Open Charter School The Open Charter School demonstration
project is an example of cooperation between government and
nonprofit agencies in the creation of an environmentally
sustainable school. Prior to the project, hard pavement covered
much of the Los Angeles Open Charter School campus in
Westchester. There were few shade trees to cool the campus and a
lack of grassy play areas for the children. In addition, the
paved surfaces contributed to rainwater becoming wasted runoff.
A sustainable solution A Santa Monica Bay Restoration grant
provided TreePeople, the Los Angeles Unified School District,
the L.A. County Open Space District and L.A.’s Bureau of
Sanitation with the opportunity to green this hardscaped
elementary campus and emulate some of its original watershed
functions. Working in conjunction with DWP's Cool Schools
program and the L.A. Unified School District, TreePeople
installed an integrated set of best management practices at the
site. An underground treatment-and-storage facility captures
camp