Join Sustainable Overlook for events throughout the year. Meet your neighbors and learn new skills and sustainable solutions. Everyone is welcome!
Have a workshop or event related to sustainability that you’d like to offer? Contact sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sustainable Overlook Yard Sale and Free Share 2019 – Saturday July 20, 10-4 pm and Sunday July 21. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors – and reduce, reuse and recycle! Registration will open in June and will be online again this year. Households that sign up will be marked on the map and on our website, and in published listings. Suggested donation $10 to cover printing and advertising costs.
PAST EVENTS
Fruit Tree Pruning and Care with April Jamison
Sunday, February 17 from 12-3pm
Beach School Garden, 1710 N Humboldt St.
Sliding scale $10-25
Demystify winter fruit tree pruning with this hands-on workshop with orchard expert April Jamison of Garden Ecology. Bring gloves and your favorite pruning tools such as hand pruners, folding saw or loppers if you have them. Dress for the weather.
Seed Swap Brunch
Alice Busch’s House
Saturday, March 2, 2019
9:30 am Brunch; 10:30-1pm Seed Swap
Free!
Get ready for spring and summer by sharing seeds and stories with new and experienced gardeners. If you’re new to seed saving, come to learn and get seeds to grow! Bring containers/envelopes.
Wildflower and Pollinator Workshop
Saturday, March 30, 12-3pm
Beach School Garden, 1710 N Humboldt St.
Sliding scale $10-25
Bees need habitat, and habitat needs tending. Learn about meadow care, native plant and weed identification in the new 1,000 sq. ft. meadow garden at Beach Elementary. Explore the Willamette Valley native meadow plantings, see early season pollinators in action, and take home native wildflower seed! Instructor: Mulysa Melco
Bring gloves and your favorite weeding/digging tool. Dress for the weather. Ages 10 and up. Childcare provided at no cost.
Sustainable Overlook Yard Sale and Free Share 2018 – Saturday July 21, 10-4 pm and Sunday July 22. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors – and reduce, reuse and recycle! Registration will open in June and will be online again this year. Households that sign up will be marked on the map and on our website, and in published listings. Suggested donation $10 to cover printing and advertising costs. Map and registration here.
Garden Work Party at Beach Elementary
Sat. March 17, noon to 5 pm, 2018
Help Beach Garden get ready for spring! The garden has pollinator plantings, annual and perennial edibles and herbs and is the site for outdoor learning for K-5 students. Come help weed, mulch and tend the garden with students, families and neighbors! Tools provided or bring your favorites. Enjoy refreshments and harvest spring veggies to take home!
Natural Gardening Workshop: Naturescaping
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2016 from 9 to 1 p.m.
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
Registration is now open for this free and practical how-to workshop on how to make your yard eco-friendly.
Registration is required. For more detail and to register online visit http://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops/. Additional questions? Call 503-935-5368.
Sustainability Summit 2017
Saturday, February 25, 9:45- 2pm
Beach Elementary School
Details and RSVP here http://sustainableoverlook.org/summit-2017/
Sustainable Overlook Yard Sale and Free Share 2017 – Saturday and Sunday. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors – and reduce, reuse and recycle! Registration will open in June and will be online again this year. Households that sign up will be marked on the map and on our website, and in published listings. Suggested donation $10 to cover printing and advertising costs.
Natural Gardening Workshop: Urban Weeds
Thursday, March 2, 2016,from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
Registration is now open for this free and practical how-to workshop on weeds and how to identify them and how to effectively deal with them without pesticides.
Registration is required. For more detail and to register online visit http://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops/. Additional questions? Call 503-935-5368.
Fall Film Series
Join Sustainable Overlook for four great documentaries that will change the way you look at food, the economy and community. Free! All are welcome. Films start at 7 pm. Discussion afterwards. Food and drink available for purchase.
