Roch Carrier School Ground Greening

Roch Carrier School Ground Greening

Background

The Roch Carrier School Council has formed a School Ground Greening committee to encourage improvements to the school ground environment, and to tie these into school activities such as Earth-Care. The committee has started preparing grant proposals to seek funds for additional trees; however the greening possibilities are pretty much endless, while the cost can range from a little to a lot.

Introduction

This document proposes a series ofelements to green the school grounds at Roch Carrier with options depending on the scope of effort and fund raising that we want to undertake. It starts based on grant applications for up to 20 trees from the City of Ottawa and other grant bodies. The plan builds on the existing school ground assets and is scalable depending the budget and resources available.

Current Situation

The school grounds have about 130 trees (yes, really): 60 at the front and sides (i.e. east of the fencesdividing the parking areas from the play areas/fields) andalmost 70 at the back; despite losing 6 trees to weather, overenthusiastic play and/or aggressive mowing and snow plowing over the years. In general, the trees at the front are much healthier. Also, we have: a 12x20’ vegetable garden (aka pumpkin patch, although it’s planted with potatoes this year); a butterfly garden; an outdoor classroom/rock garden; a play-structure and sandpit; and a kindergarten play area. There is a junior soccer field surrounded by a swale (drainage ditch) feeding a storm sewer to its south. There are several other areas of grass, broken up by sidewalks between the school and Sisson’s Park.

There is space for up to 12 portables, although only four are currently installed. There are two 30-foot-wide “no plant zones” adjacent to the portables to allow for moving them as well as several designated snow storage areas, which restrict the amount of green space available for trees and other environmental improvements.

Roch Carrier borders on Scissons Park, a City of Ottawa park containing sports fields, a playground, a basketball court and, in winter, a skating rink on the lower parking lot. Scissons Park and many of the surrounding streets have lost ash trees to the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle that is killing trees across Ontario and into Quebec. Roch is fortunate in not having any ash trees, but we want to do our part to maintain and restore the urban canopy in Ottawa.

Rev 11 of 92015-Jun-07

Roch Carrier School Ground Greening

Rev 11 of 92015-Jun-07

Roch Carrier School Ground Greening

Objectives

The following objectives have been identified by the school ground greening committee to start. There are likely many more:

Nurture existing trees: i.e. work with what we have.
Create more shade: Despite the large number of trees, there is very little shade or shelter for children.
Create more seating: There is no dedicated seating; although children sit on the edge of the vegetable garden, the balance beam in the playground and the stairs to the portables. Not all children want to run all the time; nor do they necessarily want to sit on the grass/dirt or the asphalt.
Create a meadow area: An area of long grass and wild flowers in which children could play, explore, look for butterflies, etc.
Reduce the mud situation in the swale: It is extremely muddy in the spring and after long/heavy rain, which attracts the children but creates a mess for staff (at school) and parents (at home).
Curriculum: Long-term commitment to greening the school as an element of maintaining and improving Roch Carrier’s Eco-certification status with tie-in to curriculum.

