NATURE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Greening ideas for the Swampscott school-building design team – Wicked Local

Toni Bandrowicz| Wicked Local

Opportunity seldom knocks twice. As the town of Swampscott embarks upon the siting of a new elementary school, I can hear it knocking.

Here, at the planning stage, the town has the opportunity to ensure that the new school is environmentally sustainable, protects neighboring natural areas, and provides ample open space for play and learning. It will be much harder and more expensive to incorporate energy saving and sustainable solutions after the project is completed, rather than now at the design phase.

Why is this important? Its because open space - not just classroom space - is vital to our childrens education. Research consistently shows that access to open space, especially natural green open space, promotes cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing. In designing the new school, we need to expand open space wherever possible, and protect the existing natural and conservation areas we already have. Further, incorporating environmentally sustainability and energy efficient measures now, will likely save the town money in the long run.

The conservancy has shared its recommendations on the Stanley School site with the School Building Committee and the towns consultants. These recommendations include the following:

The opportunities go beyond what happens outside the new building. There are opportunities to enhance what happens inside the school as well. In particular, we believe there needs to be a commitment by the town to fund environmental education programs and to explicitly incorporate them into the schools curriculum. To that end, the conservancy has offered its assistance in developing a site-specific curriculum that includes MA-STE aligned standards that meet the needs of the educator, family, and student communities.

At the recent SBC public forum, the conservancy was happy to hear that the towns consultants are committed to preserving and creating high quality open space, preserving and restoring trees, using native plantings, and creating a rain garden. We hope that the town wholeheartedly support the recommendations of the conservancy and take full advantage of this opportunity to improve nature in our neighborhood and our childrens lives.

Lets seize this fleeting moment and achieve long-lasting benefits for our town.

Toni Bandrowicz, chairman of the Swampscott Conservation Commission and president of the Swampscott Conservancy, pens the monthly Nature in the Neighborhood column through a partnership between the conservancy and the Swampscott Reporter.

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NATURE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Greening ideas for the Swampscott school-building design team - Wicked Local