Leach Back 5 Project

Back 5 Community Habitat Enhancement Project

Most of the land that Leach Botanical Garden is on was donated by John and Lilla Leach, who stewarded the original acreage in the early 1930’s. Lilla Leach was an award-winning botanist and educator, and John was a pharmacist and civic leader. The Leach’s donated their home and garden to the City of Portland’s Parks and Recreation in 1980, after their deaths, to have it developed as a botanical garden and museum. The Back 5 acres were added later by Friends of Leach Garden, in 1999, as part of a larger land acquisition to expand the garden. The Back 5 project is first and foremost an outdoor classroom and community laboratory, designed to provide educational and community science opportunities, with an emphasis on underserved youth and adults. The Back 5 project is ongoing.
Amphibian-Pond

What do we do in the Back 5?

Since its inception in 2018, the Back 5 has been a space for curiosity, growth, and co-creation of a healthier habitat for wildlife, plants, and our community. Weekly volunteers work on removing invasive plants and planting native species. Student groups use the space to practice real-world conservation skills, such as taking plant transects, trail building, and surveying for amphibians and macroinvertebrates. Rather than rushing through the restoration process with herbicides or heavy machinery, we go slow and use the process as a learning and engagement opportunity. We use the restoration of land and biological communities as a tool for developing and sustaining our own communities.

A guiding principle within the Back 5 is reciprocity, which can look like many different things. As we give our time, attention, and energy into caring for the land, we recognize the land is providing us with many gifts. As Robin Wall Kimmerer says, “All flourishing is mutual”.

“All Flourishing is Mutual.”

-Robin Wall Kimmerer

Organizations Working Together

The Back 5 project is only possible as a collaboration. The founding partners are:

Portland Parks & Recreation and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services also provide invaluable expertise and support. Dedicated groups of volunteers, community members, and other local organizations bring enthusiasm, thousands of working hours, and the joy and connection that makes this place special.

Wisdom of the Elders, Inc
David Douglas High School
Organizations Working Together

Where We’re Going

The Back 5’s mission is to create healthier ecosystems and communities through land restoration, community science opportunities, and environmental education.

In 2025, our primary goal is to open the Back 5 to the public and create an immersive visitor experience with defined trails, wayfinding signage, gathering spaces, labeled maps, seating, overlook decks, a vernal pond lookout, and photopoint stations. In addition, some of our ongoing goals are to:

  • Provide inclusive, relevant, and accessible programs that engage diverse, neighboring SE Portland communities through school field trips, community science projects, and tailored activities.
  • Prioritize programming for Black, Brown, and Native-identifying youth and adults, and model collaborative, intercultural partnerships.
  • Introduce, guide, educate, and train participants in the scientific method, multi-disciplinary thinking and analysis, the concept of ecosystems, the impacts of invasive vs. native species, and the restoration process.
  • Involve participants in creating and understanding the elements necessary to execute collaborative projects.
  • Nurture and train participants to become program mentors and educators for incoming youth.
  • Create awareness, connection, and a sense of belonging to this significant, restorative greenspace in outer SE Portland.

Keep up to date

News, Events & More

Mapping the Back 5

Mapping the Back 5

Apr 7, 2025 | , ,

Details for mapping the back 5 In the age of Google Maps, it’s easy to believe in a singular, always-true map. We can easily pull up a map on our phones for anywhere in the...

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