Solutions

Nurture existing trees: Remediating the soil around treesis a simple and low-cost recurring action to green the school grounds by improving our existing trees. This consists of:raking away any existing loose mulch;working the soil around the trees (out to the drip line) with a pitch fork to open up the soil and allowing for water and compost to penetrate dry, hard soil; and then covering the soil (out to the drip line) with ~1” of compost (evenly spread) followed by 4-6” mulch. The mulch should be even with the trunk flare at the base of the treeand then tapered up to its maximum depth at the drip line to form a bowl which will trap water. According to experts such as Jeff Kaster (OCDSB School Ground Design Consultant), soil remediation is the best thing we can do for trees, and we can expect improvement in just one season. We can obtain free mulch from the OCDSB; however it is coarse, and not recommended for trees in play areas. In addition, we can consider protecting some or all trees; there are several options:
Fencing to keep out children and mowing equipment. Buying tee-bars and fencing would add up (~$50/tree) so that is probably off the table other than for trees that have been damaged but can be saved; it is however strongly recommended to protect newly planted trees.
Coil-wrap provides some limited protection and is cheaper.
Trees with damaged bark (split or peeling) can be wrapped in burlap which protects the bark from direct sun and little fingers, but allows airflow.
We should take the opportunity, before or during, to do an audit of all our trees for size and general condition in order to document current condition. There are checklists for this purpose.
Shade: Improving the health of the trees (above) will, it is hoped, improve the available shade. We can also plant additional trees in areas where we want to create shade. We need to apply for funding now in order to plant trees next spring. Other options, such as building pergolas or other shade structure, or erecting shade canopies, are all very expensive.
Seating: Seating has to be approved by the OCDSB. Benches must be of commercial grade, accessible and fixed to the ground; they are very expensive (~1000 apiece). The OCDSB allows rocks but not logs (the OCSB has the opposite policy). Rocks are also expensive (~$300 apiece), although less so than benches.
Raised wooden planter beds can be built to serve as benches in addition to containing trees and/or other plants. Large tree planters also mean that trees have to be planted higher which in turn means that they can be surrounded with somewhat better quality soil, for faster growth (Note however that new soil needs to be similar to existing to encourage root growth downward for strength and stability). Planters can be built from 2 or 3 rows of 5x5” or larger untreated white cedar (see photo). Raised beds can be built for individual trees (e.g. 8 foot square at ~$600 apiece,) which is much more cost effective per foot of seating. Larger raised beds could accommodate severalsmaller trees. A 2x8” coping could be added on top for a seat.
Meadow: A meadow can be created quite simply by stopping mowing of a suitable area. The existing grasses will grow and the area will be seeded naturally by other wildflowers and grasses. This process can be observed by the students and incorporated into teaching. If a meadow is left undisturbed, it will eventually develop shrubs and trees. To keep it in a meadow state, it should be moved once each fall to prevent woody plants from taking hold. Note that tall grass inhibits dandelion growth, so that should not be a concern. However complaints can be anticipated about ‘weeds’. Mowing the perimeter will define the meadow and make it clear that it is a deliberate effect, not lack of maintenance, which should reduce complaints. For example, the area on the north side of the school grounds between the butterfly garden and the outdoor classroom is one suitable area. It could be mowed along the southern edge (adjacent to the path) and along the northern edge (adjacent to the neighbours). Students could prepare posters explaining that this is a naturalised area and showing the species they have found.
Swale: the purpose of the swale is to collect runoff from the soccer field and adjacent grass and funnel the water to the sewer. The objective is to drain the field but to funnel the water slowly so that the sewer system is not overloaded during storms, and so that some water drains into the soil, and soil and debris settle out before reaching the sewer to reduce the impact on the water treatment system (recall that Ottawa still releases waste water into the Ottawa River during large storms). Since the grading is not perfect, puddles form and mud develops in spring (see photo) and during long/heavy rain. Currently, the lowest point is to the southwest of the field while the sewer is almost due south – as a result standing water and mud remain for some time after rain. In theory, the swale could be periodically regraded to improve the water flow, but this would be expensive. In nature, such a swale would be filled with various plants which would use the water to grow and in the process clean out pollutants carried by the water, thus reducing the load on the water treatment system. One option might be to develop our swale as a pilot project within the OCDSB; no other school has a swale, but the City is encouraging their introduction. This would reduce the mud and thus the mess but is not guaranteed to keep children out. It would create biodiversity, add visual interest to the school grounds, and be available as a teaching area. Again, children could prepare posters to explain the purpose of the swale. In the longerterm, we could consider adding wooden bridges over the swale at key traffic points (which is obviously a more expensive proposition).
Commitment: This can include:
Adding school grounds care commitment explicitly to the School Council Constitution so that it is made clear that that the school grounds matter to the school community. This could include a brief history of the greening plan (e.g. as an Annex) so that it is not forgotten or neglected in the future. This will also make it clear to future principals and staff that we consider the gardens an important part of the complete school environment. This requirement would drive ongoing care of the school grounds and be linked to maintaining/raising eco-certification andongoing EarthCare club activities.
Encourage teachers to teach outside and assist them with teaching materials and/or curriculum-based activities.

Plan Requirements

It is important to have a thorough long-term plan so that we, and the people who will follow, know what we are working towards in our school grounds. A plan is necessary to get buy-in from all members of the school community (students, staff, parents & neighbors) and when seeking funding. We need to think about long-term costs (primarily acquisition of trees, etc.) and maintenance (estimated at a few percent of capital costs per year). We need to balance likely costs with our expected resources (both dollars and volunteer hours). To keep costs down, we should consider:

Seeking contributions in-kind, such as plants from members of the community who have spares or are dividing, etc.
Native plants are adapted to the local growing conditions and therefore need little/no maintenance; theypropagate naturally, require less weeding and have better tolerance to drought/flood.
Seeking contributions of expertise and labour for things like landscaping from parents and other members of the community.

