Eastman Avenue Elementary

Funding for this project is provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, which awarded TreePeople with a Green Schoolyards grant to transform 12 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) campuses into greener, more sustainable environments. This project addresses the urgent need for shaded, green spaces in schools that are predominantly covered in heat-absorbing asphalt.

The initiative focuses on improving air quality, reducing extreme heat, enhancing stormwater capture, and providing educational and recreational opportunities through the planting of climate resilient trees and native understory plants. Each school will benefit from a comprehensive greening effort, including the removal of impermeable surfaces and the creation of outdoor gathering and learning spaces.

TreePeople’s holistic approach to greening prioritizes the voices most affected by this work: the school community. TreePeople facilitated bilingual listening sessions and workshops for parents, students, and faculty to better understand what the school community envisioned.

This school greening project also includes environmental education, providing lessons and activities to the school communities emphasizing hands-on learning, outdoor activities, and real-world applications. While each school is being designed and “greened”, students, teachers, and parents will learn the importance and benefits of having a green school and how to steward it.

The Eastman Avenue Elementary greening project is much needed, as it is was ranked by LAUSD as the #1 priority school for greening in the entire district. The Eastman Ave community has been advocating for this project for years, and TreePeople’s is excited to see their vision come to fruition. The design plans to remove in excess of 40,000 square feet of asphalt, plant more than 60 trees and 800 native plants, and create multiple outdoor learning and gathering spaces and a large, shaded, multipurpose sports field. Envisioned by the school community, this project also includes a school-wide nature trail and a community nature center to enhance environmental education. Additionally, the community seeks pocket plantings to cool transitional spaces, dramatically increasing green space and shade for safe outdoor play and education.