Cardozo Senior High School
1300 Clifton Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

In the fall of 2001 George Telzrow and his 9th grade geography students read an article about the shortage of trees in the District of Columbia (A New Leaf for Tree-Challenged DC, Sept 6th, 2001, Washington Post). Days later, when our world was rocked by the events of 9/11, George and his students decided to take action. In memory of the victims of 9/11 and as a response to violence within the District, George and his students fed the need for a peaceful, green space on their school grounds. Since the ground-breaking ceremony in June 2002, George and his students have dedicated countless hours after school and on weekends conceptualizing, planting and maintaining the site. Thanks to their hard work, Cardozo's Peace Garden now includes seedlings, perennial beds, benches, bulbs, a butterfly garden, composting area, trees, and a sculpture composed of tiles made by international artists. George has led these efforts and helped to successfully create a model outdoor classroom on Cardozo's campus.

The Peace Garden has received city-wide recognition; it was mentioned in Mayor Williams' opening speech at National Youth Service Day in 2003 and was featured in an article in the Washington Examiner in October 2005. As part of the first photo contest for DC School Garden Week 2007, three Cardozo students took some of the winning photographs.

Many organizations and agencies including Casey Trees, DC Department of Environment's Greener Schools, Cleaner Water Grant Program, Garden Resources of Washington, the Monarch Effect Foundation, and the National Tree Trust (to name a few), have recognized the value of this project and helped to fund the Garden.

Cardozo's Peace Garden is frequently used and enjoyed as an outdoor classroom, allowing students to learn experientially, not without getting their hands dirty. The Peace Garden has been integrated into the school's World Geography curriculum and a Beautification Club has been created to care for and maintain the garden.

"In my thirteen years of teaching here at Cardozo, the Peace Garden project has been one of the highlights. Through this project I have seen students learn environmental science with their minds and hands, learn the value of hard work and community building, and engage in discussion about building peace in their community. While their school has deteriorated, they have built a site of natural beauty they are proud of." - George Telzrow, as part of DC Schoolyard Greening's written testimony the Superintendent's Master Facilities Plan before the DC Board of Education (Dec 6, 2006)

For more information contact George Telzrow.