Creston Annex houses an early childhood education program for 3 to 4-year-old children, and is located directly adjacent to Portland’s busy SE Powell Boulevard.
In 2026, the Estuary Partnership will lead a project to improve their parking lot and schoolyard by building stormwater management facilities to capture and treat polluted runoff and creating a safe space at the front of the school for student engagement.
When completed, the western portion of the asphalt parking lot will be retrofitted with vegetated stormwater facilities and sidewalks to improve safety. Permeable pavers will replace the eastern portion of the parking lot to further infiltrate runoff. The northeastern area, currently primarily grass turf, will be landscaped with native plantings and outdoor play elements for students. The area will maintain a grassy play area, but add a small loop path for student tricycles, native exploration garden, and boulder seating, and art features.
The project was developed by KPFF in collaboration with Learning Landscapes LLC and Portland Public Schools. Portland Parks and Recreation’s Urban Forestry Learning Landscapes program will also be involved in the project – planting approximately 15 new trees.
The Creston Annex Head Start project is part of the Estuary Partnership’s School Stormwater Reduction program, which designs and builds stormwater retrofits at schools to reduce pollutants entering the Columbia River watershed while supporting environmental education and community engagement. Funding is provided by the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services’ Percent for Green program and an EPA Columbia River Basin Restoration Program Cooperative Agreement award, 44 02J49201.
