Grow Wild Takes Root on North Street

With the help of 20 dedicated volunteers and the guidance of Andrew Tufts, Native Plants Program Manager at Maine Audubon, we spent three days in early October transforming the esplanades outside Fort Sumner Park into a thriving native habitat corridor. Together, we removed the grass and planted hundreds of native plants including lowbush blueberry, wild strawberry, wild geranium, sedges, lady fern, and witch-hazel. 

This native habitat corridor is part of Grow Wild Portland, a collaboration with the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainability and the Portland Parks Conservancy. Grow Wild is a community initiative that empowers residents to transform the small outdoor spaces throughout the City into native habitat corridors that support pollinators and urban street trees.

With Portland’s urban forest facing increasing stress from soil compaction, drought, heat and limited root space, these small spaces can make a big difference. Replacing the traditional turf-dominated esplanades with native plants helps improve soil health, boost biodiversity, enhance neighborhood walkability, strengthen climate resilience and support the long-term canopy health of our urban forest. 

Thanks to our volunteers and partners, the esplanades outside Fort Sumner Park are on their way to becoming a thriving native habitat corridor.