On September 27, the Los Angeles Board of Education adopted a resolution to bring a minimum of 30 percent green space for all Los Angeles Unified School District campuses by 2035, prioritizing schools with the most asphalt for immediate action.
“As we confront climate change, our students are more in need of shaded green spaces than ever before,” said resolution author and Board President Kelly Gonez. “For decades our school district has built playgrounds almost entirely of asphalt with no shade cover, which only exacerbates extreme heat. Today, we are committing to transforming our campuses by bringing tree canopies, plants, and outdoor learning spaces for all our students to learn and play. By establishing a clear goal and timeline to make our campuses greener, we are invigorating new urgency, accountability, and energy to this cause to ensure every school offers the shade and greenery that our kids deserve.”
For decades, nonprofit environmental organization TreePeople has been helping bring green spaces to schools.
Ariel Lew Ai Le Whitson, TreePeople Director of Education and Community Organizing, notes the organization has been leading the School Greening Initiative for over 10 years.
“This has not become an issue for beautifying our schools, but for our mental and physical health,” Whitson says. “It’s a huge environmental injustice to have young people play on hot asphalt.”
Studies show green spaces in schools help improve student well-being, physical and mental health, as well as academic performance. Unfortunately, only 16 percent of LAUSD campuses meet the recommendation of 30 percent dedicated to green space.
TreePeople is helping to change that in the LAUSD and other school districts.
By partnering with individual and entire districts, the organization helps identify funding that can be used to plant trees and gardens. Several campuses are already reaping the benefits.
“Our biggest project is in Wilmington Middle School. It’s $2 million for two gardens and planting trees,” Whitson says.
There’s also a $1 million greening effort at Pacoima Middle School and a project to plant 300 trees in campuses across the Rialto Unified School District in Riverside, as well as tree plantings at four schools in Watts and six other campuses in the San Fernando Valley.
TreePeople has also partnered with the LAUSD to launch the LA Living School Yard study in 10 different campuses in the San Fernando Valley and Boyle Heights that’s meant to identify ways of capturing water in schools. The study will wrap up by the end of 2023.
Schools and districts contact TreePeople directly for help. Other times, TreePeople goes out into the communities themselves.
The strategy is to find “shade inequities” and locate areas where there’s a lack of “green canopy,” Whitson describes.
There’s also a search for availability of funds for a particular project. Recently, California put forth $150 million toward school greening over the next two years. The money would benefit schools throughout the state, with priority being given to schools with the most greening needs.
In every step of the way, Whitson says, community involvement is paramount.
For instance, in the Wilmington Middle School project, TreePeople had an interview with the state to get a grant and they opened the process to the entire community.
“Over 150 people, including students, parents, school and elected officials offered ideas on what they wanted to see in the project,” Whitson notes.
They’re currently going through a community design process.
Then comes the “favorite part”, the tree planting and care events.
“The tree becomes a part of the community,” Whitson stresses.
“We get the gloves, we gather everyone for plant demo, we talk about the importance of trees, we talk why it’s so important to care for the tree, it’s really an educational experience,” Whitson describes.
There’s also a ceremony where they name each tree, whose maintenance falls under TreePeople for the first couple of years. But there’s also community involvement in that regard, as well.
“We create green teams with teachers and students to take care of the tree (an ecoclub),” Whitson says.
She adds that the effect of replacing asphalt for trees or greenery is “truly transformational,” especially when children gather around the trees for rest and recuperation.
“Trees and being in green spaces calms them down and helps them to relax,” Whitson says.
For instance, at Pacoima Middle School there is a section with greener area and teachers have noticed that when students play around it are calmer and more focused.
“That can have a huge effect when they come back to the classroom and learning,” Whitson adds.
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