Hannah Wallace

The Maker Space Where Members Are More Than Their Pasts

This article on Past Lives in Portland, Oregon appeared in Reasons to be Cheerful on July 23rd. 

 

When Brandon Morlock was released from prison in September of 2020, he wanted to create a business that would improve peoples’ lives. His crime had been a terrible accident four and a half years earlier, when he was just 21: He was in a car crash that killed his friend Ryan. Before the accident, Ryan had been trying to help Morlock build a collective space that was part private tutoring business and part carpentry/engineering incubator. 

Behind bars, Morlock worked in various prison industries. At his first prison, there was a wood shop, a metal shop, an auto shop and a garment factory. At Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, Oregon, he worked at a furniture factory run by Oregon Corrections Enterprises. “I actually acquired valuable skills there,” he says. He also did forestry work — cutting down trees, trapping invasive species and maintaining trails and campgrounds. By the time Morlock got out of prison four years ago — in the middle of the pandemic — his focus had shifted. Wanting to honor Ryan, he set about launching a maker space in Portland.   

Past Lives currently has 200 members across 12 guilds. Courtesy of Past Lives

“Until I went to prison, I did not consider the formerly incarcerated as part of my vision,” says Morlock, who says he’s had a dream of building a collective space since he was a child. “It was after seeing the inside of the prison system and seeing the prison industries that I was inspired to make that a focal point of my business.” On his walk to work at the furniture factory, he’d see people doing metalworking, automotive, textiles and machining. “The sheer amount of talent that exists within prison industries!” he says, sounding awed. He wanted to see that talent properly rewarded. 

Morlock began to deliver on that goal when he opened his collective space, called Past Lives, in 2020. An early supporter of the project was Glenn Dahl, cofounder of local company Dave’s Killer Bread, well-known for being a proud second-chance employer. (Glenn’s brother, Dave, served 15 years in prison.) “Glenn was very interested in our mission,” says Morlock. Dahl offered to guarantee Morlock’s lease, which made conversations with prospective landlords much easier. 

Past Lives is now based in a 26,000-square-foot building in the Brooklyn neighborhood of southeast Portland. Members — there are currently 200 — pay $200 a month for unlimited use of the facilities, which include a wood shop, a metal shop (with blacksmithing, welding fabrication and metal casting), a ceramics studio, a sound studio, a textile studio, a stained glass studio and a dark room. (Members can also pay extra for a private studio.) Membership to Past Lives comes with access to all kinds of high-tech equipment including 3-D printers, a CNC (computer numerical control) lathe, leather-working equipment, a machine embroidery workshop and a jewelry-making area. Members also get a 10 percent discount on classes, which range from Blacksmithing 101 to Intro to Woodworking for Women, Femmes and Thems. About 10 percent of members are people who have been incarcerated. 

Past Lives occupies 26,000-square-foot building in southeast Portland. Courtesy of Past Lives

It’s well known that prison workforce programs help reduce recidivism. A meta-analysis released by the The Mackinac Center for Public Policy in 2023 found that an inmate’s participation in prison workforce or education programs led to a 14.8 percent decrease in the likelihood of recidivism. Though Past Lives doesn’t keep statistics on how many formerly incarcerated members have gone on to find full-time employment, Morlock says that his facilities manager, Nathan Mosley, just got his general contractor license and plans to launch his own firm. Former Past Lives member Casey Simmons is the founder of The Strong Neck, a company that makes a device that helps you strengthen your neck and jaw. “They’re selling really well,” notes Morlock. 

Morlock, who is now 30, comes from a union family — his dad and brother are both members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Local 196. Inspired partly by that and partly by video games he’s played (like Warcraft II and Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind), he eventually created 12 guilds at Past Lives. “It’s a collective of guilds,” Morlock says. “We have metalworkers, woodworkers, textile makers, tech people — any respected trade. The building is our Guild Hall.” Each guild determines what their own shop layout looks like, what their classes look like and what they do with their budget. 

 

Crushed by negative news?

Sign up for the Reasons to be Cheerful newsletter.

 

 

Walking through Past Lives on a recent weekday, the warehouse was a hive of activity, with people hunched over anvils in the metal shop and sawing pieces of wood in the wood shop. Impressive industrial machines like a red sandblast cabinet and a sewing machine for leather-working stood at the ready. Upstairs, in the community kitchen, people were preparing lunch and hanging out around a communal table. Morlock introduced me to his colleague, 38-year-old Phoebe Valenti, director of design/build at Past Lives Construction, the maker space’s design and construction firm.  

