Category Archives: Schools

Building healthy, sustainable communities on Earth Day

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On Monday, April 22—Earth Day—teams of Landscape Structures employees handed out potted herbs to students and teachers at Delano Elementary School and community members that visited the local grocery store, Coborn’s. In total, we handed out 1,200 herb gardens to the Delano community.

Earth Day celebration

The herb handout was done in conjunction with the Healthy Delano project, a community program designed to help Delano residents find the best resources for healthy eating and activities. We hope that by involving the students, they will go home, get involved with meal planning and encourage their families to cook healthy meals.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LwXFWsp2Fk&w=560&h=315]

See more photos of the event here, and watch the video above. Did you celebrate Earth Day? Tell us in the comments below what activities were happening in and around your communities.

A conversation with our local Green Classroom Professional

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We recently talked with Corey Lahr, assistant principal at Delano Elementary School in our hometown of Delano, Minn., about his experience with the Green Classroom Professional Certificate Program. The program, which was introduced by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, encourages sustainable practices in classrooms to further the mission of creating green schools for everyone within this generation.

The certificate program was an online course with a dozen animated modules discussing a variety of green classroom topics. Learn more about the program here, and read below to hear Corey’s take on the program.

The Center for Green Schools

Q: Why were you interested in participating in the Green Classroom Professional Certificate Program?
A: We are in our third year of working with SEE (Schools for Energy Efficiency), which is helping us create a five-year plan to help us be more energy-efficient, focused on sustainability, and ultimately save our school money. Additionally, I thought that I would be able to gain some new ideas to help us along the path.

Q: In addition to welcoming Landscape Structures into the school to handout apples Green Apple Day of Servicefor the Green Apple Day of Service, what steps has your school taken to be more conscious about the environment?
A: After watching the modules, I realized that Delano Elementary School is on-par, and  maybe ahead of the game, with other schools. Some of the things that we already have in place include:

  • Shutting the lights off when we leave a room
  • Turning down the temperature to 68-degrees
  • Combining refrigerators so that now two classrooms share one instead of each room having its own
  • Installing light sensors so that the lights turn off if the natural light is bright enough in a room
  • Unplugging electronics at night
  • Composting lunchroom waste, and separating plastics and Styrofoam

Q: What are two things that you learned that you might be able to implement at Delano Elementary?
A: While we’re composting our lunchroom waste, and separating our plastics and Styrofoam, we’re still sending it to the dump. I learned that we really need to make an effort to actually recycle those items, and will be looking into how we can accomplish that.

Additionally, I learned that we need to focus on educating our students and staff on why we are taking these steps to be more sustainable. We currently have morning meetings in each classroom during which we discuss a variety of issues. This is a great opportunity to address the environmental items, and teach students more about our efforts.

Q: What were your overall thoughts on this certificate program, and would you recommend it to other education professionals? If so, why?
A: The Green Classroom Professional certification program was a really great learning opportunity. It reinforced that we at Delano Elementary are on the right track in our efforts, and maybe a little ahead of the pace of some other schools. This program would be great for a school that is just getting started in the process; the training modules gave some really good ideas.

I’m the assistant principal at the elementary school and can help influence many environmental activities, but I think this program would also be great for other resources within the school. There was quite a bit of talk about maintaining air quality in the modules, which the school custodian or business manager could speak to with more knowledge. Also, by having a few people complete the certification program helps facilitate more conversation about environmental activities.

Designing to meet ALL children’s needs

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This week (Dec. 3-7) marks Inclusive Schools Week, which celebrates the progress that schools have made in providing supportive and quality education to increasingly diverse student populations. This week, educators, students and parents are encouraged to discuss how to continually ensure the inclusion of all children regardless of ability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors.

JT's Grommet Island Beach Park & Playground for Every "Body"

JT’s Grommet Island Beach Park & Playground for Every “Body,” Virginia Beach, Va.

At Landscape Structures, we’re using Inclusive Schools Week to educate playground planners on the importance of creating truly inclusive play spaces. In addition to thinking about accessibility on the playground, planners need to consider children with sensory deficits and other developmental issues to ensure inclusion.

Creating an inclusive playground may sound like a daunting task for your school or community, but by following simple design criteria you can create a play space that welcomes children of all abilities. We use a design philosophy that addresses the environment, the play experience and variability. The combination of these elements allows every child to choose how they want to engage in the playground. Our design philosophy is influenced by the Seven Principles of Universal Design to help us increase the usability, safety, health and social participation of our play environments.

Morgan's Wonderland

Morgan’s Wonderland, San Antonio, Texas

Browse our Playspace Design brochure to learn more about our design philosophy, and then go here to get more information about our commitment to inclusive play.

School in Novi, Mich., awarded $50,000 in inclusive playground equipment

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Thornton Creek Elementary School in Novi, Mich., is the grand prize winner of the School Grounds. Playgrounds. Common Ground.™ essay contest.

We’re proud to announce that Thornton Creek Elementary School in Novi, Mich., was named the grand prize winner of the School Grounds. Playgrounds. Common Ground.™ essay contest! The school was awarded $50,000 in inclusive playground equipment from Landscape Structures to help them expand the inclusivity of the school environment to the playground.

Thornton Creek Elementary School has a mission to share the responsibility of creating a safe and positive environment that promotes self-esteem, mutual respect and optimum student learning, and each member of the school community is taught and understands that everyone learns at different rates, times and through different strategies. Because Thornton Creek takes students’ learning opportunities from the classroom to the playground, they realized that it, too, needed to be more inclusive to welcome the diverse population.

Runners-up were awarded $15,000 each in inclusive playground equipment from Landscape Structures. Runners-up included:

  • Utsalady Elementary School in Camano Island, Wash.
  • Lone Dell Elementary in Arnold, Mo.
  • Clyde F. Brown Elementary School in Millis, Mass.
  • James Whiteside Elementary in Richmond, British Columbia

The school playground contest was sponsored by Landscape Structures in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Foundation in an effort to bring inclusive playground environments to schools across North America. The NAESP Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, a professional organization serving elementary and middle school principals and other education leaders throughout the U.S., Canada and overseas.

Join us Sept. 29 in creating healthy, sustainable schools

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Green Apple Day of Service 2012

Where kids learn is important and Landscape Structures is joining the Green Apple initiative to take real action in creating healthy, sustainable schools.

The Green Apple Day of Service is an initiative of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC to put all children in schools where they have clean and healthy air to breathe, where energy and resources are conserved, and where they can be inspired to dream of a brighter future. On Sept. 29, advocates from across the country and around the world will come together in support of healthy, sustainable schools by taking action in their communities.

At Landscape Structures, we have a mission of enhancing the children’s lives by fostering and creating inspiring play experiences while honoring the environment. We’re getting involved with the Green Apple Day of Service by handing out apples to our hometown schools in Delano, Minn. By doing this, we hope kids take a moment to think about their actions, and how they can help their school and community be more green.

Everyone can get involved in the Green Apple Day of Service a small or big way.