Atlantic States Legal Foundation
Syracuse School Renovation Project
A Case for Rethinking the School Grounds
The City of Syracuse is about to embark on a major effort to upgrade and green all the public school buildings within its jurisdiction. This admirable effort to apply LEED standards to all school buildings and to encompass the surrounding neighborhoods has yet to consider possibilities for school grounds. Atlantic States Legal Foundation is working to propose that the City of Syracuse consider incorporating the school grounds in this project.
There are two related reasons for this to happen. It will make better use of these areas as part of the total educational experience and will address the growing research, that shows children having increased problems due to “nature deficiency.”
There is a growing movement across the United States, starting in California and most closely to Syracuse, in Boston, to better utilize outdoor areas connected with public school campuses. These spaces, more often than not underutilized, are now being put to more exciting uses including recreation, gardening, creative play, and academic learning. These initiatives also offer the opportunity to inject additional resources into the educational environment by creating partnerships with community based NGO’s working in education and the environment. These partnerships provide creative ways for bringing new help to financially beleaguered urban schools.
The work of San Diego columnist and writer Richard Louv has focused attention on societal problems stemming from the growing disconnect between children and nature. He talks about “nature deficit disorder” and the movement to enable children to reconnect with nature. He is one of the founders and chair of the board of the Children and Nature Network, whose goal it is to build a movement to reconnect children and nature. Greening the school grounds and can be a major step in getting kids reconnected and opening their eyes to the wonders of the great outdoors.
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Fowler High School is one of the proposed partipants in the project |
The forthcoming request for proposals (RFP) being issued by Syracuse for the work on upgrading the first schools in the program should be amended to include specific proposals for the outside space of the schools. Although detailed design considerations must be tailored to individual schools with their unique landscapes, there are obvious considerations that should be included in all plans. These would include using locally produced green materials whenever possible, landscaping with native plants, making sure the area is lead-free, and avoiding the use of impermeable paving.
There are now many initiatives in Syracuse related to the extensive work being done to rehabilitate the Onondaga Lake Basin. This work includes community planning for the future of various creek corridors and other creative projects, such as building wetlands for wastewater treatment that could be utilized as part of the outdoor classroom experience. As many of the Syracuse schools have direct links or are in close proximity to these waterways, the proposed RFP(s) should require respondents to be aware of these projects and to link their proposals and bids to these plans.
The greater Syracuse community contains abundant resources and many creative people whose enthusiasm and knowledge who could positively contribute to these school rehabilitation projects. In addition to providing a magnifier to the available financial resources, collaboration would help build necessary community involvement and commitment to maintain the momentum that this school initiative can spark.