Spend a few minutes with Valenti and you can tell she’s a passionate advocate for giving all marginalized people the opportunity to build skills and grow. “I’m someone who has had some of my own struggles,” she says. “Not with the carceral system but I’m a single mother of two and I had to flee domestic violence and so, I have a lot of simpatico with the experience of what it is to be othered by society.” Her hope is that Past Lives Construction will give people an opportunity to further their careers in the construction trade, which is booming right now. 

Membership to Past Lives comes with access to a wide range of studios and equipment. Courtesy of Past Lives

Currently, she has 15 people on her design/build team, but the number fluctuates day to day, depending on the projects. Over one-third of them are formerly incarcerated. She also works with fantastic sub-contractors, including a plumber and an electrician, who have each spent time in prison. “It’s really cool to understand on such a deep level how much people can not be defined by those things,” she says, referring to past crimes.

Right now, the Past Lives Construction team is managing upkeep and build-outs at the Circuit Bouldering gyms, replacing a house roof and even working on some large-scale artworks for a new apartment building in Northeast Portland. One of Valenti’s project managers, Noelle, is also an accomplished muralist; another team member, Jack, has made puppets and high-end theater sets. “The cool thing is that Past Lives brings together the art and construction side of things. So there’s this unique point of view,” Valenti says. 

Case in point: Past Lives Construction just got the commission to make mushroom stools and giant insects for a Ren-fest-style event called Fantasy Fair. “So we’re sort of all over the map!” Valenti says. This kind of out-of-the-box creativity excites Valenti — and her team. 

“That’s where I really see an opportunity: Let’s make our spaces reflect our community more. As opposed to just the same old cookie-cutter, mass-produced everything. How can we make this more bespoke?” she says. 

Past Lives regularly hosts events, including art shows and live music. Courtesy of Past Lives

Morlock says this kind of synergy with fine artists of all stripes gives Past Lives Construction a competitive edge: “What general contracting firm have you ever heard of that has in-house stained glass fabrication?” 

Brandon Lamb, 44, is a recent addition to the construction team and he couldn’t be happier. Not only does the work pay well — “it’s the best money I’ve made in quite a long time,” he says — the community at Past Lives has helped him in personal ways, too. “It’s working on relationships and things like that,” he says. “I come from a different background. So I’m learning about people and how they should be treated. Equality. I hadn’t had the chance to understand it because I’ve been in prison so long.” When I ask what he means by “different background,” he doesn’t hesitate to explain: “A background of drug addiction and crime. I’ve been in prison three times.” 

In prison, Lamb also worked for Oregon Corrections Enterprises — in the call center, the garment factory and as a wildland firefighter. “It changed my life,” he says. “I learned work ethic, accountability. You have to be on time.” That’s where he met Mosley, now facilities director at Past Lives.

The two stayed in touch after Mosley’s release, and Lamb saw him as a beacon of hope. “You see somebody, and their example is showing success…” he pauses. “Nathan showed constant success with the steps he was making and he was working here.” When Lamb got out, he had heard so much about the community at Past Lives “and all the amazing artists it holds inside its walls.” He started hanging around the place — helping in any way he could. “It led to a full-time job with Design/Build at a great wage,” he says. 

Now Lamb is very much a part of the community. “He’s a joy,” says Valenti. He also does maintenance on machinery in the wood shop as a work-trade, which gives him access to the equipment. He’s even picked up smaller jobs from other members. “There’s a camaraderie here,” Lamb says. “Everybody treats one another with respect.”  

Sunnyside Shower Project for Portlanders living on the street

In early May, 2024, I was interviewed by Dave Miller on Think Out Loud (a show on Oregon Public Broadcasting) about the Sunnyside Shower Project. Here's a link to the full audio on OPB. 

                                            Volunteers for the Sunnyside Shower Project stand in front of the church's main doors

In 2020, Southeast Portland resident Hannah Wallace went out with members of her neighborhood association and asked people living on the streets what they needed most. The two things they heard most? Showers and laundry facilities.

Wallace started the Sunnyside Shower Project in response. The project began at Sunnyside Methodist Church with Wallace and a handful of volunteers offering showers twice a week. It now has dozens of volunteers, and people can come three days a week to get a shower and other resources when available, including free toiletries, laundry cards and help connecting with other services, like the Oregon Health Plan and drug treatment.

