Green Roof Keeps School Cool

Parent coordinator Corrine Contrino, 45, couldn’t think of a better way to utilize the 2100 square feet of outdoor space on the school’s roof than to build a garden. Science teacher Jason James, 30, thought the same thing.

“I was looking out the window of my classroom and thought it’d be perfect,” said James.

That was spring 2009, and now, nearly two years later, the idea is becoming a reality. When the green roof opens this spring it’ll be the first of its kind at a Brooklyn public school, said Contrino.

The green roof initiative will be incorporated into all aspects of the New Horizons curriculum. Eighth graders, who are studying environmental issues, global warming and energy, will study the green roof’s cooling effects and how it helps reduce runoff into the nearby Gowanus Canal. Seventh graders, who are learning about plants and agriculture, will help oversee what’s grown from seed stage onward. Sixth graders will study composting in conjunction with learning about the food chain.

Seventh grader Karly Betignani, 12, looks forward to the completion of the green roof.

“With the plants that go there, we can learn how to take care of them,” she said.

Deanna Sinito, the principal of New Horizons, said when they began the process of starting to implement Contrino and James’ idea, they were “blindly working” their way. The administration began by researching and contacting green roofs experts who could help devise a plan to build the garden while incorporating the project into the students’ curriculum. They are still deciding which group to bring on board, but the planning has begun.

A fence was erected and matting (which will sit under eight to nine inches of lightweight gaia soil) has been delivered. Jean Miele, an architect and New Horizons parent, drew up plans for the space.

This kind of a project requires substantial funding, and New Horizons is getting it from many places. Parents and faculty have donated, and the school received a $49,000 grant from the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. In a slightly different form of equally enthusiastic and involved financial backing, the owner of Williamsburg restaurant Harefield Road donated $1,000 upon hearing about the project. James said the owner promised more support “after he sees a kid pull a vegetable out of the ground.”

Maureen Anderson, 33, is a math and science teacher at the school and a grant writer. Anderson secured grants from the Citizens Committee of NYC, the Toshiba America Foundation and the National Learning and Service Foundation.

Additionally, the school is selling tote bags for five dollars and pens for one, with all the proceeds going toward helping New Horizons “go green.”

Anderson and James say the roof also provides the school with an opportunity to provide a service to the community. Anderson has written a service curriculum in conjunction with the project for students to learn about hunger and how to alleviate it. New Horizons is partnering directly with Park Slope Christian Help on 4th Avenue, and will donate fruits and vegetables from the roof to the organization’s soup kitchen.

Fruits, vegetables, and native, self-sustaining plants will be planted on New Horizons’ roof.

The green roof is just one part of New Horizons’ ambitious plan. The school was awarded $300,000 in funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to install solar panels on three of the other building’s rooftops, which will be completed by September 2011.

Green initiatives like this are gaining traction. PS 58, the Carroll School, has begun working toward making its rooftop environmentally friendly, and their efforts can be tracked on the PS 58 Green Roof blog.

The project has had a big affect on eighth grader Anthony Cimino, 14, who is graduating in the spring and has been involved with the project since its inception.

“I hope it keeps going and works out in the future,” he said.