Proposed Plan

The proposed plan consists of short-term (this spring); mid-term (next year) and long-term (beyond) elements.

Short-term: Spring 2015

Focus: Nurture existing trees; apply for grants; plant vegetable garden and/or potato patch; initiate meadow and/or swale; collect data on what else the school community would like to see in the way of school ground greening; initiate funding proposals; add school ground greening to the mandate of the school council.

Nurture existing trees: This is a simple and low-cost first step in greening the school grounds by improving our existing trees with compost and mulch. Audit all our trees for size and general condition in order to document current condition. We should also arrange for periodic watering of the trees over the summer (e.g. once per week without rain).
Apply for grants from City of Ottawa and Trees Canada to fund trees planted in raised tree beds; note that additional fundraised would be required.
Butterfly garden, vegetable garden and outdoor classroom: These areas need spring clean-up (e.g. sweeping of pebbles, repairs to vegetable garden).
Meadow and swale: Both of these objectives are low cost but may require approval from the OCDSB (e.g. in selecting areas and briefing the mowing contractor). Ideally, start one or both this spring.
Survey: Prepare a survey to ask children, staff, parents and neighbours what they would like to see in the way of school yard greening. This can be done as a paper form (check boxes, etc) or on-line. Data tabulation could be done by students (curriculum tie-in?) or by a parent volunteer.
Commitment: Add a paragraph to the School Council Constitution outlining its commitment to Eco-certification, including school ground greening.

Medium-term: 15/16 School Year

Focus: monitor meadow/swale and mow in fall; monitor trees and mulch next spring; plant trees in spring (assuming successful funding & grant applications); encourage teaching in outdoor classroom and elsewhere in school grounds; report progress to School Council and granting bodies.

Plant new trees in raised beds: This activity is contingent on grant applications and additional funding. If possible, build one tree bed and plantin fall 2015 as an example, if funding permits. We should also arrange for periodic watering of the trees over the summer (e.g. once per week without rain).

Long-term: 16/17 School Year and Beyond

Focus: TBD.

Grant Applications

So far, we have applied for two grants for school yard greening:

Tree Canada: This application is for $3000 towards a raised hexagaonal planter containing three trees.

City of Ottawa: This application is for 20 trees to be planted singly or in raised planters. The final number, shape and location of planters will depend on the funds raised and the advice of the City of Ottawa Forester and OCDB School Ground Design Consultant; however the plan below shows the general concept.

Rev 1Page 1 of 92015-Jun-07

Roch Carrier School Ground Greening

Figure 2 – Aerial view of Roch Carrier Elementary School, showing portable and snow pile zones plus proposed trees (green circles) and raised beds (brown squares and hexagons) (Imagery ©2015 Google, Map data ©2015 Google)

Rev 0Page 1 of 92015-Jun-07

Roch Carrier School Ground Greening

Terms

Mulch: Mulch is organic matter placed on top of the soil to protect and enrich it. Mulch prevents soil erosion by heavy rain, inhibits weeds, modulates soil temperature, traps moisture and slowly breaks down (composts) providing nutrients to the soil. This eliminates the need for supplemental fertilizer and alleviates soil compaction. Mulch needs to be topped up annually. Mulch must not be mounded around the base of the tree (“mulch volcano”) as it traps moisture against the bark, which causes rot, and encourage root growth. Cedar mulch is best, but more expensive.

List of websites:

Ottawa Forests and Greenscape Advisory Committee,
Tree Ottawa, committed to planting 1 million trees by 2017, treeottawa.org/
Evergreen,
Canadian Biodiversity Institute, School Grounds Transformation, schoolgrounds.ca
Canadian Wildlife Federation, Wild About Gardening,

Other ideas:

Vegetable garden: consider growing vegetables like tomatoes and lettuce that can be harvested for a fall school BBQ.
Flower beds between portables.
Flowers or flowering plants in troughs along kindergarten fence.
More plants around outdoor classroom to better define it.
Rehabilitate trees and shrubs in kindergarten area.
Large concrete turtles, like those at Mlacak Centre, in or around the swale.

Rev 1Page 1 of 92015-Jun-07