Since it began, the Multnomah Village volunteer group Southwest Outreach began their own version at Riversgate Church. In February, a new Shower Project opened at the 13 Salmon shelter at the First Unitarian Church downtown. Kelly Clendenon began volunteering several years ago and helped launch the project with some guidance from Wallace and others. He’s now the Project’s coordinator and says that as a person who lived on the streets for many years, his current work is especially meaningful.

Clendenon and Wallace join us to tell us more about what it takes to run these projects and what difference one shower can make for someone otherwise without access.

Climate-friendly wine: Four tips for sustainable drinking

If you’re concerned about the climate crisis and you drink wine, there are some things you need to know. Curl up with a glass and read our guide.

I wrote this article for Imagine 5, a new Europe-based storytelling platform inspiring you to live a planet-friendly life. 

 

It’s bleakest January, snow covering the sidewalks, and you see a watermelon in the grocery store. You don’t have to be a sustainability expert to see there’s an issue here: we know that produce shipped from far away has a higher footprint than local, seasonal food.

But what about wine? After all, the wine section of any store is a veritable tour of the planet. Can it be kind to the planet at the same time?

“Growing grapes and making wine is probably one of the lowest impact agriculture crops in the world,” says wine climatologist Greg Jones, Ph.D., who recently became the CEO of Abacela, his family’s winery in Southern Oregon. But “the fact that wine is shipped all over the world is just as bad as the watermelon being in a store in New York City in January.”

Working out the real impact of the wine you drink – all the way from the grapes to the bottle to the truck that brought it to your local store – requires paying a little attention. Lucky for you, there’s a lot more “sustainable” wine now than ever—and data from International Wine & Spirits Research shows that consumers are willing to pay more for it. So, refill your glass. Here’s our guide.

1. Buy locally-made wines

When it comes to food, most climate warriors know that, as well as avoiding the foods with the biggest climate impact, like most beef and dairy, it helps to buy food that is grown locally and in season. If your food comes from a nearby farm or ranch, you’re reducing the “food miles” that it takes to get it from its source to your dinner plate.

But while we’ve learned to value local food, that’s not how we tend to look at wine. “We’re in a system that’s selling geography,” says Greg Jones of Abacela. “Wines should be bought locally just like everything else should be.” 

If you live in a state like Oregon, California, Washington – or even New York, Texas, or Virginia – that has a wine industry, you’re in luck. Buy directly from local winemakers or from shops that feature them. If you don’t, try to find wines that are from your region. 

But here comes an important caveat. Most wine from overseas is transported by ship, so it’s less carbon intensive than if it were flown. “Far more important are the road miles—a bottle of wine transported by road across the U.S. will have the highest footprint, no matter where it was originally shipped from,” says Mike Berners-Lee in his book The Carbon Footprint of Everything.

2. Buy wines without chemical inputs 

Pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture seep into our waterways, contaminating ecosystems and building up in creatures, some of which we eventually consume. They’re also dangerous to the workers who farm the vineyards. In the U.S., there are at least three different farming certifications that eschew chemical inputs and commercial fertilizers.

“Anything with a ‘cide’ appended to it [herbicide, pesticide, fungicide] is intended to kill things,” says Eric Lemelson, owner of Lemelson Vineyards, one of the first Oregon vineyards to be certified organic. “And we are a biological life form, so I don’t want my crew spraying something that I wouldn’t want to spray myself. Period. End of story.” Lemelson’s vineyards were certified organic in 2004.

“Organic grapes don’t automatically mean organic wine”

A wine made with organic grapes (certified by a third-party organization that works with the United States Department of Agriculture), means that most synthetic pesticides, herbicides or any chemical fertilizers are forbidden in the vineyard. Organic grapes don’t automatically mean organic wine: to get a wine certified organic, a winemaker must go a step further, not using any sulfites during bottling. (Sulfites, also known as sulfur dioxide, are a chemical compound that preserve freshness and prevent oxidation.) 

The United States also has over 80 biodynamic vineyards, certified by an organization called Demeter. These eschew synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and also stick to a further set of guidelines. Biodynamic wineries must integrate livestock and compost on their vineyards, to increase the fertility of the soil, plant cover crops, and use approved natural methods to look after soil and plant health.

Like with the ‘organic’ label, biodynamic grapes don’t automatically mean biodynamic wine. To call your wine biodynamic you also need to use no imported yeasts, no pasteurization, no plastic containers as storage vessels, and a limited amount of sulfite for bottling, among other strictures.

