was changed. Regardless, the land where the Back 40 fruiting hedge, pathway and raised beds are located is one of the locations along Sunset Highway where they plan to dig a tunnel for the underground power lines. That land, as many of you know, is easement property, which means that PGE has the legal right to use it for this kind of project.
It is unclear to us what the full extent of the impact will be, although it could include tunneling, digging and staging large pieces of equipment. The people doing the work have asked that we halt all activity in that area until their work is completed. Their plan is to begin this project in May and complete it sometime around mid to late summer.
So, for now - disappointed as we are - we are suspending any further Back 40 activities until further notice.
Some of you have been asking when the next Back 40 event will take place. We were in the process of connecting with some of our Back 40 leaders from last year to talk about exactly that, when we received some unwelcome news:
PGE is in the process of replacing the elevated power lines along Highway 26 with buried cables. We had heard that this was a possibility, but had understood that this work would happen on the ODOT side of the fence and would not have an impact on our property.
It turns out that either we misunderstood the plan, or the plan was changed. Regardless, the land where the Back 40 fruiting hedge, pathway and raised beds are located is one of the locations along Sunset Highway where they plan to dig a tunnel for the underground power lines. That land, as many of you know, is easement property, which means that PGE has the legal right to use it for this kind of project.
It is unclear to us what the full extent of the impact will be, although it could include tunneling, digging and staging large pieces of equipment. The people doing the work have asked that we halt all activity in that area until their work is completed. Their plan is to begin this project in May and complete it sometime around mid to late summer.
So, for now - disappointed as we are - we are suspending any further Back 40 activities until further notice.
Overview:
We are trying something new at Community of ChristChurch, a bit of an experiment really.
Here is the gist of this experiment…
We have a strip of land (roughly 40 by 300 feet) behind our building that faces the Cornelius Pass Road on-ramp to Hwy 26 heading west. Before this project that strip of land is relatively unused. In fact, it used resources (watering and mowing) during the warmer part of the year without any really benefit to anyone.
We are working with a nonprofit organization out of Portland called City Repair and their week of community building events called Village Building Convergence. City Repair’s mission has been to help build stronger and more engaged communities by focusing on projects that transform public spaces. Painted intersections, community gardens, public benches made of natural building materials, free library kiosks, etc. are the sort of things they work on.
We are obviously very different from an urban public space. However, our goal is the same… how can we strengthen and build community with our neighbors, nearby businesses, non-profits, churches, schools etc.? And, how can we leverage this strip of land behind our building to make a positive difference in our community? We feel that this strip of land could be a place where people come together to create art (perhaps a mural to beautify our little part of the Hwy 26 corridor). It is also a place where people could create a permaculture garden, a food forest, or a pollinator pathway… given the fact that we have Bright Start Learning center in our building, it could be a place where people of different generations might learn together about sustainability and healthy eating.
At the outset we did not settle on a particular project because part of the experiment is to bring various people (potential stakeholders, if you will) together to share their passions and gifts as well as the needs that they see in our community. The project has emerged out of this community conversation.
The time line for this process goes from February to June. There will be opportunities to attend regular gatherings and workshops as the process unfolds, culminating in the first full week in June when we will work together to turn our communal vision into reality.
Check this website for updates, upcoming events and reflections on this journey.
We are trying something new at Community of ChristChurch, a bit of an experiment really.
Here is the gist of this experiment…
We have a strip of land (roughly 40 by 300 feet) behind our building that faces the Cornelius Pass Road on-ramp to Hwy 26 heading west. Before this project that strip of land is relatively unused. In fact, it used resources (watering and mowing) during the warmer part of the year without any really benefit to anyone.
We are working with a nonprofit organization out of Portland called City Repair and their week of community building events called Village Building Convergence. City Repair’s mission has been to help build stronger and more engaged communities by focusing on projects that transform public spaces. Painted intersections, community gardens, public benches made of natural building materials, free library kiosks, etc. are the sort of things they work on.
We are obviously very different from an urban public space. However, our goal is the same… how can we strengthen and build community with our neighbors, nearby businesses, non-profits, churches, schools etc.? And, how can we leverage this strip of land behind our building to make a positive difference in our community? We feel that this strip of land could be a place where people come together to create art (perhaps a mural to beautify our little part of the Hwy 26 corridor). It is also a place where people could create a permaculture garden, a food forest, or a pollinator pathway… given the fact that we have Bright Start Learning center in our building, it could be a place where people of different generations might learn together about sustainability and healthy eating.
At the outset we did not settle on a particular project because part of the experiment is to bring various people (potential stakeholders, if you will) together to share their passions and gifts as well as the needs that they see in our community. The project has emerged out of this community conversation.
