DC Schoolyard Greening (DCSG) was founded in May 2003 by local and national non-profit organizations, city government agencies, teachers, and concerned individuals. In 2006, it became incorporated into a standing committee of the DC Environmental Education Consortium.
Thank you to our volunteer partners who have helped us accomplish the following:
DC Schoolyard Greening's 2008 Accomplishments
1) Organized teacher workshop at Watkins ES and Washington Youth Garden that focused on nutrition, how to use food in the classroom, and gardening basics
2) Field trip to Tuckahoe ES in Arlington, VA
3) Organized the 2nd DC School Garden Week (now an annual event!) which included photo contest, schoolyard tours, and more.
4) Created a Flickr photo site of schoolyard projects at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcschoolyardgreening/collections
5) Compiled a list of garden books available through the DC Public Library
6) Held meetings and had garden tours at the DC Bilingual Public Charter School/Centronia and US Botanic Garden.
7) Expanded national network with meetings with people from REAL Gardens, Earth Partnership for Schools, and others
8) Listserv with 194 members
DC Schoolyard Greening's 2007 Accomplishments:
1) Organized the “Get Out and Garden” workshop for 20 teachers
2) Organized the first DC School Garden Week
3) With the DC Green Infrastructure Collaborative, created a GoogleMap of schoolyard greening sites
4) With the National Environmental Education Foundation, compiled a list of School Garden curricula available on the web
5) Sponsored a tour of Sidwell Friends Middle School, the first Platinum LEED-certified school in the country
6) Developed “Do Not Mow” signs with the District Department of the Environment
7) Listserv with 136 members
DC Schoolyard Greening's 2006 Accomplishments:
1) DCSG completed a strategic planning process that defined its relationship with DCEEC and goals for the next 5 years. We removed the word "consortium" from our name and we are now "DC Schoolyard Greening" - a program of the DC Environmental Education Consortium.
2) Held a spring teacher workshop (Importance of Plants).
3) Held its annual fall schoolyards tour with 15 participants
4) Listserv with 77 members
5) Updated the Schoolyard Greening Portfolio - a list of greening projects in DC schools
6) Updated the Schoolyard Greening Grants for Teachers - a list of funding sources and other resources for schoolyard greening
7) Beginning new possible partnerships with DCPS Facilities and the US Botanic Gardens
8) Submitted testimony to the DCPS Board of Education regarding the Master Facilities Plan
9) Contributed to the Green Schools Agenda on behalf of DCEEC for the Mayoral Forum
10) Identified K-6 DCPS Science Power Standards applicable to schoolyard greening.
DC Schoolyard Greening's 2005 Accomplishments:
1) Conducted teacher workshop (Schoolyard Greening 101 and 102).
2) Organized the 2nd annual DC Schoolyard Tour in October 2005.
3) Hired an intern to complete content for the DCSG Web site.
4) Began to function as the Schoolyard Greening committee for the DC Environmental Education Consortium, to better coordinate our activities and fundraising needs with this larger organization.
DC Schoolyard Greening's 2003-2004 Accomplishments:
1) DCSG has formulated organizational goals, guiding principles, established
three working committees (education, outreach, and technical), and held
19 member and committee meetings.
2) Developed and distributed a schoolyard greening survey for all DC public
and charter schools in December 2003, to assess the number of schools
currently utilizing their grounds for educational purposes, learn about
resources used in the creation of greening projects, and assessing technical
assistance and training needs of teachers and administrators
3) Conducted focus groups with teachers and administrators.
4) Organized the first DC Schoolyard Tour in June 2004.
5) Received a $10,000 grant from the Spring Creek Foundation in June
2004 to hire an intern to design the DCSG Web site.