Urban Nature Partners PDX’s program began in spring 2014 serving 7 youth in 4th and 5th grades who attended Harrison Park School in outer Southeast Portland.
In 2015 and 2016, we expanded our program to provide mentoring and family activities to students at Cesar Chavez School in North Portland and Harvey Scott School in Northeast Portland, and in 2020-24 to housing developments served by our partner, Rose CDC, in outer Southeast Portland. For 11 years and 12 cohorts, we recruited new mentors and youth every spring through these partners, serving youth with weekly, year-round outings with their mentor, monthly group event and service project opportunities, and summer camp and leadership projects with our partners.
In spring 2025, we made the difficult decision not to recruit any new youth and mentors that we couldn’t commit to supporting for at least two years, which is the research standard for the best benefits of mentoring. However, we have the great honor of still being in touch with so many of the 73 mentees from 54 families who have grown with us over the years!
If you are seeking a mentor for a youth (1:1 mentors are hard to find!), you can use this search tool at Mentoring.org , and click “find a mentor for myself or someone else.” You can also reach out to Kristin at urbannaturepartnerspdx@gmail.com for other program ideas in the Portland area.
