BFEF Green Team

• 🌿 The parent-led Green Team was first established in 2010 when parents began hand watering the few trees that were on campus but not being irrigated. After fundraising, the Green Team was able to plant a few more trees on campus that also needed to be hand watered not only during the school year but also during the summer months. These tree plantings were followed by the successful creation of The Sprouts Learning Garden and the addition of a gardening program for all students led by a Master Gardener hired with funds raised by the newly-formed Benjamin Franklin Elementary Foundation (BFEF). Even with all these welcome additions to the campus, it was still difficult to mitigate the "heat island" effects on the school and community due to over 30,000 square feet of heat-absorbing black asphalt that covered the entire playground.

   

   

  When California voters passed Proposition 84 in 2006, three parents saw the opportunity to completely transform the Franklin grounds into the beautiful campus that students and families see and experience today.

   

   

  🌿In 2010, parents Gillian Bonacci, Hilary Stern and Rebecca Gray heard about  Proposition 84 and decided to attend a seminar to see if a school could apply to receive an Urban Greening Grant . With a green light from California's Natural Resource Agency that a school could apply, using our parent-run nonprofit (the BFEF), these three moms researched, wrote and submitted a grant application in close collaboration with GUSD, FASO, the City of Glendale, North East Trees and NAC Architecture. Franklin Elementary was awarded a one million dollar grant in 2011. After five years and countless hours of design and planning, ground was broken on the Urban Greening Grant project on the Franklin campus during the summer of 2016. Approximately 45,000 square feet of asphalt was replaced with permeable surfaces, bioswale  and rain gardens to slow stormwater runoff, living fences, and bermed garden areas with over 70 California native trees and 2,500 California Native plants.

   

  🌿 Today, under the terms of the grant, BFEF and GUSD are entrusted to care for this investment for the next twenty years. This is where GREEN TEAM comes in! We are responsible for maintaining the native plants, mulching, reporting any issues (with watering, etc.), pruning, weeding, picking up litter (with the kids), weaving vines into the fencing and replacing plants that don't make it (and figuring out why). We work on flexible schedules - after drop-off, after school, on weekends. Whenever you want to help, we need you: we provide all tools and materials, plus nifty Green Team shirts! Please sign up to befcome a Green Team volunteer today.

Green Team is responsible for maintaining the native plants, mulching, reporting any issues (with watering, etc.), pruning, weeding, picking up litter (with the kids), weaving vines into the fencing and replacing plants that don't make it (and figuring out why).

We work on flexible schedules - after drop-off, after school, on weekends. Whenever you want to help, we need you: we provide all tools and materials, plus nifty Green Team shirts! Please email bfefgreenteam@gmail.com to get started!