The Vestal Community Garden provides students and community members with a natural meeting space centered around food production and environmental stewardship. The garden provides opportunities to connect with the natural environment as a tool for relieving stress, teaching about natural systems, building stewardship for the future and creating a community gathering space for the Montavilla neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. To create the garden, over 15,000 square feet of asphalt was removed, converting an impervious area into a natural space that treats and retains stormwater.