Start Date
3-7-2022 2:20 PM
End Date
3-7-2022 2:30 PM
Abstract
As Pacific Northwest communities look for solutions to address Climate Change Action plans, one piece of the puzzle lies throughout our urban areas – school campuses. School districts tend to be one of the largest land owners across urban and suburban communities. Campus layouts and land management practices have trended to minimalize natural settings, beyond turf lawn, parking lot shade trees and street trees. City codes have provided some direction to reduce pavement heat islands and green stormwater management, but the majority of school campuses are pavement or turf.
Initiatives are underway to change how school campuses look and function, both for educational and play uses, but also to support broader goals. Local school districts bond programs have updated building designs to be more efficient and reduce environmental impact. Similar thinking has been applied to the campuses, many of which range up to 20 acres per site. Greening of Schoolyard best design and management practices have added a variety of natural features to campuses, including shade trees, native plants, several garden types (including pollinators) and more. These designs not only significantly increase the amount of green corridors, they also become living laboratories for students to see their daily lesson plans come to life. They can observe, learn, understand, and perhaps become the next generation of stewards. I will showcase recent results from bond programs in Vancouver and Evergreen Public Schools over the last 5 years and the impact they are making to address sustainability goals.
Subjects
Environmental education, Habitat restoration, Sustainable development
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38001
Captions
Restoration of School Campuses - A piece to the urban climate challenge
As Pacific Northwest communities look for solutions to address Climate Change Action plans, one piece of the puzzle lies throughout our urban areas – school campuses. School districts tend to be one of the largest land owners across urban and suburban communities. Campus layouts and land management practices have trended to minimalize natural settings, beyond turf lawn, parking lot shade trees and street trees. City codes have provided some direction to reduce pavement heat islands and green stormwater management, but the majority of school campuses are pavement or turf.
Initiatives are underway to change how school campuses look and function, both for educational and play uses, but also to support broader goals. Local school districts bond programs have updated building designs to be more efficient and reduce environmental impact. Similar thinking has been applied to the campuses, many of which range up to 20 acres per site. Greening of Schoolyard best design and management practices have added a variety of natural features to campuses, including shade trees, native plants, several garden types (including pollinators) and more. These designs not only significantly increase the amount of green corridors, they also become living laboratories for students to see their daily lesson plans come to life. They can observe, learn, understand, and perhaps become the next generation of stewards. I will showcase recent results from bond programs in Vancouver and Evergreen Public Schools over the last 5 years and the impact they are making to address sustainability goals.
