Glencoe Elementary, located in SE Portland, will be the site of a schoolyard improvement project in 2026 with newly depaved areas, new trees, native plants, and some new playground equipment.
The project was first spearheaded by the Glencoe PTA. In 2021, the PTA formed a playground committee and began engaging students, parents, and school staff to develop a design concept and raise funds to buy and install new playground equipment. In 2023, they invited the Estuary Partnership to join the project, enhancing the benefits of the project by adding new planting areas to capture and infiltrate rainfall, increase tree cover, and add native plants.
Crews will remove nearly 3,500 square feet of asphalt and create four new planting areas. Students will then be part of the project by planting shrubs, grasses, and new trees in partnership with Portland Parks and Recreation’s Urban Forestry Learning Landscapes program. The project will also improve the schoolyard by installing new play equipment, benches, and picnic tables.
Estuary Partnership Educators will also provide stormwater-focused lessons to students at the school to teach them about the importance of the project and how stormwater management supports healthy watershed.
The project design was developed by Juncus Studio in partnership with the Glencoe PTA and Portland Public Schools.
The Glencoe 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.