Discover how volunteers — and a giant pickle — helped transform Lents Park and nearby streets, on a crisp spring morning …
Dozens of volunteers gather at the sign-in table for the Lents Park Clean-up, collecting safety vests and gloves, before fanning out through the park and nearby streets.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A cool, crisp, sunny spring morning greeted volunteers arriving at the south end of Lents Park on Saturday, April 18, for a neighborhood litter pickup that stretched into Lents Town Center – as community members, partners, and a trio of costumed mascots converged to give this outer East Portland park, and its surrounding streets, some extra care.
According to SOLVE Chief Executive Officer Kris Carico, the Lents Park Clean-Up was part of SOLVE’s region-wide Earth Month effort – while pointing out that the group now organizes more than 1,500 such clean-ups every year, giving residents frequent chances to care for their communities
Here, getting safety vests ready to hand out at the Lents Park Clean-up, are volunteers Rachel Philpott and Liz Philpott, who flank SOLVE Chief Executive Officer Kris Carico (center).
“We have about over 200 of these also going in southwest Washington, where we’re cleaning up litter, pulling invasives, planting native trees and shrubs, just really taking care of our environment for Earth Day,” Carico explained.
Although some longtime supporters remember the group as an acronym, Carico said that SOLVE has grown beyond its original name of “Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism”.
“SOLVE is no longer an acronym, it’s really just an action word now,” Carico reflected, adding that the organization traces its roots back to 1969, when it was founded by Governor Tom McCall.
With a trash picker and collection bag in hand, at the Lents Park Clean-up, volunteer Ken Flora assures that he’s ready to head out “to volunteer and keep the neighborhood clean”.
Why Lents Park?
Carico outlined why SOLVE and its partners focused this day on this particular outer East Portland location. “Lents Park was chosen because of work with the Portland Pickles, and so this is obviously where they play their games, and we’ve got the mascots coming out,” Carico said. “We wanted just to come out here and work this park – but it’s also a neighborhood that really is loved, and also needs a little bit of cleanup.”
This clean-up made partners of SOLVE, the Portland Pickles baseball club, and Portland General Electric – with the volunteers gathering at park’s south end playground area before fanning out across Lents Park and into nearby streets. Organizers framed the event as family-friendly, inviting neighbors to collect litter and recyclables, then to regroup for snacks and beverages.
His partners hadn’t yet arrived, but Portland Pickles mascot, Dillon T. Pickle was already at work, entertaining the volunteers.
Adding to the festive atmosphere, Dillon T. Pickle – the Portland Pickles’ mascot – and Saucy T. Sausage from Portland Bangers FC encouraged participants and posed for photos, turning a Saturday morning cleanup into a neighborhood happening.
Waterways and community at the heart
Carico emphasized that SOLVE’s mission now extends well beyond simple litter pickup.
“Whether it’s picking up trash, keeping it out of our oceans, or planting native trees along our coastlines or our river lines – we’re keeping soil healthy,” Carico told East Portland News.
Before volunteers fan out through Lents Park and beyond, SOLVE Program Assistant Lou Zeller delivers a ‘safety speech’ to a group at the Lents Park Clean-Up.
On the way to Lents, the volunteers and organizers could spot other SOLVE crews working along places like Johnson Creek – part of a wider network of partnerships with watershed councils and neighborhood groups.
Carico also stressed the social side of events like this. “It’s definitely more than just the environmental beautification aspects of it. It’s about the community building as well,” she observed. “People can come out here, get to know their neighbors, and just really take that pride in knowing that they were out here taking care of their neighborhood.”
Kids and parents alike pitch in, as the Cooke family, coming from the Reed neighborhood, prepares to head out for the Lents Park Clean-up.
Seeing results in two hours
Carico remarked that volunteers walk away with a tangible sense of accomplishment.
“For two hours, they can see the fruits of their labor, if you will — when they see all the trash that was collected.”
Initial expectations based on pre-registrations pointed to roughly 50 volunteers; but by midday the turnout had grown to 75 volunteers, filling bags with a total of some 250 pounds of litter from across the park and the adjacent streets.
This group of volunteers leaves Lents Park and fans out into nearby streets, carrying bags and grabbers during Lents Park Clean-Up.
Carico reminded would-be volunteers that opportunities like this are available year-round. “We have over 1,500 events annually, so there’s always something going on. Our website is chock full of things like this for people to pop into.”
CLICK HERE to visit the SOLVE website.
Volunteers from this neighborhood clean-up work along berm of the I-205 Multi-Use Path, picking up trash.
For Lents neighbors, the cleanup offered a quick, visible boost for a park and business district that serve as a shared front yard for outer East Portland – and a reminder that a couple of hours with a picker and a trash bag can bring a lasting improvement to the streets where they live, work, and explore.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