If you’re a wine drinker, you’ve probably noticed the term natural wine on restaurant menus and at wine shops lately. While there’s no universal definition or set of requirements for natural wine, the ethos is simple: sourcing organically-grown fruit and using minimal intervention in the cellar. Most mass-produced wine is made with additives, ranging from added sugar and dry powdered fish bladder (for fining purposes) to something called Mega Purple (a grape concentrate used to “plump up” the color of a pale red wine and add a jammy flavor). And because there are no labeling requirements in the United States, these don’t need to be disclosed on the bottle. Natural winemakers eschew such additives, even relying on native yeasts instead of commercial yeasts. Occasionally natural wines have a cloudy appearance or a funky flavor, but in the best hands it yields a fantastic terroir-focused vintage.

And finally there are regenerative wineries. The Regenerative Organic Alliance, formed in 2017, has certified 19 regenerative wineries both in the U.S. and abroad. Like organic and biodynamic viticulture, regenerative has a ban on synthetic pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. But it also includes measures to minimize disturbances to the soil, and to ensure animal welfare and social justice.

They even do a worker audit to ensure that people are being paid fairly, that there’s a pathway for filing grievances without fear of retribution, and that there’s no child labor. Some of the U.S. wineries to receive certification are Grgich Hills Estates in Napa Valley, Tablas Creek in Paso Robles, California and Ambar Estate and Troon Vineyards, both in Oregon. 

There are also plenty of wineries that farm regeneratively, without tilling (which releases carbon into the atmosphere) or using synthetic pesticides, but that don’t go to the expense of getting certified, so talk to your winemaker or wine shop owner.

3. Buy wine from vineyards that don’t irrigate

Grapevines, like all plants, require a certain amount of water to flourish. Traditionally, in the Old World wine regions of France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, supplementing with irrigation was — and still is — a no-no. In fact, in France, your appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) — the industry’s stamp of terroir — is revoked if you irrigate. In Italy, recent droughts have forced officials to relax the rules, but the philosophy is that adding unnatural quantities of water meddles with a wine’s unique expression of place.

In the United States there is no such rule, and watering means bigger yields and bigger profits, so vineyards here tend to be irrigated — even in regions like Oregon’s Willamette Valley, which gets an average of 35-63 inches (89-160cm) of rain per year.

“What people who irrigate don’t really want to talk about is that they get their vines in production quicker and they get a bigger crop by irrigating,” says John Paul, founder and owner of Cameron Winery in the Willamette Valley’s famed Dundee Hills. “That immediately alerts you that that fruit probably isn’t so great.

Paul and Russ Raney at Evesham Wood co-founded Oregon’s Deep Roots Coalition back in 2004. Today, the coalition is a group of 45 Oregon and California winemakers who pledge not to irrigate their vineyards, except in the first three years of establishing new vines. (If the winemaker doesn’t own a vineyard, they pledge to source grapes only from non-irrigated vineyards.) The Deep Roots Coalition can therefore include wineries like Brick House and Johan that own their own vineyards as well as urban wineries such as Love & Squalor and Teutonic. You can find member wines in top wine shops.

Climate concerns were a motivating factor in founding Deep Roots — and a recent investigation by the New York Times showing that aquifers are being depleted nationwide, especially in Oregon, makes judicious use of water even more urgent. 

But there’s another reason to buy wines made from dry-farmed grapes. Both Paul and Raney (who died in 2022) believe that dry farming yields more complex-tasting wines — in part because the vine roots go deep into the soil to seek out moisture, minerals, and microbiota. Irrigating not only prevents the true expression of terroir, Paul believes, it results in fruit that contains more sugar, which translates to higher-alcohol wines. (Not necessarily a good thing if you’re looking for a complex, terroir-driven wine.)

Dry farming is also a sensible approach if you want to be resilient in the face of climate change. Since non-irrigated vines sink deeper into the soil in search of moisture, they tend to do better in dry, drought-like conditions than vines that rely on artificial irrigation. 

“You know, when the water’s gone, the game’s up,” says Paul.

4. Pick sustainable packaging

According to a 2014 study commissioned by the Wine Institute in California, glass bottles account for 29% of wine’s carbon footprint — the single biggest factor. As a result, there’s been a lot of buzz around boxed wine lately. There are indeed environmental virtues to “bag-in-box” wines. For one: It is lighter than glass and therefore takes less fuel to transport. That said, each cardboard box is lined with an aseptic bag that contains three different types of plastic. Just like most potato chip bags, this wine bag has a foil-based liner and is therefore not recyclable. 

