Greening Urban Schools in Celebration of Earth Day

This Earth Day, the need for green spaces in concrete-surrounded urban areas spurred a series of environmental awareness and community beautification projects at Magnolia Public Schools (MPS), a network of 10 tuition-free college preparatory charter public schools in SoCal, on Saturday, April 20, 2024 between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

The MPS projects, led in collaboration with the nonprofit L.A. Works and California Climate Action Corps, a program of California Volunteers, Office of the Governor, gathered hundreds of volunteers from the San Fernando Valley to Koreatown, and Venice to green rooftop patio student recreational areas, build community flower and vegetable literacy gardens, and work around the existing landscape carefully selecting plants native to each area with help from experienced arborists to ensure plant longevity and upkeep by student planet superheroes.

“Students living in the inner-city and surrounding communities need green spaces to relax, breathe and enjoy,” said Alfredo Rubalcava, Magnolia Public Schools CEO and Superintendent. “Through these projects, we teach students that their environment and the earth matter, and that together we can create the healthy green spaces we all need,” added Rubalcava.

School Projects:
Magnolia Science Academy 1 (MSA-1), Reseda:
Located along Sherman Way in the San Fernando Valley, MSA-1 and its volunteers beautified a third-floor rooftop student recreational area. More than 100 volunteers surrounded the perimeter with 10 planter boxes filled with native plants and flowers – greening an area of steel benches.

Magnolia Science Academy 4 (MSA-4), Venice:
Volunteers at MSA-4 in Venice cleaned the school and built a community garden filled with fruits and vegetables. The project involved creating four large raised beds to line the school’s front entrance welcoming students to campus. It launched the school’s environmental afterschool enrichment programs, which will include a Garden Club and Green Team.

Magnolia Science Academy 6 (MSA-6), Koreatown:
Central to MSA-6’s project is the community’s respect and care for a long-standing beautiful tree in what is now the school’s new literacy garden. Volunteers created planter benches for students to sit down, read, do homework and participate in academic enrichment activities in this new space.

Magnolia Science Academy 7 (MSA-7), Northridge:
MSA-7 launched a series of environmental projects throughout the school year championed by student superheroes who recycle at school and home. Projects include a Parent Green Team, Student Garden Club, Tree Machine for slightly used clothes donations, Terry Cycle recycling, Environmental Defenders, and Earth Month Challenge. The culmination of all efforts was a Beautification Day where volunteers built 4 new raised planter boxes filled with native plants and flowers, and cleared an alley of weeds. The new garden will be accessible to students so that they can do science projects and take care of the green environment created.

“Earth Day is a reminder for all of us to unite in an effort to protect the planet,” said Deborah Brutchey, executive director, L.A. Works. “Through our week of environmental volunteering and Earth Day projects with Magnolia Public Schools and other partners, we are inspiring the community to make a meaningful impact in creating a sustainable future, and we invite Angelenos to join us.”

You can also visit Magnolia Public Schools at the website, www.magnoliapublicschools or through social media at Instagram @magnoliapublicschools, X, and Facebook @magnoliapublicschools.

About L.A. Works: For more than 30 years, L.A. Works has mobilized volunteers to unite Angelenos and inspire action for a more equitable LA. As the region’s largest and longest running volunteer action center, L.A. Works leverages community-based volunteer power to ensure that hundreds of nonprofits, schools, and government agencies have the resources and capacity to meet their missions. More at http://www.laworks.com/earth-week