Rigler Elementary School is a dual immersion (Spanish/English) school in Portland’s Cully Neighborhood. Rigler is a school-wide Title 1 school with 70% students of color. Due to its location it also suffers from the urban heat island effect.
In 2022, teachers, administrators, parents, students, and the landscape architects at Juncus Studio went through an extensive community engagement process to create a Resilient, Inclusive, Sustainable, and Equitable (RISE) Schoolyard Vision Plan for the Rigler campus. The plan envisioned more tree coverage, inclusive play areas, a nature play area, and facilities to filter polluted runoff from the parking lot and schoolyard. In 2024, the Estuary Partnership began working with the Rigler School community to plan for the schoolyard’s stormwater treatment improvements.
We expect to break ground in June, 2025. The project will:
- Depave portions of the asphalt schoolyard and parking lot – approximately 4,600 square feet - in the area pictured to the left (photo courtesy Juncus Studio) The nonprofit Depave will help us co-host this community event which will take place Saturday, June 7. Sign up to volunteer!
- Install a stormwater management in the schoolyard and in the school parking lot to capture and treat runoff before it drains to the river.
- Plant trees, in coordination with the City of Portland’s Learning Landscapes program to provide much-needed shade and improve habitat.
- Enhance paths and playground access and add additional plantings and amenities like log boulder seating and picnic tables.
In addition, the Estuary Partnership’s Environmental Educators will engage the school’s students with hands-on lessons on the impacts of stormwater pollution, and how the new project in their schoolyard will positively impact their watershed. Students will also be involved with planting native trees and shrubs as part of the project.
These schoolyard improvements will be transformational for the students and nearby community. The addition of trees will not only improve habitat for wildlife and reduce the overall heat-island effect in the neighborhood, but they will directly shade and cool west-facing classrooms.
This project is in partnership with Depave, Juncus Studio, Portland Public Schools, Rigler School PTA Padres de Unidos (logo at left), and the Rigler School community. Funders include the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Percent for Green grant program, the Rose Foundation, Depave, East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District Partners in Conservation grant, and EPA’s Columbia River Basin Restoration Program.