Traditionally, wine has come in glass bottles, which are infinitely recyclable. That said, not every state has a robust recycling program like Oregon does. And making new glass is energy-intensive. 

A new reusable wine bottle company called Revino is hoping to make wine more sustainable. Keenan O’Hern and co-founder Adam Rack have created a bottle that can be cleaned and reused up to 50 times. This not only reduces waste, it provides a local and affordable source of glass bottles, and obviates the need for ordering new glass bottles from, say, China. The bottles, which will be made by O-I Glass at one of two west coast plants, will also be slightly lighter than the average 500 gram wine bottle.

“Light-weighting is an exceptional step towards sustainability—it’s what everyone should be doing and practicing. But what if you could lightweight and also have a reusable bottle?” asks O’Hern. “What if you could do both those things and have the most sustainable solution on the shelf because you’re reusing it?” 

So far, 60 Oregon wineries have signed on including Bethel Heights, Cameron, and Et Fille. Revino’s bottles are already in use; Revino will start collecting bottles from winery tasting rooms this summer, delivering them to their wash facility for a thorough cleaning. Then Revino vans will re-deliver the bottles to member wineries, and so on. Wineries will receive a 10-cent credit for each bottle returned through Revino’s pick-up route.

One Canadian life cycle assessment, written by Julian Cleary and published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, found that a reusable glass wine bottle had 83% less emissions than the lightweight single-use glass wine bottle. A report by the Belgian nonprofit Reloop, based on 32 research articles, found that bag-in-box wines were responsible for less carbon emissions when the wine was transported over long distances (500 km, or 311 miles) but at 100km (61 miles), the two were matched – and that’s before you even start to consider the non recyclable waste from those bags. 

If all this talk of packaging, plastic, and transport takes you away from the romance we all associate with wine, never fear. With a reusable wine bottle, you’ll still be able to deftly uncork the bottle and pour it into your loved one’s glass. Just save the corks: there are plenty of ways to re-use or recycle them.

Bicycles used to be Made in the U.S.A.—a New Bill Aims to Bring them Back

Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer talks about his push for American-made bicycles and the power of bikes to make cities more livable.

I did a Q&A with Congressman Bluenauer for Fast Co. in July.

 

After 28 years in Congress, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has announced he’s retiring at the end of 2024. A cycling enthusiast known for his advocacy on everything from public transportation to cannabis legalization, Blumenauer isn’t leaving the halls of Congress without a final fight. Last month, he introduced legislation that would reinvigorate bicycle manufacturing in the U.S.

In March 1974, Fortune magazine documented the country’s “Bicycle Craze,” citing homegrown manufacturers like Murray and Huffman (Ohio), Schwinn (Chicago), and AMF (Ohio, Arkansas, and Illinois). But after demand fell off in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, brands looked for ways to cut costs and ultimately shifted production to other countries, like China. In 2022, 97.8% of bikes sold in the U.S.—electric and people-powered—were imported. Blumenauer’s Domestic Bicycle Production Act aims to incentivize American companies to make bicycles again through a mix of tariff suspensions, tax credits, and loans. Fast Company spoke to Blumenauer about his first bicycle memory, how bicycles have the power to bridge the political divide, and why America can and should be a powerhouse of bicycle manufacturing once again.

[Photo: Office of Rep. Blumenauer]

You’ve long been a cycling advocate. What turned you on to cycling, and when?

I remember being 5-years-old and learning to ride a bike. I actually rode a bicycle to school in first and second grades [in Portland]. I’m not a monster cyclist like some. But I’ve enjoyed cycling for recreation purposes and for transportation purposes. Some of my favorite vacations were peddling. I continue to walk or bike to work every day.

What’s your commute like in D.C., where you are right now?

It’s nothing! I live less than a mile away [from the Capitol]. It saved time and money not bringing the car back here.

Has it gotten safer in recent years as D.C. has improved its cycling infrastructure?

Yes. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of: being part of developing the bike infrastructure on Capitol Hill. I led the charge to put bike lanes down Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a really terrific addition to the city landscape. But putting a bike lane down the middle of one of the most well-known streets in America also had a very powerful symbolic benefit.

