Parking strips next to sidewalks planted with nothing but grass are like wide roads intended solely for cars: They serve a purpose, but they hurt the planet and could be doing much more to make our city great.
To Portlander Kim Brown — an ecologist, master melittologist (study of bees) with the Oregon Bee Atlas and secretary of the Native Plant Society of Oregon — those strips of grass are a canvas waiting to be painted with native plants. And those roads? Well, that ecosystem also needs a wider mix of vehicles, preferably bicycles.
Brown is the woman behind Portland Beecycle, an annual event that brings together plants and pedalers to help pollinate parking strips citywide. Last month she put out a call for homeowners who’d welcome a re-planting of their front yard strips. When I saw the announcement and realized the work would be done by folks who arrive by bike, I had to learn more.
“Beecycle is about creating beautiful, accessible spaces in our urban areas that benefit wildlife and the community,” Brown shared in an email to BikePortland this week. She said her inspiration to organize the events comes from three places: to create more native plant areas in neighborhoods; to improve conditions for pollinators, birds, and other wild things; and to help bring a beautiful garden to someone in need.
“We have amazing access to park spaces in Portland, but many people do not actually interact with these areas on a daily basis,” Brown shared. “For many, our daily interaction with nature is our neighbors yards and street strips.”
Brown first got her shovel dirty working with Portland nonprofit Friends of Trees, who’s been doing tree plantings-by-bike for many years. Planting a successful garden is a bit more complicated than planting one tree, so Brown has partnered with the Oregon Native Plant Society and Twinflower Natives, Portland State University’s Rae Selling Berry Seed Bank, and Friends of Backyard Habitat to make her plantings possible.
Each year she seeks out homeowners who apply to have their strip planted. Brown then selects 2-3 homes, makes sure the location is safe for a few dozen cyclists to work at, develops a plant list and garden design, then fundraises for seeds, plants and other supplies.
She’s organized successful rides since 2023. They take place in middle to late September, to make sure the plantings don’t get baked in the summer sun. Riders meet at a park, then ride to the planting locations, then grab a bite to eat nearby.
The event has grown to include hundreds of plants and related supplies. This year, Brown hopes to transport everything by bike, so she’s hoping folks with cargo bikes will join the ranks.
If you’re interested in taking part, follow @PortlandBeecycle on Instagram and stay tuned for updates about the 2025 ride.
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Kudos to Kim Brown and all the volunteers. The more greenway the city has (and native at that) the more resilient it’s citizens will be as the climate crisis worsens. This is the kind of thing I had imagined the PCEF money going towards to help mediate the effects of the crisis before it became more apparent where the money was going to end up going.
Pollinators before pollution!