At New American Restaurant, 2103 N. Killingsworth St.:
Tuesday, Oct. 25 The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
At Lucky Lab Tap Room, 1700 N. Killingsworth St.:
Sunday, Nov. 6 The Economics of Happiness
Tuesday, Nov. 22 Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story
Wednesday, Oct. 12 “Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective” a beautiful film that tells the story of regenerative sites across the country.
Sustainable Overlook Yard Sale and Free Share 2016 – Saturday and Sunday, July 23 and 24. Tell your neighbors! The annual yard sale is coming up. Over 50 households participate in this fun annual event. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors – and reduce, reuse and recycle! Registration will open in June and will be online again this year. Households that sign up will be marked on the map and on our website, and in published listings. Suggested donation $10 to cover printing and advertising costs.
2016 Sustainable Overlook and Arbor Lodge Garden Tour
[Postponed – Please note this event has been canceled.]
Saturday, July 16 from 10 am – 2 pm
Meet at Trillium Charter School Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave. Details and registration coming soon.
My Basic Carbon Footprint: A Free Workshop
[Postponed – Please note this course has been canceled.]
Saturday, June 18, 2016 10am-noon 1905 N. Alberta St.
How much carbon are you personally dumping into the air? Figure out what your carbon footprint is (individual or household) at this free workshop. Instructor Mike O’Brien was for 10 years the city of Portland’s expert on green building, and built a showplace low-energy house right here in Overlook.
Registration required, limited number of spaces available.
Register here
Earth Day Clean up by the Overlook Neighborhood Association (OKNA)
Join Us for the Annual Overlook Neighborhood Cleanup!
Saturday, April 30, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Pittman Addition HydroPark – N Concord @ N Going Ct (just north of the Going St Pedestrian Bridge)
We’re showing our love for the neighborhood in celebration of Earth Day. In return….
-The first 50 volunteers will receive an organic tomato start.
-We’ll ply you with refreshments.
-You may bring your own bulky waste (if space allows).
***Prohibited materials include:
– all hazardous materials
– all construction, remodeling or demolition materials
– kitchen garbage, residential yard debris and trimmings
– waste and recyclables collected at curbside
– items that could be donated for reuse.
Bring work gloves (and loppers or pruners, if you have them) and dress in clothes you if don’t mind getting dirty! Extra kudos given to those who bring a wheelbarrow or wagon to transport bags and plant debris up the Going Street hill.
Many thanks to our partner, the Swan Island Business Association, and Metro, our event financial sponsor.
Natural Gardening Workshop: Naturescaping
Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 9 to 1 p.m.
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
Registration is now open for this free and practical how-to workshop on how to make your yard eco-friendly. Workshops are offered through the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and community partners.
Registration is required. For more detail and to register online visit http://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops/. Additional questions? Call 503-935-5368.
Natural Gardening Workshop: Native Plants
Wednesday, May 18, 2016,from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
Registration is now open for this free and practical how-to workshop on native plants. Workshops are offered through the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and community partners.
Registration is required. For more detail and to register online visit http://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops/. Additional questions? Call 503-935-5368.
Energy Efficiency Workshop with Mike O’Brien
A 2-part class: Monday 2/22 and Wednesday 2/24, 7 to 9 pm
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
2016 Overlook Sustainability Summit: Resilience: Preparedness x Sustainability
Saturday, February 2oth, 2016 at Beach School
Put on by Sustainable Overlook and NET
10 am to 3 pm Lunch provided
Details and Registration HERE.
Home Seismic Retrofit Workshop Saturday, December 5,
10-11:30AM OR 12:30- 2 pm
Sustainable Overlook is holding a Home Earthquake Retrofit Workshop with Steve Gemmel from Earthquake Tech (who taught our workshop 3 years ago) will teach us how to bolt our houses to their foundations, and go over other ways of making our houses more seismically stable. A PERFECT winter DIY project! Will be held at a residence in the neighborhood with a live demo. $10 suggested donation (no one turned away)
Natural Gardening Workshop: Urban Weeds
Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
Registration is now open for this free and practical how-to workshop on urban weeds. Workshops are offered through the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and community partners.
