LAUSD Gardens Featured on CNN

Westminster Elementary School "WE Garden"

CNN's anchor, Anderson Cooper, recently featured a story on LAUSD's gardens, showcasing two gardens, Berendo Elementary School's garden and Westminster Elementary School's "WE Garden" which was funded by the CB Grant.

John Sohn, LAUSD's Chief of Facilities, stated that much of LAUSD's property is asphalted and concreted. By transforming the barren area into a garden, "its bringing learning, its bringing modification, its bringing jobs", as provided by Monica Garcia, LAUSD's Board President.

At Berendo Elementary, students are enjoying their new garden. Cheyenne Banks, a 5th grade student, said that there used to be "just cement a couple of years ago, there wasn't really much life here; but now a lot of creatures have homes here." The students can see the benefits of having a school garden: bugs thriving in their natural environment, less money spent at stores for vegetables, and the vitality it adds to the school.

The video, California's green schools, can be viewed on Anderson Cooper's blog, Anderson Cooper 360.