Here a Tree, There a Tree: Greening our Schools

Thaddeus Stevens, a K-8 school named for the fierce Civil War-era abolitionist, sits on Crucible Street, in the West End. Surrounded by a black iron fence, the school is clean, stately, and somewhat foreboding. To soften its exterior and make it more inviting, last November the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy planted 15 trees--redbuds, London planes, and red maples, all native to the area. Soon, by the kindergarten, there’ll be a butterfly garden to attract not only butterrflies but other bugs, so students will be able to see living, growing things.


“The trees make the front of the school stand out more,” eighth-grader Jerrel Hoston says. “It shows that we care about the school. That it’s a good environment.”

Adds his colleague Monesha Pack about the upcoming garden, “once the plants bloom, we’ll be able to see the cycle of life. We’ll be able to see science.”

Of course there were naysayers – there always are. People said that the trees wouldn’t last a week – they’d be torn out by vandals. But that hasn't been the case.  “They’re strong and tall," says school principal Virginia Hill. "We’re very thankful to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The trees have done wonders for us.”

How much difference do a few trees make? More than you might think. Across the board the School Grounds Greening Initiative, which will run through 2012, has raised student pride in their environs, and has raised interest in science and nature. If nothing else, the students look forward to seeing the trees mature – as one student puts it, the way you watch a baby grow.

Although the Greening Initiative – which aims to bring something green and growing to every one of the 66 Pittsburgh Public Schools – is being handled by WPC, it is funded by a $1.5 million Grable Foundation grant. “As we invest in kids – which is the sole purpose of the Foundation,” offers Grable Executive Director Gregg Behr, “the places they‘re studying matter a great deal. It is our belief that beautifully designed and accessible school grounds contribute to the culture of a school. The grounds also contribute to the happiness that kids have about their schools -- and the pride that they take in their school buildings.”

Inspired by Richard Louv’s 2005 Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, the project aims to rectify students’ general lack of green. According to Louv’s research, because children spend less time outdoors, they’ve developed a wide range of behavior problems, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, higher stress levels, and so on. On the flip side, playing in nature aids creativity, problem-solving, and emotional and intellectual development.

Taking a giant step, over the next three years, the Greening Initiative will add sustainable, low-maintenance greenery, including quiet spaces with plants and seating, green fences, raised beds for school planting projects, and so on. “Studies show that nature and green spaces foster children's intellectual, social, emotional and physical development,” PPS Superintendent Mark Roosevelt says, “so this gift represents an important investment in our children's futures.”

David Wilson, School Ground Greening Project Coordinator, and Judith Wagner, Community Gardens and Greenspace Program Director, are the WPC point people for this project. “We were really keen to do something about the environment and schools,” she says of the Greening Initiative’s genesis. “We believed in the power of greenery and landscape to support children’s learning.”

All well and good in the abstract. But the schools are a decidedly mixed bag. Some have green surrounding them. Others are entirely encased in concrete. “Some become dramatically different,” Wagner says. “Some improve what’s already there.”

Two years ago, the WPCers began data gathering, mapping, planning – what would fit, what would be sustainable, what could they afford. The $1.5 million over four years divided by 66 schools “doesn’t go very far,” Wagner says. “We’re very frugal.”

“We tried to locate areas for new green space,” Wilson adds. “We also wanted to create active, natural play spaces. Outdoor classrooms. Reading areas.

“In addition,” he says, “we’re getting the schools involved – students, teachers, faculty, staff, parents. We’re making sure that whatever we put in the ground will be cared for. Ownership is a key element.”

So far, it’s working. At Miller School in the Hill, for example, they’ve replaced older bushes with more sustainable shrubbery, adding pines and flowering trees, “something to give a signature look to the building,” Wilson says, “to fascinate and engage the children.”

At Linden School in Point Breeze, they’ve created an outdoor classroom, with stone seating, shrubs, and shade. For Allegheny on the North Side, vines along the walkway. “We wanted to green the fence,” Wilson says. “The vines will flower and make the area much more inviting.”

As at Stevens, Wilson says, “the initial feedback is overwhelmingly positive.” Adds Wagner: “Something really interesting is going on in Pittsburgh. We see that green really makes a difference in the quality of life. We’re getting queries from school districts outside of Pittsburgh. That’s very exciting.”

Schiller Classical Academy, named for the great German poet, on Peralta Street on the North Side, faces the Heinz plant. Over a river of roadways the food processor issues a torrent of white steam. High-walled, iron-fenced and surrounded by asphalt, even principal Patricia Heinzman admits that Schiller looks less like a school and more like a prison. Out back, WPC has planted some gingkoes and flame maples. Inside the walls in front, a small garden – a quiet spot for reading and reflection -- is planned. That, 8th-grader Marlo Hall says, “is going to help the school a lot – now it won’t look like a jail. When it’s a better environment you can get a better learning experience.”

Adds 6th grader Corey Payne, “it’ll make it nicer.” And 7th-grader Destinee Malloy: “It’ll make it look prettier.”

Marlo, a voracious reader who favors telephone-book-sized tomes like Harry Potter, adds eagerly of the planned garden, “that’ll be my spot.” She pauses, then adds. “We have to keep thinking big.”

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Abby Mendelson’s latest book, End of the Road, a collection of short stories, is available at amazon and bn.com.

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Captions:  Stevens' principal Virginia Hill with students Jerrel Hoston and Monesha Pack; David Wilson and Judith Wagner; Schiller principal Patricia Heinzman; Schiller schoolyard; Heinzman with students Marlo Hall and Destinee Malloy.

Photographs copyright Brian Cohen