Registration is required. For more detail and to register online visit http://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops/. Additional questions? Call 503-935-5368.
Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9 to 1 p.m.
Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Ave
Registration is now open for this free and practical how-to workshop on rain gardens. Workshops are offered through the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and community partners.Registration is required. For more detail and to register online visithttp://emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/upcoming-workshops/. Additional questions? Call 503-935-5368.
June Meeting – Third Thursday, June 18th, 6:30-8:30 pm, New American, 2103 N. Killingsworth
Join in the discussion about neighborhood resilience, sustainability events and meet your neighbors. This month’s meeting will focus on pesticide free neighborhoods and parks, and the upcoming Yard Sale/Free Share. Ideas for new sustainability initiatives are always welcome!
Yard Sale and Free Share 2015 – Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19. Over 50 households participate in this fun annual event. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors – and reduce, reuse and recycle! We have online registration this year that is open now. Households that sign up will be marked on the map and on our website, and in published listings. Suggested donation $10 to cover printing and advertising costs.
May Meeting – Third Thursday, May 21st, 6:30-8:30 pm, New American, 2103 N. Killingsworth
Join in the discussion about neighborhood resilience, sustainability events and meet your neighbors. This month’s meeting will focus on upcoming events including the Sustainable Overlook Garden Tour on 6/6. Ideas for new sustainability initiatives are always welcome!
2015 Sustainable Overlook Garden Tour – Saturday, June 6 – 10 am to 3 pm
For our fourth annual garden tour we’re teaming up with Trillium School’s Garden program to tour their rooftop school garden and four neighborhood gardens. All the sites showcase organic methods. The tour will be walkable and bike-friendly and will feature gardening demos and information at each site. The tour this year will be part of the Village Building Convergence and will feature a sweed/plant swap. A $5 suggested donation benefits the Pesticide-free Overlook project. Look for details here in May.
Urban Plants Walk with Rewild Portland – Sunday, May 3, 10 am to noon See the our neighborhood flora in a new way as Rewild Portland’s Sarah Hill interprets the weeds and wild plants along our bluff and around the neighborhood. In this intro level walk, participants will learn the principals of gathering wild plant foods, focusing on harvesting ethics, basic plant ID, and common edible ‘weeds’. At the end of the walk, participants will be able to sample a few dishes made with locally harvested wild foods, and have the tools and resources to begin exploring the world of foraging. Rewild Portland aims to reconnect people with the ancestral skills and knowledge we were all once rooted in, and by doing so spur regeneration for the land, community and self. Suggested donation $10. REGISTER HERE.
Edible Plant Sale
Click here for catalog Pre-order deadline has passed but you can shop for plants and seeds at the spring garden Fair!
Plant Pick up and shopping: Saturday, April 18th, 10 am to 4 pm
Create an abundant food forest in your yard or just add a few fun fruit and berry bushes to your landscape. Resilience Design is holding a pre-order plant sale with pick-up at the Sustainable Overlook spring gardening info fair. Order from a selection of hardy fruit trees, berry bushes and fruiting vines, plus veggie and herb starts and seeds. Offerings will include apples, persimmons, blueberries, rhubarb, kiwi and much more. All the plants are locally grown and are organic and/or Salmon Safe Certified. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Sustainable Overlook’s neighborhood outreach projects.
Order by March 31 and pick up your plant order on Saturday, April 18th. Or shop from a great selection of plants at our Spring Garden Fair at New American. Check our natural gardening resources from Metro, co-sponsor North Portland Food Not Lawns, Pesticide Free Arbor Lodge Park, Greeley Forest Garden, Mason bee info and more.
Native Plants Workshop – Thursday, April 16, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm – Historic Overlook House, 3839 N. Melrose Drive
Explore the benefits of gardening with native plants in this workshop presented by East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District.! Discover Portland’s most common native plant communities, learn which species do well together, and get tips to help them thrive. Hosted by Friends of Overlook Bluff and Historic Overlook House. Get more information and register online at www.emswcd.org. Register early — space is limited!
