Friends of the Parks Groups

Friends Groups 

Lake Oswego Parks Department has four recognized Friends Groups that provide thousands of volunteer hours to restore the habitat in over a dozen Lake Oswego's parks.  The Friends Groups are dedicated volunteers that coordinate with the Park staff and organize work parties in the parks' natural areas.  The Friends Groups have been integral in the successful planting of native species and the removal of invasive species in the parks' natural areas. Habitat restoration work parties occur throughout year in coordination with the Friends Group leads and Parks staff.

Thank you for your continued support of Lake Oswego's beautiful, natural park areas!

For a list of the Friends Groups habitat restoration work parties, visit the Volunteer Stewardship Opportunities page:   www.lo-stewardship.org

To learn more and/or connect with a Friends Group, see below.

Friends of Luscher Farms
Lead: Gale Wallmark
Email: FriendsOfLuscherFarmDrive@gmail.com
Phone: 503-218-3576

Friends of Hallinan Heights Woods
(Freepons Park) Lead:
Debbie Craig
Email: debbiefcraig@gmail.com
Phone: 503-704-5732

Friends of Hallinan Heights Woods
(Hallinan Woods) Lead: Kathleen Tarlow
Email: kbrizgys@gmail.com
Phone: 503-636-3153

Friends of Rogerson Clematis Garden
Lead: Amy Herman
Email: amychaseherman@gmail.com
Phone: 503-351-3970

Friends of Springbrook Park
Lead: Laura Tanz
Email: laura.tanz@springbrookpark.org
Phone: 503-702-7937
Website: www.springbrookpark.org/

Friends Groups Resources

Per Resolution 08-83 The Lake Oswego City Council established an administrative policy for park and natural area friends groups.  The resolution explains the intent of friends groups and provides guidelines.

How to Become a Friends Group:

If you're interested in starting a Friends Group, here are the steps to follow: 

  1. Organize a group of interested people. The group must consist of at least four active members.
  2. The group members need to fill out the Friends Group Application and attach a 5 year work strategy.
  3. The application will be reviewed by the Parks Department. Staff will work with your group to align yout 5 year project ides (5 year work strategy) with current and future City work plans, to ensure they coordinate.
  4. The group members need to read and fill out the Friends Group Agreement form.
  5. Submit your application to Kaleb Simpson, Natural Resource & Stewardship Coordinator, or call 503-534-5697.
  6. The application will be submitted to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for recommendation to be presented to the City Council for approval. Once approved, the Friends Group will sign the 5 year agreement and be officially recognized by the City.
  7. The final step for the Friends Group is to fill out a more detailed work plan for each fiscal year. See annual work plan submittal deadlines in the next section.
  8. The annual work plan will be reviewed by staff and aligned with current City work plans and goals. The work plan is then presented to the Parks Board for approval before being submitted to the City Council for approval.
If you have questions, please call Kaleb Simpson at 503-534-5697.  Parks staff is here to help with this Friends Group application process.

Work Plan Timelines

FY 2024 - 2025 *** WORK PLAN DUE DATES.

Due dates are now June 1 prior to the next fiscal year. Contact Kaleb Simpson for additional questions.

 Fiscal Year     

 Due Date    

Form

2024 - 2025

 June 1, 2024

 Annual Friends Group Work Plans.pdf

*** Work plan timelines are based on the fiscal year (FY) which runs annually from July 1 to June 30.

Please submit work plans to Kaleb Simpson, Natural Resource & Stewadrship Coordinator, or mail to P.O. Box 369, Lake Oswego, OR 97034. If you have any questions please call 503-534-5697.

Resources and Documents

If you have additional resource ideas, please contact Kaleb Simpson.