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2025 Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School: Elk Rock Garden, Portland, OR
The Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School (PNWFS) has taught hands-on preservation skills at historic sites across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho for nearly three decades! In 2025, the Field School will be held at Elk Rock Garden, a 10-acre historic estate and garden overlooking the Willamette River in Portland’s Dunthorpe Neighborhood, in collaboration with the Elk Rock Garden Foundation.
The expansive cultivated landscape surrounds a 1916 manor house designed by Ellis Fuller Lawrence, the founding dean of the University of Oregon's School of Architecture, and his business partner William Holford. The grounds, originally designed by Peter Kerr, with later design input from John Charles Olmsted and Emanuel Tillman Mische, feature stone retaining walls and staircases, brick and gravel paths, native and ornamental plantings, and panoramic views of Mt. Hood. The site offers an immersive historic building and landscape preservation experience rooted in hands-on project work, preservation philosophy, and best practices.
The Elk Rock Garden Foundation was established in 1994 to protect, preserve, and perpetuate the garden for public use. The garden’s historic manor house is now being used as an office and meeting space for mission-aligned nonprofit organizations including the Elk Rock Garden Foundation and the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate in the preservation mission of Elk Rock Garden, which serves a broad public.
Potential hands-on projects at Elk Rock Garden include stone masonry stair and wall repair, restoring The Cascades (the garden’s central water feature), cultural landscape analysis and restoration; garden and tree work; wood window and leaded-glass repair, and tree limb bridge railing reconstruction. Final projects will be determined during the program and subject to participant enrollment. Workshops include wood pathology and identification, cultural landscape analysis, condition assessment, and photodocumentation, depending on the session.
Field School is an inclusive learning opportunity open to all. You do not need to be a student, have preservation experience, or be affiliated with the University of Oregon to apply. Past participants include students (from the University of Oregon as well as outside universities, colleges, institutions, etc.), practicing professionals, facility personnel, and enthusiasts. All ages, skill levels, and backgrounds contribute to each session’s unique program.
Join us for an exciting week of preservation training and education!
Sessions
All unique sessions include hands-on preservation work, a workshop, a local field trip, and daily lectures. Lecture topics will include site history, cultural resources management, subject matter deep dives, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and landscapes. Local field trips will tour historic resources in Portland, Oregon, and will include discussion among preservation professionals and stakeholders. Participants may apply for all three sessions. Session enrollment is limited to 15 participants.
Session 1 - Materials Intensive: Wood
August 31- September 5
- Al Williams and David Schlicker will lead the project work. Tentative projects include window reconstruction, tree limb bridge railing reconstruction, woven oak radiator cover reconstruction (gig making), and window and leaded-glass repair.
- Elk Rock Garden Foundation Lead Gardener Nico Swartz will lead the restoration of the Cascades historic water feature.
- The late-week workshop will be led by Suzana Radivojevic, PhD, and will focus on wood pathology, assessment, and identification.
Session 2 - Materials Intensive: Masonry
September 7 – 12
- Alan Ash and Al Williams will lead project work. Tentative projects include stone stair and path repairs, window repair, and tree limb bridge railing reconstruction.
- Elk Rock Garden Foundation Lead Gardener Nico Swartz will lead the restoration of the Cascades historic water feature. Paul Gaudette will conduct a concrete condition assessment.
- Late-week workshop will be a masonry condition assessment or cultural landscape analysis.
Session 3 - Preservation Primer
September 14 – 19
- Al Williams and Laurie Matthews will lead all project work. Tentative projects include window repair, tree limb bridge railing reconstruction, cultural landscape analysis, and landscape maintenance best practices.
- Stephanie Donovan-Brown of the Elk Rock Garden Foundation will lead the restoration of the Cascades historic water feature.
- Harley Cowan will lead the late-week photo-documentation workshop.
The Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School is sponsored by the University of Oregon, National Park Service, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation, Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Washington Parks and Recreation Commission, Idaho State Historical Society, and Idaho State Parks and Recreation.
Instructors include professionals from the National Park Service and private contractors specializing in historic preservation work, the University of Oregon, and local firms specializing in preservation and cultural resource management.
Field School staff includes Allison Geary (Director), Marcel Brousseau (Program Coordinator), Paras Bajaj (Program Assistant), and Sueann Brown (Adviser).
Tuition and Credits
Tuition includes all training sessions, evening presentations, field trips, meals, and lodging. For an additional fee, Field School participants can earn two graduate or undergraduate-level credits from the University of Oregon Continuing and Professional Education for each repeatable one-week session. Grading is on a pass/no pass basis. AIA continuing education credits available upon request.
Sessions
- Tuition (no credits): $900
- Tuition and Two (2) Undergraduate Credits: $1,150
- Tuition and Two (2) Graduate Credits: $1,250
Financial Assistance
The John Platz Scholarship covers the tuition for one field school session and a $100 travel allowance. This scholarship is awarded to an individual pursuing professional training in historic preservation. It is open to all field school participants. To be considered for the award, applicants are asked to submit a brief essay accompanying their application and submit their application by June 13, 2025.
One of the co-founders of the Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School when it was started in 1995, John Platz had been the leader of the U.S. Forest Service preservation team at Mt. Hood with work that included log construction and Timberline Lodge. He brought his remarkable skill in wood construction and preservation of all historic materials to the Pacific Northwest Field Schools for the following 20 years. He was greatly admired by the students for his knowledge as well as his patient teaching of craft. He passed away in 2021. This award was established and is generously supported by Field School founding faculty member Don Peting.
Accommodations
Please email pnwfs@uoregon.edu with questions.
Travel
Directions and travel details will be provided soon.
Partners
The Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School has been a partnership among multiple agencies for more than 25 years. Current partners include:
- University of Oregon
- National Park Service
- Idaho State Historical Society
- Idaho State Parks & Recreation
- Oregon Parks & Recreation Department
- Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
- Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation
- Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission
How to Apply
Applications are now open. Follow the link below to our online application. Upon acceptance of your application, you will receive a link to register and submit payment. Application deadline is August 15. The Field School is an inclusive learning opportunity open to all, whether you have previous preservation experience or not, whatever your age. You do not need to be a student or affiliated with the University of Oregon.
Contact Us
Email us with any questions or concerns: pnwfs@uoregon.edu
This program receives federal funds for the identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, or handicap in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Chief, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS-2740, Washington, D.C. 20240.
This publication has been funded in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior.