This school project was part of a LA Department of Water and Power program called "Cool Schools" which sponsored the planting of 88 trees on selected elementary school campuses around Los Angeles. This program promoted energy conservation as its fundamental premise with the theory that trees could reduce ambient temperatures for both the campus in general but more specifically building rooftops and exterior air conditioning units. This school was designated as a "sustainable" school which provided 250 trees total and additional funds to institute ecologically friendly technologies to help promote sensitivity to the environment.

Treepeople, a local non-profit organization that promotes environmental education and community tree planting, was one of four organizations that administered the program for DWP in the first year and was our client for all of the Cool School Projects I managed. With their help, we instituted a watershed reclamation program where the rainfall would be captured on site and be directed to an underground detention chamber that allowed for percolation into the groundwater system. The school had had terrible problems with street flooding due to the complete asphalting of the entire playground area and the lack of an adequate storm drain system. We removed about half of the asphalt and replaced it with lawn playing fields which assisted in the absorption of runoff. Some of these pictures feature the grassy outdoor classrooms mounds and the "river" of lawn that would capture and carry the rainwater to the underground system.