First Off-Street Trail to be Installed in St. Helens Thanks to Grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2019

St. Helens, Ore. -- St. Helens will soon be home to a new off-street walking trail thanks to a grant from the Nike Community Impact Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation. This off-street nature trail will be installed within a section of the South 5th Street right-of-way that has never been developed as a street.

The City of St. Helens was notified at the end of September that they had received a $19,000 grant from the Nike Community Impact Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation to install approximately 1,000 feet of trail that will connect Nob Hill Nature Park to an existing pedestrian path on Tualatin Street. The project will be known as the 5th Street Trail Project.

The City is being supported in its trail project by the Columbia River Youth Corps. Trail construction, including removal of vegetation, grading work, laying gravel, removing trash, and replanting, will be completed by a Columbia River Youth Corps student group of approximately seven students and a crew leader.

In addition to the trail work that will be completed by the Columbia River Youth Corps, the City plans to install a boardwalk over a small wetland area and trail signage.

This is the first phase of a larger project that has a goal of connecting Nob Hill Nature Park and the St. Helens riverfront to the commercial corridor of Columbia Boulevard. Once all phases of the 5th Street Trail Project are complete, community members and families will be able to walk or run on a safe pedestrian path from their homes to Columbia Boulevard stores, to Nob Hill Nature Park, and to the St. Helens riverfront.

The Friends of Nob Hill Nature Park, a community group that has adopted and helps maintain Nob Hill Nature Park, has expressed enthusiasm and support for the project because it will increase access to the park.

The total project cost is $35,790. In addition to the $19,000 grant, a $16,790 project match will be achieved with in-kind labor from the City and Columbia River Youth Corps. The project will be completed by September 2020.

The Columbia River Youth Corps was founded in 1995 as a partnership between the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps and the St. Helens School District. Today, the program has expanded to 14 students, primarily from the St. Helens School District. They serve students in grades 10 to 12, ages 16 and up. These students participate in an integrated program which includes traditional classroom time and rigorous hands-on field work within their community. They build and maintain trails and foot bridges, remove invasive species, and re-plant native ones (from their own nursery), restore salmon habitat and wetlands, and engage students in other natural resource conservation activities. The hands-on field work increases physical activity, personal development, vocational skills, environmental stewardship and team building.

The Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) supports grassroots organizations (nonprofits, community centers and local schools) to get kids moving, bringing the benefits of sport to their communities, giving kids an opportunity to fall in love with sport and physical activity, and creating stronger communities where play, sport and physical activity are a highly-valued part of everyday life. NCIF is an innovative approach to grant-making that engages a committee of Nike employees to advise where grants are awarded where they live and work. The committee dedicates volunteer hours reviewing applications and then offers recommendations for organizations to receive cash grants via its administrative partner, The Oregon Community Foundation. Find out more about Nike's commitment to getting kids moving and providing opportunities for equal playing fields for all at communityimpact.nike.com.

The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) puts donated money to work in Oregon – more than $100 million in grants and scholarships support Oregonians annually. For nearly 45 years, OCF grantmaking, research, advocacy and community-advised solutions have helped individuals, families, businesses and organizations create charitable funds to improve lives for all Oregonians. Impactful giving – time, talent and resources from many generous Oregonians – creates measurable change.

Created in 1973, OCF is the largest foundation in Oregon, with assets of $2 billion and annual distributions of more than $100 million. OCF's endowment comes from thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations that have created permanent funds from which grants are distributed to support the critical work of Oregon’s nonprofits. OCF is governed by a statewide board of directors and relies on nearly 2,000 volunteers around the state to provide local perspective on community needs.

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For further information regarding the St. Helens 5th Street Trail Project, please contact Associate Planner Jenny Dimsho at jdimsho@ci.st-helens.or.us or 503-366-8207.