 

When I first came to D.C., there was only one other member of Congress who regularly rode a bike—a guy named Dave Minge from Minnesota. I’d mostly encounter a few random bike messengers. That has changed dramatically. Part of it is the expansion of the city bike program. But part of it is that we’ve promoted it here on Capitol Hill. Every day, you see staffers walking past with their helmets and their backpacks. People recognize that it’s a healthy, fast, economic way to transport—and it’s fun. And when you pull up to somebody at a stop light on a bike, there’s no road rage, there’s no snarling.

Portland is world-renowned for its bike culture. I love the bike “greenways” like Salmon and Ankeny—lower-traffic streets where bikes and cars share the roadway. What can other cities emulate about Portland when it comes to cycling safety and infrastructure?

Bike boulevards are something that are taking hold, in part because they work. They promote safer bicycle transportation but, also, when you put facilities like that in—it encourages others to ride a bike.

The bike and traffic-calming strategy on Harrison & Lincoln [in southeast Portland] has not only made it safe to cycle but it has made a difference in terms of the quality of life in the neighborhood. Since we put in that facility [a designated space engineered for bikes], property values went up. Not only is it more attractive, pleasant, and safe—people recognize it and it’s a more valuable place to invest.  

What can Portland and other cities do better, as bike and pedestrian accidents are rising?

Part of what we’re seeing is the hangover effects of COVID. People are less attentive, less patient. It’s disturbing. We are watching an epidemic of bike and pedestrian injuries and fatalities. We’re losing ground when we shouldn’t. We’re investing huge sums of money now through the infrastructure legislation we passed [the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act]. There are 473 communities that have a federally-funded planning process for bike and pedestrian activity. We’re putting an extra $1 billion per year into facilities. And it’s really encouraging.

[Photo: Office of Rep. Blumenauer]

Let’s talk about your bill, the Domestic Bicycle Production Act, which would incentivize U.S. manufacturers to produce bicycles here—specifically e-bikes. Why is domestic manufacturing so important? What is your ultimate vision for this bill?

Early manufacturing efforts for bicycles really were the cornerstone for the manufacturing [transformation] in the United States. In fact, the bicycle was also the foundation for the aeronautics industry. It was a couple of bicycle mechanics—the Wright Brothers—who developed the airplane. Over 110 years ago, there was a bicycle messenger service in Seattle that grew into UPS. There are a whole host of jobs related to the manufacturing function of bicycles, and we’ve lost that. We have a tiny percentage of bicycles made in the United States these days: less than 2%.

It doesn’t have to be that way. We want to make sure that we make it easier to manufacture bicycles here. First, we suggest in this legislation: Place a 10-year tariff suspension on the importation of components needed to build a bike. This is an important cost benefit. We want to encourage companies to manufacture electric bikes by building a transferable e-bike production tax credit. And finally, we want to help expand our existing manufacturing base by providing loans to purchase equipment and increase capacity for domestic bicycle manufacturing facilities.

We think if we can take these steps, we can help build the momentum again for manufacturing bikes in the United States. And in Portland, as you know, there are a number of firms that make handmade bikes. They tend to be pricey—well, not as expensive as your first car or your first house. They’re really fabulous. We want to build on that momentum.

But also make bicycles that are more affordable for everyone, I’m assuming.
Yep!

The Biden Administration is planning big tariffs on Chinese goods, including e-bike batteries and other components. Your bill wants to exempt these items from such tariffs. Why are tariff exemptions a crucial part of this plan to build up domestic infrastructure? 

 

We have a significant tariff burden, in terms of what we’re trying to do to push back some on the Chinese. I don’t want to fight that battle. I just want to make sure we’re not putting the burden on U.S. manufacturers as we’re trying to get this off the ground. This is something strategically that’s been done in the United States for 120 years—back to when Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft were presidents. Giving domestic manufacturing a bit of a break with tariff rates.

Do you really think it needs a 10-year suspension? Couldn’t it be done in five years?

We’re not talking about a temporary, short-term initiative. We’re talking about readjusting the mindset to domestic bicycle manufacturing. We want to build up the infrastructure, we want to create a market, have people thinking about a bike that’s made in America. We ought to be able to provide that benefit, so these companies can get established and grow. I think in the course of 10 years, they’ll be able to function on their own. We’ve got a real problem competing with bikes from China. They are massively subsidized by the Chinese government. And this is a way to help offset that.

Does the Domestic Bicycle Production Act have a chance of passing this divided Congress? 

I don’t know. We’re building support; we’re urging people to help us. There are people who are eager to be doing domestic manufacturing. We’re adding their voices. It’s not something that gets massive pushback from big organizations and special interests. So if things go right, it might be possible to tuck it into legislation that’s going to pass toward the end of the year. This is the most efficient form of transportation in the world, and we want to make sure the United States is part of this growing movement. 