Earth Day Clean Up – Saturday, April 25th
This annual event by the Overlook Neighborhood Association helps keep our neighborhood beautiful and safe by collecting and recycling litter along some main through fares. It is very satisfying to help give our streets and parks a spring cleaning! Meet at the Pittman Addition Hydropark. Volunteers will receive a free organic tomato start, grown right here in Overlook.
March Meeting – Third Thursday, March 19th, 6:30-8:30 pm, New American, 2103 N. Killingsworth
Join in the discussion about neighborhood resilience, sustainability events and meet your neighbors. This month’s meeting will focus on the upcoming events including the Sustainable Overlook garden tour. Ideas for new sustainability initiatives are always welcome!
Naturescaping Basics– Saturday, March 14, 9 am to 1 pm – Trillium Charter School, 5420 N. Interstate Ave. Portland, 97217
Learn how to create a low-maintenance landscape that conserves water, prevents pollution and saves you time and money! Explore how native plants can make your outdoor space a vibrant, healthy place for people, pets and wildlife. You’ll dig up fresh ideas, tips and resources to bring back to your yard. Hosted by Friends of Overlook Bluff, Trillium Charter School and Sustainable Overlook. Get more information and register online at www.emswcd.org. CLASS IS FULL
Native Plants 101 Workshop – Thursday March 5, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm – Trillium Charter School, 5420 N. Interstate Ave. Portland, 97217
Explore the benefits of gardening with native plants in this workshop presented by East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District.! Discover Portland’s most common native plant communities, learn which species do well together, and get tips to help them thrive. Hosted by Friends of Overlook Bluff, Trillium Charter School and Sustainable Overlook. Get more information and register online at www.emswcd.org. CLASS IS FULL
Steering Committee Meeting – Third Thursday, February 19th – Core group members will meet to plan 2015 events including the Neighborhood Sustainability Summit and budget. Email us to get involved!
Sustainability Summit – Saturday, February 21, 11:30 am to 4:30 pm. Overlook Neighborhood will have its first ever Sustainability Summit. Hear from panelists on local issues related to ecology, economy and equity and join the discussion! Lunch by New American served at 11:30 am. Information tables from local sustainability and resilience organizations. $10 donation. Details and registration here.
Winter Pruning – Fruit Trees
Daybreak Cohousing Community Room – 2525 N. Killingsworth Ave.
Saturday, February 28th, 2015 – 9 am to noon
Good, timely pruning can improve the shape, strength, and fruit set of your trees while simultaneously helping to reduce pest and disease pressure. Certain fruit trees benefit from winter pruning (Jan-Feb), while others benefit greatly from summer pruning (June-Aug). In this class we will cover the fruit trees that are best pruned in the winter, general pruning theory, as well as specific techniques to help you learn how to make the best cuts on your fruit trees with confidence and skill! Methods taught are organic and incorporate permaculture principles.
Taught by local fruit tree expert Monica Maggio of Core Fruit Institute.
- $10 suggested donation. Donate by cash or check at the class or use the donate button on our about page to contribute by credit/debit.
- Please register online. [Registration Closed]
- Cosponsored by Daybreak Cohousing and Sustainable Overlook
Summit Planning Meeting – Thursday, January 29th, 6:30-8:30 pm. New American . Summit participants will meet to plan the Neighborhood Sustainability Summit. We’ll also talk about the Garden Tour and other upcoming events. Email us to get involved! sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org
Steering Committee Meeting – Thursday, December 11th, 6:30-8:30 pm. Core group members will meet to plan the Neighborhood Sustainability Summit. Email us to get involved! sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org
November Meeting – Nov. 20th – Meeting postponed
Steering Committee Meeting – October 19th – Core group members will meet to plan 2015 events including the Neighborhood Sustainability Summit and budget. Email us to get involved!
