Arbutus menziezii
Madrone
ERICACEAE, The Heath family
We decided to give our crazy book, Hill Walks of Portland, another try. The author micromanages your walk, zigzagging you through side streets and alleys, giving a step by step account of who lived in what house when, what old trees are on the properties, what industries have come and gone from the area.
Half way through the walk we came to a road that was blocked off and posted with warning signs: a Superfund site. After puzzling over why the map would lead us here, and deciding we didn’t want to go through it, we checked the book’s itinerary. Sure enough, the guide relates the history of contamination and cleanup attempts, and expects you to walk through the area, giving this helpful tip “just don’t let your children make mud pies here”. Surely we encounter industrial pollution every day, and there’s probably plenty of ways and places to encounter serious toxins. But intentionally entering an area of known contamination seemed really uncomfortable. If I had children with me or was pregnant I would have backed away. But we were curious and decided not to linger, just walk through and look.
The guide told of city planner’s promises of remediation and a park. (You want green space? We’ll give you green space.) The remnants of mid-last-century industrial landscaping remained and were worthy of mention: Madrone, with smooth red bark and twisting branches dotted the former parking lot verges. It seems like kind of a revered tree here, everyone knows it. Figs and Lombardy poplars also grew on the site, between the river and the old concrete foundations.
