"St. Philip Neri Bioswale" East Portland Off The Beaten Path Tip by glabah

Bioswales are essentially ditches added to landscaping to deal with water runoff from streets and parking lots. Plants in the bioswale are usually particularly suited for breaking down oil and other wastes from motor vehicles, and help prevent these substances from getting dumped directly into the rivers.

The St. Philip Neri Bioswale includes a park bench and contemplative area. Sometimes, this area could be a nice park-like setting for meditation or reading. However, at other times SE Division Street is a horribly busy and noisy street, and can be unpleasant to be anywhere near.

The bioswale was built by the St. Philip Neri Roman Catholic Church as part of being a good steward of the natural blessings of God, according to the signs placed in the public area of the bioswale. It controls water runoff from their parking lot.