September Meeting Sept. 18th – Steering Committee Meeting – Core group members will meet to plan 2015 events. Email us to get involved!
Movie in the Park — Overlook Park, August 31, 2014
Visit Sustainable Overlook’s table at this 2nd annual community party! There will be booths, picnicking and a big screen showing Raiders of the Lost Ark. (And a special surprise!)
July Meeting – Thursday, July 24th, 6:30-8:30 pm at volunteer Josh Cabot’s house, 4035 N Castle Ave.
Join in the discussion about neighborhood resilience, sustainability events and meet your neighbors. We will be meeting under the covered back porch and will have some light refreshments (lemonade, iced tea, fizzy water, beer).
We will be recapping our summer’s events as well as doing the following:
- Plan our next moves as it relates to our Pesticide Free Overlook (PFO) initiative
- Develop ideas for new sandwich board style yard signs for advertising our events
- Discuss how to start building our new neighbor guide
- Determine how we can do our part to promote our local neighborhood businesses
- Brainstorm a potential neighborhood resilience summit for next spring
- Planning for our table at the Movie in the Park night at Overlook Park 8/31
Yard Sale and Free Share 2014 – Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20. Email Josh at sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org by July 10 to put your sale on the map of the 4rd annual neighborhood-wide sale. Over 50 households have participated in past years. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and reduce, reuse and recycle!
Sustainable Overlook Garden Tour 2014 – Saturday, June 28
All gardens open 10 am to 3 pm
The 3rd annual neighborhood garden tour will feature yards that express Sustainable Overlook’s mission of ‘Building Community and Resilience’ in a wide variety of ways. Explore neighbors’ creative solutions for rain harvesting, edible gardens, outdoor play spaces, use of reclaimed materials, bird and pollinator-friendly gardens and much more.
Each garden will host an information table from organizations including:
East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District
Friends of Overlook Bluff
Metro
Xerces Society
Backyard Habitat Certification Program
Bee Friendly Portland
All the gardens featured are pesticide-free so it’s a great chance to visit organic yards, learn natural gardening tips and be inspired!
The tour is bike-friendly, with bike racks at several locations provided by Good Sport Promotion.
The tour map will be available at two gardens:
Garden No.1: 5929 N. Curtis
Garden No.10: 3908 N. Concord Ave.
Details on our Garden Tour page.
Garden Tour Reception and Orientation – Thursday, June 26, 6:30-8:30 pm
Remarks and brief orientation at 7 pm, Raffle at 8 pm
An evening for all our garden tour hosts and garden tour volunteers. Friends and family welcome. Get the details about the tour day, pick up your garden signs and poster and meet your fellow gardeners. Refreshments served, courtesy of New Seasons.
RSVP to sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org
Sunday Parkways – North Portland
Stop by the Sustainable Overlook booth in Arbor Lodge Park!
June Meeting
Join in the discussion about neighborhood resilience, sustainability events and meet your neighbors. This month’s meeting will focus on the upcoming garden tour, creating a Portland Manifesto and more. Ideas for new sustainability initiatives are always welcome! Feel free to bring drinks or snacks to share.
Thursday, June 12th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Intersection Repair – May 31, 9 am – 4 pm PARTY AT THE INTERSECTION! Join neighbors at N. Failing and N. Concord to repaint the street mural, tend the planter boxes, enjoy food, music, kid’s activities and community info tables. We need you! Volunteer for the paint table, kid’s area, making music, bringing potluck and more at sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org.
May Meeting
Join in the discussion about neighborhood resilience, upcoming sustainability events and meet your neighbors! This meeting will be about planning the intersection repair party, the garden tour, and a recap of the National Pesticide Forum.
