When spring comes, moss on Southeast Portland roofs starts growing again, and can eat into roofing shingles. This was the worry about the roof of the Woodstock Community Center this year – but the building’s owner, Portland Parks & Recreation, had its hands full with maintenance tasks elsewhere, which raised questions about how soon the moss could be removed from the Woodstock building – which once was a “bungalow style fire station”, as was SMILE Station in Sellwood.
So the Friends of the Woodstock Community Center (FWCC) came to the rescue. This is an all-volunteer group which, along with the Woodstock Neighborhood Association, has a partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation. In the partnership, the FWCC assumes responsibility for the building’s grounds maintenance. Across the twenty years since the partnership agreement was established, FWCC volunteers and other members of the community have kept the attractive landscaping around the structure in good shape.
Anyone who gazed up at the building’s roof in the last year no doubt spotted the bright green covering of moss all over the north side, and some on the south side. While what’s growing on the roof is not actually “landscaping”, the FWCC decided to get it removed.
To do the removal, the group got in touch with Benjamin H. Jones, LLC, who has been taking care of roof gutters and performing moss removal throughout Portland since 1996, when he was first licensed. At 8:30 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, February 25th, he and his crew of three arrived at the Woodstock Community Center. (When learning that this article was being written, Jones said they are quite busy so he is not looking for any additional work. But he said he was happy to help the community center by taking on this job.)
Rain was predicted for the afternoon but volunteers organizing the moss removal were hoping it would hold off until evening. The moss removal was to be an all-day job, and rain could make the steep roof even more slippery for the workers. The crew worked all day and finished the job at 4 p.m. Serious rain held off until an hour later!
Cleanup afterward led to a shocking realization – fully 800 pounds of moss had been dislodged from the roof and raked up for disposal! A powdered moss killer with zinc sulfate monohydrate as a main ingredient was sprinkled on the roof to help prevent future moss from growing. Later in the spring, Jones will come back to spray on more of the preventative at no extra charge.
The Friends of the Woodstock Community Center was able to pay for the moss removal because for the two decades of annual fundraising, FWCC has carefully managed its finances and saved money for unexpected maintenance work at the Community Center. This partnership has made it possible for the building to stay open, avoiding many threats of closure over the years due to PP&R budget shortages.
The FWCC is seeking more volunteers for raking leaves and the burr balls from Sweetgum trees, extracting a few weeds, and contributing advice and ideas for expansion and improvement. To offer your help, email – fwcc@woodstockpdx.org
Local News
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