The City of Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation and its partner, Mackenzie, are excited to announce Woodmont Natural Park, located at 13600 Atwater Lane, Lake Oswego, has proudly received two esteemed awards from the Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). ASLA, which honors excellence in landscape architecture, recognized Woodmont Natural Park with the Award of Excellence in the General Design category - the top award given in the group, beating out other very impressive projects throughout the state! Jurors noted its overall beauty, simplicity, subtlety, and understated approach while focusing on the details.

In addition, the park also won a Green Ribbon Award for Climate Action due to its light touch on the land, enhancement of native ecosystems, and reuse of natural materials.

 
The 6.8-acre park was completed in 2021 with a shared vision to connect people to the outdoors. The design of Woodmont Natural Park encourages social interaction, creating a welcoming space for the Lake Oswego community to gather and thrive. It is considered a city-wide, hybrid character park that integrates natural and developed features throughout the site.

Beginning with a collective concept of joining the community with nature, the Mackenzie project team and the City of Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation staff engaged the public through an eight-month process to generate a master plan for the park. Access and visibility issues and hundreds of invasive trees beset the beloved property. Several design alternatives were produced, critiqued, and adapted through meetings with stakeholder groups and the community to arrive at a master plan.


Building on the success of the master plan process, Mackenzie was contracted to carry the design to completion and gain approvals and permits across multiple agencies. To ensure the successful execution of a variety of unique, nature-based concepts, Mackenzie worked closely with the contractors during construction to explain the intent and craft elements that make the park special - like the repurposed walnut tree and "The Nest," a woven branch public art piece by artist, Hannes Wingate, known for his work all over the world interfacing people and nature.

"I'm thrilled that Woodmont Park has been honored with these awards-they celebrate the fruit of the labor of Lake Oswego's Parks & Recreation Department and its commitment and determination to see this project through over a long period. Additionally, I'm extremely proud of the efforts we undertook to help Woodmont evolve, transforming the property's limitations into strengths, and in the process, creating a truly sustainable and restorative place for the community," said Steven Tuttle, Project Landscape Architect and Senior Associate at Mackenzie.

Features of the park include - two overlooks/viewpoints, improved biodiversity and native habitat, repurposed natural materials from the site, interactive natural areas, enhanced wetland planting, grassy areas, new native trees, shrubs, and perennials, along with over a 1/2 of a mile new trail.
"We are thrilled to receive these prestigious awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects in conjunction with Mackenzie," said Ivan Anderholm, Director of Parks & Recreation, City of Lake Oswego. "These accolades reflect our unwavering dedication to creating a sustainable and inclusive outdoor environment that enhances the quality of life for our community. This project met the goals of the Parks Plan 2025 with investment in existing natural areas. We extend our gratitude to the ASLA for recognizing our staff and partners' hard work and creativity. This project is a community favorite and incorporated community-focused outreach that paid off with the design and implementation."