LUCKY LAB, 1700 NORTH KILLINGSWORTH ST. PORTLAND, OR 97217
Thursday, May 8, 6:30-8-30 pm
Overlook Earth Day 2014 – Saturday April 26. Sponsored by the Overlook Neighborhood Association. Bethel Lutheran church on N. Denver and Jessup. This year the event will focus on document recycling – neighbors can bring up to 2 bags of paper for shredding at no charge. Participants will receive a free organic tomato plant. Our neighbors in Arbor Lodge/Kenton and Mississippi neighborhoods are holding clean-ups and recycling events that you can check out as well.
National Pesticide Forum – PSU April 11-12. Advancing Sustainable Communities: People, pollinators and practices. Th conference will cover a broad range of issues including organic land management, pesticides and health, GE food and the future of organic agriculture, pollinator protection, and passing policies to protect children, among others. The Forum is an important opportunity for communities to get together, share the latest information, meet with scientists and policy makers, and discuss local, statewide and national strategies on pesticides, public health and the environment.
A tour of two pesticide-free Overlook neighborhood gardens will be held Friday. Mulysa Melco, Sustainable Overlook volunteer, will be speaking about the pesticide-free neighborhood project on Saturday afternoon. Register at beyondpesticides.org/forum/.
Spring Seed Swap! – Sunday, April 6th, 3 pm – 5 pm, 6730 N. Wilbur Ave.
Bring seeds to share and envelopes/containers. If you’re new to seed saving come to learn and get seeds to grow and share at future swaps. We’ll have seeds for veggies, cover crop, flowers, herbs, etc. Everyone welcome!
Sponsored by Sustainable Overlook and Pesticide-Free Arbor Lodge Park.
Urban Bee Habitat Workshop – Wednesday, March 19. 6:30-8:30 pm
King School Facility, 4815 N.E. 7th Ave., bus lines 6 and 72
Join Sustainable Overlook members for an event hosted by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods and learn how your garden can help both native bees and honey bees. It’s easy to grow pollinator-friendly plants and even more fun to join with your neighbors to learn about bees and take action together. Panel includes experts from the Xerces society, Portland Urban Beekeepers, Bee-Friendly Sabin and Glen Anderson host of The Dirtbag, a radio show on organic gardening. Refreshments and conversation starts at 6 pm.
Thursday, November 21, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Portland Permaculture Film Series
Tabor Space, 5441 S.E. Belmont Street (SouthEast Portland)
In lieu of a monthly gardening class, we’re joining Portland Permaculture Meet-up for a showing of ‘How to Build a Thermal Mass Rocket Heater’. Join Portland- based movie-maker Calen Kennett for the premiere of his film documenting the construction of a thermal mass rocket stove built by Ernie and Erica Wisner, renowned fire technology geeks and builders of things that burn wood and capture heat. Running time: 117 minutes, followed by a Q & A with Kennett. $5 per person
Thursday, December 12 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Documentary Film and Potluck ‘Passive House: A Building Revolution’
Sustainable Overlook Soup and Cinema is back! From the producers of the award winning film ‘The Power of Community’, “‘Passive House’ takes you on a journey through the most important development in building design, construction and retrofitting in a generation. For 20 years the Passive House standard has been quietly spreading across Europe, applied both to residential and commercial buildings.” It’s a must-see film for homeowners, builders and architects and anyone interested in reducing heating and cooling energy use by 80%. Bring a dish or snack to share. Free!
Thursday, January 9, 2014 6:30 – 8:30 pm
‘The Transition Companion’ discussion and potluck
Join neighbors for an informal reading group. ‘The Transition Companion: Making your community more resilient in uncertain times’ by Rob Hopkins asks the question “What if the best responses to peak oil and climate change don’t come from government, but from you and me and the people around us?” We’ll be discussing the ‘Connecting’ section. A limited number of books are available free of charge. Email sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org Bring a dish or snack to share. Free!
Bread baking
Making your own bread is simple and makes even everyday meals special. Learn techniques for a few styles of bread including herb focaccia and pizza dough and take home a few loaves. Sliding scale $5-15 includes ingredients, all local and organic (and hot soup for dinner!) Email sustainable@overlookneighborhood.org to be contacted when registration opens.