WPC Creates Outdoor Green Spaces at Public Schools
Living classrooms and other outdoor green spaces installed at 55 Pittsburgh public schools over the past four years through the Conservancy’s School Grounds Greening Program have added new dimensions to students’ educational experiences. Thanks to a $1.5-million grant from the Grable Foundation and other financial support, WPC’s staff designed a specific plan for each school, geared to meet the particular needs of the site and its students, and implemented the new landscaping.
“There is very compelling evidence that time outdoors is important to children,” said Judy Wagner, senior director of WPC’s Community Gardens and Greenspace Program. “The opportunity to be in a green place not only has the obvious health benefits of fresh air, exercise and sunshine, but also provides important cognitive and emotional benefits. We were so delighted to have the opportunity through this grant to bring the Conservancy’s experience with nature right to the children in their own schoolyards.”
Students and teachers have participated in many of the school plantings. The project also relies on the help of volunteer School Tenders — teachers, parents, students and staff members who agree to help ensure that the newly-greened sites are maintained.
WPC staff members added 622 trees, 2,309 shrubs and 6,454 perennials to the grounds of the city’s public schools. Contractors installed major elements like large trees and landscape additions such as stone or log benches.
Seven sites were recognized for their beauty and functionality by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, with a 2011 Community Greening Award. The following four schools provide examples of how the project dramatically transformed outdoor areas into beautiful learning and recreation spaces.
After: Hornbeam trees at the school’s entrance now welcome students and teachers.
Schiller Classical Academy
Green space was nonexistent at Pittsburgh Schiller Classical Academy on the North Side until the Conservancy created a living courtyard in November 2009.
Asphalt was removed near the building’s main entrance and replaced with creeping juniper, spirea, and hornbeam trees. “The trees were chosen for their compact, pyramidal shape, and have already grown large enough to cool the pavement and begin to shade the building,” said David Wilson, coordinator of the WPC school grounds project. “The greenery is very welcoming.”
In addition to the trees and shrubs, the School Grounds Greening Program installed six custom-made stone benches and several tree stump stools to provide seating.
After: A green play area for Weil Elementary students replaced a hard-surfaced one.
Weil Accelerated Learning Academy
Students at Pittsburgh Weil Accelerated Learning Academy in the Hill District now have access to a natural play space on the school grounds that include crab apple and gingko trees, rose shrubs and other plants, as well as organic play elements including a grassy mound and a log sitting area. These new features replaced more than 1,000 square feet of asphalt last summer.
Students as young as seven took part in creating the green space, according to Weil teacher Ronald Holloway. “We asked second and third grade volunteers to help with installation of the garden, and WPC enabled us to use that as a teaching opportunity,” he said. “It was the first time most of our kids got to dig in the dirt.”
Lessons about gardening were added to the school curriculum in preparation for this year’s planting season, Holloway said.
After: A southwest view shows the feather reed and switch grass along the walkway, and blue salvia and red celosia in the planters.
Pioneer Special Education Center
The sensory garden at Pittsburgh Pioneer Special Education Center in Brookline has opened a world of sound, scent and touch to students with complex physical and intellectual challenges.
“We’d seen such a wonderful response to our indoor sensory room, we wanted to provide a similar experience outdoors, but we weren’t sure how to go about it,” said Pioneer principal Dr. Sylbia Kunst, in recalling the genesis of the garden. “The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy gave us the perfect opportunity.”
With additional major funding from Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust, the Conservancy created a two-acre oasis that features a bubbling water fountain, vine tunnel, wooden footbridge, steel drums recycled from propane tanks, and picnic benches, as well as trees, shrubs and more than 1,200 plants chosen for their color, texture and fragrance. Vegetable planters last summer yielded beets, beans and tomatoes that students could take home.
Lessons about gardening were added to the school curriculum in preparation for this year’s planting season, Holloway said.
After: WPC installed a rain garden to collect storm water runoff.
Allderdice High School
Green space with a dual purpose was created at Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill. Installed last summer, the 600-square foot area near the entrance to the building includes a self-sustaining rain garden that helps curb storm water runoff and an outdoor classroom for students and faculty.
“There are 14 benches in the garden, enough to accommodate an entire class, and a sign-up sheet so any teacher can reserve time,” said social studies teacher Molly Braver. “The students love it because it gets them away from an institutional environment, and the benches are set up amphitheater-style to encourage discussion.”
In a nearby area, four serviceberry trees, 400 plants and 17 shrubs, all native species, are keeping rainwater out of sewers, said Wilson. “They capture up to 442 gallons of water in an average storm event,” he said.