Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Events

• Monday, November 18, 11am-3pm: Southeast Campus, MTH building Great Hall
• Tuesday, November 19, 11am-3pm: Cascade Campus, Student Union Building

Volunteer

All are welcome to stop by the gardens at the below times to volunteer your time. No experience or tools necessary. We are excited to welcome volunteers back!

• Cascade Campus: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am-1pm
• Newberg Center: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am-1pm
• Rock Creek Campus: by appointment only, please email miriam.latzer@pcc.edu for scheduling.
• Southeast Campus: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10am-1pm
• Sylvania Campus: visit our events or contact peter.ritson@pcc.edu to schedule a time in the garden

Jobs

Please see the PCC Work Study page for available positions or email sustainability@pcc.edu. Please note that not all positions may be available at this time.

Now Hiring at some gardens! Check out the PCC Job Board.

Resources

Environmental Center

The PCC Environmental Center promotes sustainability, education, and action. We invite students to protect and sustain our local and global community. Email peter.ritson@pcc.edu if you have any questions.

Rock Creek Garden Community Plots

Calling all gardeners! Interested in caring for a plot in the community beds at the Rock Creek Campus Learning Garden? Sign-up info coming soon.

Panther Pantries

We know that keeping students fed is imperative to equitable student success, that diverting food waste lowers PCC’s carbon impact, and that projects like the Learning Garden and Food Forests build community resilience to the impacts of Climate Change.

Panther Pantries are on all four comprehensive campuses and provide food for students in need: Cascade (Cascade Hall, Room 102); Rock Creek (Building 5, Room 113); Southeast (Mt. Tabor Building, Room 152); and Sylvania (CC Building, Room 215).

Visit the food pantry website for current schedule updates.

Locations

We have five learning gardens across the district that are open to the PCC community. If you need help finding the learning gardens, below are the locations!

• Cascade Campus – between Jackson Hall and TEB
  • Cascade story map
• Newberg Center – south end of the parking lot
• Rock Creek Campus – across from Building 9
  • Rock Creek story map
• Southeast Campus – west of the Administration Hall
  • Southeast story map
• Sylvania Campus – near the running track

Staff

Cascade and Southeast Learning Garden

Moonrose Doherty (They/Them, Elle) – Learning Garden Coordinator

Moonrose loves being part of community change, the tending of plants, and the sharing of knowledge. As the Learning Garden Coordinator for the Cascade and Southeast gardens, they focus on providing students access to free, healthy food from the gardens through donations to the PCC Panther Pantries, programming around food sovereignty, and events & workshops in the gardens. Moonrose grew up food insecure and knows the barriers and stigmas. They are passionate about students positively accessing food and all things food justice related. Moonrose previously managed the PCC Newberg Center and Rock Creek Learning Gardens focusing on community-building and food liberation through hands-on education and knowledge-sharing. They sometimes teach PCC Community Ed classes on Companion Planting, Organic Gardening, and Native Plant Garden Design. Moonrose is also a small-scale, urban farmer, medicine-maker, dancer, poet and landscaper. Recently, they furthered their medicine craft and learned tinctures, oxymels, and salves. Moonrose feels safest, wildest, and most grounded when in community with plants and sharing knowledge with people. They also enjoy rollerskating, backpacking, and swimming in rivers. Find them in the garden and come say Hi. Contact moonrose.doherty@pcc.edu.

Hailey Swain – Learning Garden Assistant

Hailey has been working in urban school gardens across the city since graduating from high school in 2019. They’re passionate about showing people how to grow fresh food within the city to promote sustainability,  accessibility, and community. Contact hailey.swain@pcc.edu

 

Newberg Center Learning Garden

Stephanie Romero – Learning Garden Coordinator

Stephanie Romero is a PCC graduate, and grew up in a small, beautiful town in Oregon that is surrounded by agriculture. She was actively involved in caring for and planting acres of apple, filbert, and walnut orchards as well as wine grapes while working in an Oregon fruit and nut orchard with her father. Now, as PCC Newberg Center’s Learning Garden Coordinator, she is sharing her knowledge with students and the community through fun, educational events and activities. She believes learning about growing natural, organic foods is very important, and I would like to inspire future generations to use sustainable gardening techniques.

Contact stephanie.romero@pcc.edu

 

Rock Creek Learning Garden

Miriam Latzer (she/her) – Learning Garden Coordinator

Miriam brings over 12 years of experience running small, certified naturally grown farms in the Hudson Valley of New York. She earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Land Use Planning from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Before coming to PCC, she worked with public school communities in New York City to pilot school-based farm shares that will continue with a beginning farmer at the helm. She also worked as an assistant grower and educational coordinator for the Poughkeepsie Farm Project located on the Vassar college campus. Her ties to Portland stretch back to 1998 when she served as an AmeriCorps member and grew vegetables on the grounds of the Northeast Emergency Food Program. She’s glad to return to the area and provide her expertise to our Learning Garden and sustainability efforts. Contact miriam.latzer@pcc.edu

Sylvania Environmental Center and Learning Garden

Peter Ritson – Learning Garden Coordinator

Dr. Peter Ritson, has over 30 years of educational experience at university, community college and K12 providing education, leadership and direction for programs and services for students. Since 2014, Peter has served as the Environmental Center Coordinator and Sylvania Learning Garden Coordinator at Portland Community College. Peter is an accomplished environmental scientist and educator. With a deep passion for sustainability, environmental education and equity, Peter has dedicated his career to fostering a greater understanding, appreciation of the natural world and fostering access and opportunities for all.

Dr. Ritson’s work is characterized by his commitment to experiential learning and community involvement. He believes that by connecting people with nature and providing them with the knowledge and tools to make sustainable choices, we can collectively create a healthier, more resilient environment for future generations. Contact peter.ritson@pcc.edu