The time line for this process goes from February to June. There will be opportunities to attend regular gatherings and workshops as the process unfolds, culminating in the first full week in June when we will work together to turn our communal vision into reality.
Check this website for updates, upcoming events and reflections on this journey.
Past events:
Village Building Convergence Information and photos
Below is what we will be doing for the Village Building Convergence. VBC is when we open our doors to volunteers from across the nation and possibly world for our community building project.
Project Description:
We are trying something new at Community of ChristChurch, a bit of an experiment really and we welcome you to join us!
We have a strip of land (roughly 40 by 300 feet) behind our building that faces the Cornelius Pass Road onramp to Hwy 26 heading west. Before this project that strip of land was relatively unused. In fact, it used resources (watering and mowing) during the warmer part of the year without any real benefit to anyone.
Our goal is to figure out how can we strengthen and build community with our neighbors, nearby businesses, non-profits, churches, schools etc.? And, how can we leverage this strip of land (the Back 40) behind our building to make a positive difference in our community? We envision this strip of land being a place where people create and nurture a permaculture garden, a food forest, and a pollinator pathway. We are on our way to transforming the space with permaculture designer Julian Dominic. We invite you to join us for a weekend of activities to continue the transformation and CELEBRATE!
Project Description:
We are trying something new at Community of ChristChurch, a bit of an experiment really and we welcome you to join us!
We have a strip of land (roughly 40 by 300 feet) behind our building that faces the Cornelius Pass Road onramp to Hwy 26 heading west. Before this project that strip of land was relatively unused. In fact, it used resources (watering and mowing) during the warmer part of the year without any real benefit to anyone.
Our goal is to figure out how can we strengthen and build community with our neighbors, nearby businesses, non-profits, churches, schools etc.? And, how can we leverage this strip of land (the Back 40) behind our building to make a positive difference in our community? We envision this strip of land being a place where people create and nurture a permaculture garden, a food forest, and a pollinator pathway. We are on our way to transforming the space with permaculture designer Julian Dominic. We invite you to join us for a weekend of activities to continue the transformation and CELEBRATE!
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Site Schedule:
For VBC bring your creativity, passion and work gloves to this emerging community space on the West side of town. Friday, June 2nd: Jam session– All musical varieties welcome, potluck & tour of Back 40 at 6:30pm Our church building has a great set up for music and mingling. Bring your instruments and a potluck dish to share. If you have a song you’d like to share with the group bring that as well. We have a drum set and keyboard available for your use. Saturday, June 3rd: Back 40 garden work party, 10am - 3pm Garden work party with vegetarian friendly lunch. Potential activities include: build community garden beds out of found materials, plants for the pollinator pathway and plant native grasses. Check our website frequently for details as we get closer. http://www.comchristchurch.org/back-40-project.html Sunday, June 4th: 9:30am Worship open to all and 11am Blessing of the Back 40 Our final VBC session together invites you to worship with us and then bless the Back 40. Yes, we are a Christian church but our worship is open to all religions and spiritual persuasions. Opening our Worship to VBC is another way for the community to know what’s happening in our building and meet new folks. |
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May 20, 2017 Work Party
April 29, 2017 Work Party
April Update
Example of a permaculture fedge
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April 25, 2017 Update
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February 17th, 2017 Update
Thank you to everyone that came out on Wednesday night for the Back 40 Project kickoff! I’m very excited to see what happens moving forward with our garden, art, community gathering and environmental ideas.
Our next potluck will be Wednesday, March 22nd, 6pm at ChristChurch again.
If there were stakeholders you thought should be there last night, please invite them to this potluck!
Between now and then our Draft Design team (Theron, Denise, Rosie, Haruka and Paul) will create a draft design from all of the ideas generated and work with City Repair to fine tune the vision. At our March potluck we will keep working on the design and start drilling down into more details.
If you didn’t have a chance to sign up for a City Repair workshop all the details are here. Please let me know if you’ll be checking out a workshop.
-Rachael Jans
Thank you to everyone that came out on Wednesday night for the Back 40 Project kickoff! I’m very excited to see what happens moving forward with our garden, art, community gathering and environmental ideas.
Our next potluck will be Wednesday, March 22nd, 6pm at ChristChurch again.
If there were stakeholders you thought should be there last night, please invite them to this potluck!
Between now and then our Draft Design team (Theron, Denise, Rosie, Haruka and Paul) will create a draft design from all of the ideas generated and work with City Repair to fine tune the vision. At our March potluck we will keep working on the design and start drilling down into more details.
If you didn’t have a chance to sign up for a City Repair workshop all the details are here. Please let me know if you’ll be checking out a workshop.
-Rachael Jans
Draft Design Progression
Draft 2 below 3.21.17
Draft 1 below