You launched the Congressional Bike Caucus in 1996. What does it do? Who else is on it?

I founded it to make the federal government a better partner for livable communities: places where people are safe, healthy, and economically secure. This agenda does not have to be partisan. I talk a lot about “bike-partisanship” because I believe bikes are something that can bring us together rather than divide us. My friends Vern Buchanan (R-Florida) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) co-chair the Caucus with me. It’s made up of more than 80 members across the political spectrum. 

How have the Caucus’s goals changed over the last 30 years? It seems like general bicycle awareness has gone up but also cars have gotten bigger and safety hasn’t improved. Most cities are totally blowing their Vision Zero goals.

When I first came to Congress in 1996, bike infrastructure only received a sliver of all federal transportation spending. Today, we’ve created a national movement shaping communities large and small. There’s a gusher of funds available to build out pedestrian and bike infrastructure. This is the first administration where we’ve had a president that is so committed to rebuilding America. Now it is about implementation, helping communities take advantage of the funding to build safer, more connected networks.

Despite this progress, the transportation industry has not done its part. Cars are bigger, which makes it harder to see pedestrians. And as I mentioned earlier, we haven’t fully recovered from the recklessness seen during COVID.

We need to take seriously the safety of all road users, not just motorists. Many places are just starting to build out cycling infrastructure, and we should double down on these investments. We can also do more to harness technology like automatic emergency breaking for cyclists and pedestrians that would prevent crashes from happening in the first place. 

What are your plans after you retire from Congress?

After 28 years in Congress, I’m looking forward to spending less time on airplanes and more time in Portland, helping the city regain its balance. As a local elected official, I helped Portland become one of the most livable cities in America. I’m convinced we earn back that reputation. There are important projects that can help revitalize our community. I look forward to continuing this work as a civilian. 

Could You Transform Your Yard into a Flourishing Wildlife Haven?

Through Backyard Habitat Certification, individuals strive to make even the smallest outdoor spaces more biodiverse. Those changes add up. 

I wrote this article for Reasons to be Cheerful in late April, 2024.

 

Four years ago, Melody Murray started noticing these cute signs in her Portland, Oregon neighborhood of Sullivan’s Gulch. Posted in residents’ front yards, the signs read: “Certified Backyard Habitat” with a drawing of a black, red and white spotted towhee sitting on a leafy branch. 

“I didn’t know what they were for,” says the Ohio native who moved to Oregon in 1994. Her curiosity piqued, she went online and quickly found out: The Backyard Habitat Certification began as a joint project of Columbia Land Trust and Portland Audubon (now called the Bird Alliance of Oregon) to encourage urban residents to garden without pesticides, plant native plants and remove invasive species. All of these practices support a flourishing community of native birds, insects and other wildlife. 

Trillium in Melody Murray’s yard. Courtesy of Melody Murray

When Murray lucked into a one-acre property in the Cully neighborhood in 2021, she joined the Facebook group “Friends of Backyard Habitats,” where she lurked for a while until she felt ready to sign up. Because she and her partner had already cleared away invasive plants like ivy and vinca (periwinkles) — and planted an array of native trees, shrubs and plants — they got certified at the “Silver” level as soon as the Backyard Habitat technician could come for a site visit.  

“It was super easy for me because I had already made an effort to remove the ‘bad guys,’” says Murray, who was already a skilled gardener. “There were other bad guys. But I had enough native stuff that it tipped the balance.”

Since the Backyard Habitat program launched in 2009, 14,000 properties have enrolled in the Portland metro area. (It covers Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington counties.) The program began as a pilot project in the Southwest hills neighborhood as a way to get neighbors to keep their ivy and blackberry plants from crawling over fences. The habitat signs were a helpful incentive from the start, along with certification, resources and discounts. It worked so well, says Peterson, that the city of Portland wanted to take it city-wide. That’s when Portland Audubon came in as a partner.

