School Greening through the Safe Clean Water Program

Room: 106
Time: 1:30pm – 2:30pm

This session will provide insight into the movement to incorporate nature-based stormrwater capture infrastructure in schoolyard greening projects within Los Angeles County. Using examples from the Upper Los Angeles River Watershed Area, this session will touch on how the Safe Clean Water Program can act as a nexus to green school campuses while also improving the quality of regional water supply. By including school districts in regional and municipal stormwater management, the Los Angeles region can move towards a more environmentally sustainable future. This conversation will include local and regional policy incentives, campus facilities design for stormwater BMPs and extreme heat.

Greener schools have been shown to improve student academic performance and recent policy initiatives have eleveted greener, less hardscaped schools as a priority to improve student learning and health outcomes. As the region encounters changes from climate change, the importance of transforming schools into neighborhood-centered green spaces is undeniable. However, funding remains a considerable limitation for districts wanting to convert their campuses from heat islands, to green oases.

The Los Angeles County Safe Clean Water Program presents an opportunity to incorporate climate resilient, nature based stormwater capture infrastructure in school greening projects. Understanding emerging opportunities to improve the environmental well-being of urban communities through nature based projects and the benefits as well as limitations of policy incentives of this type is crucial for parties working within our education systems.

Speakers:

Dustin Herrmann, Principal Scientist, TreePeople Policy & Research
Alejandro Fabian, Communications Coordinator, TreePeople Policy & Research
Simone Drucker, Senior Designer, Studio MLA
Matt Romero, Associate Principal, Studio MLA

Speaker Photos and Bio’s Coming Soon!

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