From the perspective of the Leach Back 5 Project, partnership is not merely collaboration; it is shared stewardship, shared learning, and shared responsibility for the land, water, and future generations.
The ongoing relationship between Wisdom of the Elders and the Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC) exemplifies what long-term, community-centered restoration can look like when Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western restoration practices work in tandem.
Rooted in Partnership Since the Beginning
The Back 5 Project is part of a larger collaborative effort to restore and care for land along Johnson Creek at Leach Botanical Garden. Since 2018, JCWC and its partners — including Wisdom of the Elders — have collaborated to restore approximately 5 acres of habitat through education, restoration, and community engagement.
This partnership reflects a shared vision: restoring ecosystems while creating spaces for education, youth engagement, and community stewardship. Through hands-on learning, volunteers, students, and community members participate directly in restoration activities such as invasive species removal, native plant establishment, and habitat monitoring.
The Story of the Back 5 Landscape
The Back 5 restoration effort arose from a proposal to convert roughly 4.5 acres of Johnson Creek-adjacent habitat into a long-term educational restoration site. Fieldwork began in 2019, when partners entered land that was heavily impacted by invasive species such as blackberry and English ivy.
Over time, restoration teams and volunteers have:
- Removed large areas of invasive vegetation
- Planted thousands of native plants
- Built trail systems for learning and access
- Supported wildlife habitat, including amphibian breeding areas
- Conducted plant and wildlife surveys
The project is designed not only as a restoration site but also as a living-learning landscape that will eventually be open to public education and community use.
Wisdom of the Elders: Cultural Knowledge Meets Restoration Practice
From the Back 5 perspective, Wisdom of the Elders contributes an essential element to this work: the integration of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK). This knowledge strengthens restoration outcomes by grounding ecological work in cultural relationships, respect for place, and long-term stewardship thinking.
Through partnerships with JCWC and other community organizations, Wisdom of the Elders helps ensure that restoration is not only ecological but also cultural, educational, and intergenerational.
This includes:
- Supporting youth and internship pathways through ITEK programming
- Preserving Indigenous knowledge through storytelling and archives
- Connecting restoration work to cultural plant knowledge and stewardship traditions
- Creating media and educational tools, including project videos and storytelling
Community Collaboration in Action
The Back 5 is built on coalition work. The partnership includes organizations such as:
- Wisdom of the Elders
- Johnson Creek Watershed Council
- African Youth Community Organization
- The Blueprint Foundation
- David Douglas High School
- Leach Botanical Garden
- Portland Parks and Recreation and other technical partners
Together, this coalition demonstrates how restoration can also build community resilience, workforce skills, and cultural connection to place.
Education and Youth Engagement
A major goal of the Back 5 Project is education. Field trips and service-learning experiences bring students into the restoration context to learn through observation, mapping, plant identification, and ecosystem monitoring.
Programs often include activities such as macroinvertebrate studies, sensory landscape mapping, and plant ecology learning, helping students develop both scientific and place-based ecological understanding.
Looking Forward: Stewardship for Generations
The long-term vision of the Back 5 is to open the restored area as a public learning and nature space—bridging curated botanical-garden landscapes with rewilded habitat restoration.
For the Back 5 partnership, success is measured not only in acres restored but in relationships built, youth engaged, and knowledge shared.
Supporting the Work: Community Giving & Collective Impact
Community investment continues to power this work. Through giving campaigns and community support, partners sustain programs like:
- ITEK Internship Programs
- Seeds of Resiliency: native plant seed stewardship
- Indigenous Archive Initiative
- Indigenous Storytellers Association
- Core operational support for staff and programming
These investments ensure that ecological restoration remains connected to cultural education, community voice, and Indigenous leadership.
A Shared Commitment to Land, Water, and Community
From the perspective of the Leach Back 5 Project, partnership with Wisdom of the Elders and the Johnson Creek Watershed Council represents what restoration can be at its best — collaborative, culturally grounded, and community-powered.
Together, this work honors the past, restores the present landscape, and prepares future generations to carry stewardship forward.