A Pollinator Corridor is a social sculpture that combines ecology, community engagement, and design. It serves to turn a pre-existing urban area – like a curbside, rooftop, or wall – into a bustling environment for pollinator animals and bugs or beautiful and engaging pollinator-themed artwork. As bee populations have steadily been declining, pollinator corridors in urban areas are a way to support the healthy growth of these communities.

NE Multnomah Pollinator Bikeway

Lloyd’s main Pollinator Corridor was designed in 2016 – in partnership with Go Lloyd, City Repair, and Portland Parks and Recreation – as part of a road diet to make NE Multnomah safer. While several US cities have begun to develop pollinator corridors, this was Portland’s first. Not only that, but in planting the corridor along the NE Multnomah bikeway, we established the country’s first official pollinator bikeway!

The first round of planting occurred in 2017, with Lloyd EcoDistrict, City Repair, and volunteers from Wells Fargo installing large concrete planters and planting native and pollinator plants along NE Multnomah from NE 15th Avenue all the way down to NE 7th Avenue. In 2018, we completed the final stretch of the NE Multnomah corridor from NE 7th to NE 2nd. We also added some colorful annuals along the entire length of Multnomah. We’ve planted native perennials in the planters which require much less watering and maintenance than annual varieties. Along the corridor, you will find a variety of plants including kinnikinnick, milkweed, salal, and yarrow.

Since the 2018 planting, we continue to host small work parties to maintain the planters, hold educational workshops and events, and admire the habitat they are creating straight through the Lloyd neighborhood.

Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, NE Lloyd + Green Loop Expansion

The opening of the Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge in 2022 along the Green Loop on NE 7th offers another opportunity to expand the corridor. We worked with the City of Portland and ZGF Architects to amplify the plant palette and make sure plant choices are in support of native pollinators at the bridgehead located at NE Lloyd and NE 7th. Following the bridge’s finalization, we hope to slowly expand the corridor east/west along NE Lloyd and north along NE 7th and at other spots along the Green Loop.

Pollinator Murals and Art Activations

Working to make Lloyd more vibrant and the need to reduce the amount of graffiti has presented opportunities to create pollinator murals along the corridors. In 2022, we worked with Lloyd Community Association, Go Lloyd, Lloyd ESD, Metro, and the Portland Street Art Alliance to create a large mural project along the Metro garage site across from the Blumenauer Bridge. Check out our blog post to learn more about the mural!

Businesses along NE Multnomah Corridor and other parts of the neighborhood are additionally set to potentially add other art projects that tie in pollinator and habitat protection. Do you have a wall that would be a great candidate for the mural? Or are you an artist looking to have a public art project? Contact us.

[envira-gallery id=”4653″]