After Melody Murray and her partner cleared away invasive plants and planted an array of native trees, shrubs and plants, they got certified at the “Silver” level. Credit: Backyard Habitat Certification Program

 The program, which costs no more than $45 to join, is relatively straightforward. (There’s a sliding scale so that people who can’t afford $45 can pay less. There’s also an option to pay more than $45 to pay it forward.) Once a resident fills out an enrollment form and pays the fee, a habitat technician will come to their house for a site visit. They’ll look closely at the resident’s yards — contrary to the name, the certification covers not just a person’s backyard but front and side yards, as well — and give pro tips on creating habitat for wildlife, managing stormwater, decreasing pesticide use and removing nuisance weeds. They also recommend ways to increase the percentage of “naturescaped areas.” Naturescaping is a gardening practice which emulates nature, so the idea is to select plants that are native, in this case, to the Willamette Valley ecoregion. These plants have adapted to the local climate and are naturally resistant to pests and diseases. They also provide food and shelter to support the entire life cycles of pollinators and birds they have evolved with. As a bonus — and a win for lazy gardeners — they require less maintenance and help manage stormwater. The Backyard Habitat program also asks that each participant have at least three native canopy layers present. (Canopy layers are composed of tall shrubs, small shrubs, and groundcover.) 

Getting rid of nuisance weeds is important because they smother and kill native plants, which local wildlife depend on. One of the most commonly found in gardens in the Portland area is ivy (all cultivars). Though it can look beautiful — who doesn’t like an ivy-draped railing? — it can damage trees and shrubs (which it can completely engulf, eventually killing them), increase erosion and degrade habitat. The one habitat they’re good for is rodents, which love to hide in the ivy.  A good native alternative to ivy is oxalis (a.k.a. redwood sorrel), an edible perennial that flowers, or wild strawberry (though it requires full sun to fruit). 

All these changes and additions can be intimidating at first. Patrice Ball first applied for certification in 2015. She had just been widowed and she wanted to honor her late husband, who had been a gardener. But after the site visit she felt overwhelmed by all the requirements. She didn’t tackle the invasive plants and eventually sold that house and moved to a smaller one that fit her needs better. 

Patrice Ball was pleasantly surprised to learn that her non-native hibiscus tree was not a
deal-breaker for certification. Courtesy of Patrice Ball

At the new property, she began gardening in earnest, with more attention to natives. “I thought, ‘Maybe someday I’ll apply for that,’” she says. One day, she was visiting a friend who had Backyard Habitat Certification and saw a banana tree in her yard. “I said, ‘Now wait a minute. That’s not native,’” she recalls. The friend informed her that certification doesn’t require you to have all native plants, just a certain percentage of your plantable yard. For Silver, that’s just five percent. (Gold is 15 percent and Platinum — much harder to reach — is 50 percent.) In 2022, when a technician came to do a site visit, Ball was pleasantly surprised to hear that she only had to do a few more things. 

“When she left, I thought, OK, I have a shot at this!” That fall and the spring of 2023, Ball added the things the technician suggested. In the summer another technician came out to do the second inspection. “I was a little nervous,” Ball recalls. “I thought I’d get the lowest of the three rankings. At the end of the visit, he was like, ‘Congratulations: you got the Gold certification!’” 

Ball had lived in Belize and for nostalgia’s sake she had also planted a hibiscus tree (not native to the Pacific Northwest). Hers was in full bloom at the time of the second site visit, and the technician asked if she could pose in front of it for the official photo, which he’d then put up on the Backyard Habitat social media. “I said, ‘But it’s not native!’ And he said, ‘That’s OK!’” recalls Ball. “Mainly he was like, ‘You’ve done a really good job, you have a water feature, there’s no lights to confuse the birds at night, you have really happy birds.’”  

A flicker nesting in Melody’s yard. Courtesy of Melody Murray

At the initial assessment, the technician provides a folder full of materials including a native plants brochure, a native plant tracking sheet and coupons for discounts at local nurseries. When they send their site report, the technician also includes a bunch of resources including a link to the Portland Plant List, which is a great way to find native plants and identify nuisance plants, and a link to the Friends of Backyard Habitats Facebook group. 

It was a fun project for Murray, who may sign up for Backyard Habitat’s Open Garden tour (where others can tour your garden). “I have a ton of vine maple. I’ve got a couple if native roses. Every variety of Oregon grape you can imagine, Kinnikinnick, a lot of manzanita,” she says. “I’ve also got camas, penstemon, and Oregon white oak.” As if she couldn’t contain her excitement, Murray went on: “I’ve got huckleberry, native blueberries, native blackberries — not the Himalayan ones. Native rhododendrons, serviceberry. Cascara. A whole bunch of different kinds of ferns — every kind of fern you could imagine.” 

Having a flourishing yard is just one reward. The other? “My birds and insects have really ticked upwards in a big way!”