Quiet Parks Int. awarded America’s First Urban Quiet Park status to Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon, USA on May 26, 2023
Quiet Parks International will present Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) with an Urban Quiet Park Award for Mt. Tabor Park this Friday, May 26th, 2023. The Maintenance, City Nature and Land Stewardship teams maintain, steward and manage public greenspaces within the park system.
The Friends of Mt. Tabor Park, a 22-year-old non-profit, provides volunteers to assist in stewarding the trails, pull weeds, lead urban nature walks, and staff a visitor center. The park also contains two playgrounds, basketball court, tennis court, an off-leash dog park, an amphitheater, community garden, multiple picnic areas and three reservoirs.
Mt. Tabor is the first Urban Quiet Park in the United States with others planned for Seattle and New York by end of year. Mt. Tabor now joins the list of nine other Urban Quiet Parks around the world including Yangmingshan National Park, Taipei, Taiwan, Hampstead Heath, London, UK, Parc del Montenegre in el Corredor, Barcelona, Spain, Dender Mark Quiet Area, Flanders, Belgium and five others in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ulf Bohman, Executive Director of Urban Quiet Parks, states, “To be within Portland’s urban sprawl is very important for Quiet Parks International’s mission to save quiet and create awareness of how important silence and stillness are not only for human health and well-being but for all living creatures. The hope is that this award will inspire those stewards to start protecting the quiet spaces around them.”
Mt. Tabor, founded in 1909, spans over 176 acres and includes 53 tree species, 143 bird species and 82 different arthropods. The mature Douglas Fir Forest gives way to lower vine maple, ferns along winding paths to have a quiet experience outdoors.
The Award Ceremony will commence at 9:00AM on May 26th, 2023 at Mt. Tabor Park near the Visitor Center. Members of PP&R employees from both the Maintenance and City Nature teams of the Land Stewardship Division will be in attendance along with representatives from QPI and Friends of Mt. Tabor. Afterwards, there will be a volunteer led sound walk through the park.
Photo credit: Jacob Schmidt and Quiet Parks International
Press Contact
The Friends of Mt. Tabor Park: taborfriends@gmail.com | (503) 512-0816
QPI Executive Director of Urban Quiet Parks: Ulf Bohman, ulf@quietparks.org
QPI Director of Media Affairs: Gordon Hempton, gordon@quietparks.org
Portland Parks and Recreation: http://www.portland.gov/parks