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Soaking it All In: Creating and Sustaining Stormwater
Schools through Nature-based Solutions
Room: 106
Time: 3:00pm – 4:00pm
This session aims to educate attendees on nature-based solutions to capture and manage stormwater on school campuses, while increasing green space and tree canopy. Council for Watershed Health and Amigos de los Rios have led led schoolyard transformations throughout L.A. County with demonstrable success in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Pasadena Unified School Districts and other districts. Green Schoolyards America has been leading nationally on school greening for over a decade with a focus on climate resiliency and child-centered help, including recently released tree canopy equity study. This session will highlight the successes of these efforts and feature replicable models to inspire other schools and school districts. In addition, the session will feature new research and funding opportunities for stormwater management on school grounds in L.A. County. The speakers will share success stores, considerations and promising practices to inspire and guide the region towards more sustainable infrastructure solutions.
California has over 10,000+ public schools which serve 5.8+ million K-12 students on 131,000+ acres of public land, every day. Much of that land is paved and lacks tree canopy in places where children spend their time during the school day, so millions of students are exposed to unhealthy high temperatures on a regular basis. There’s an opportunity to provide multi-benefit solutions on school campuses, to manage stormwater, create more green space, and increase permeable surfaces to support sustainability goals and student learning.
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand nature-based solutions opportunities for school grounds
2) Learn from case studies of green infrastructure implemented on school grounds
3) Deeper knowledge of lessons learned from long-term implemented stormwater infrastructure projects
4) An increased understanding effective and creative procurement options
Speakers:
Mikaela Randolph, Associate Director, Regional Programs, Green Schoolyards America
Eileen Alduenda, Executive Director, Council for Watershed Health
Claire Robinson, Founder & Managing, Director, Amigos de los Rios
Mikaela Randolph is the Associate Director of Regional Programs at Green Schoolyards America. In this role, Mikaela champions school greening in the Southern California region, with an emphasis on schoolyard forests in an effort to combat extreme heat on school grounds, where children have access during the day. In addition to her knowledge on greening, Mikaela brings knowledge of pairing stormwater management on schoolyards to support increased school greening across the Southern California region.
Mikaela is born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Urban Studies and Communication Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Southern California. Mikaela is a mother to a teenage girl, a champion of play and nature access for all.
More Speaker Photos and Bio’s Coming Soon!