Community-designed project transforms more than 15,000 square feet of asphalt into greener, cooler spaces for learning, gathering, and managing stormwater
WILMINGTON, CA – TreePeople, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District and partners, will celebrate the completion of a major green infrastructure project at Wilmington Middle School STEAM Magnet with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 3 PM to 4:30 PM. The event will include brief remarks from partners and school leaders, a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, educational activities, and guided tours of the school’s newly transformed campus.
More than 2.59 million California K-12 students attend school with less than 5% tree canopy in the student zones. This means students are playing on blacktop that can reach dangerously high temperatures. TreePeople and its partners are avidly working to close this gap through hands-on school greening efforts and advocacy. Schoolyards can be more than asphalt and grass; they can provide a wealth of environmental benefits, giving the community cleaner air, cooler surfaces, and better soil when we plant more trees and native plants.
More than 2.59 million California K-12 students attend school with less than 5% tree canopy in the student zones. This means students are playing on blacktop that can reach dangerously high temperatures. TreePeople and its partners are avidly working to close this gap through hands-on school greening efforts and advocacy. Schoolyards can be more than asphalt and grass; they can provide a wealth of environmental benefits, giving the community cleaner air, cooler surfaces, and better soil when we plant more trees and native plants.
The Wilmington school greening project has removed over 15,000 square feet of heat-absorbing asphalt from two courtyards. Guests will have the chance to tour the courtyards, which have been redesigned with rain gardens, permeable surfaces, an outdoor learning space, a pollinator and sensory garden, shaded seating, and a small stage for student dance and theater performances. Dozens of new shade trees have also been planted across the campus, as part of a broader plan to add over 50 trees and cool areas where students can gather, play, and exercise.
“Green schoolyards like this are one of the clearest examples of nature-based solutions in action. By replacing pavement with trees and living landscapes, we’re providing students with a connection to natural systems that sustain their community. Wilmington Middle School shows what’s possible when we work together to build climate resilience.”
- Dr. Cassie Rauser, The Fielding Family CEO, TreePeople
A Community-Driven Design
Planning for the Wilmington Middle School greening project began in 2022, when TreePeople’s bilingual Green Infrastructure team and community-based organization, Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), launched a series of listening sessions with parents, students, and faculty to ensure the redesigned campus reflected what was wanted and needed. Through surveys, workshops, and extensive community outreach, the school community shared their visions directly with TreePeople about what to include at their beloved school.
Planning for the Wilmington Middle School greening project began in 2022, when TreePeople’s bilingual Green Infrastructure team and community-based organization, Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), launched a series of listening sessions with parents, students, and faculty to ensure the redesigned campus reflected what was wanted and needed. Through surveys, workshops, and extensive community outreach, the school community shared their visions directly with TreePeople about what to include at their beloved school.
This input shaped every element of the final design, developed with landscape architects Studio MLA and civil engineers Craftwater. Beyond adding green space, the project addresses longstanding stormwater runoff, flooding, and water quality issues on campus, using rain gardens and permeable surfaces to amend local soils and promote infiltration. This living green infrastructure will also serve as a learning opportunity for students and their understanding of their local watershed.
The result is a green schoolyard that reflects the people who use it every day. “This project is the result of years of close collaboration with the people who know this school best: its students, teachers, and families,” said Meagan Yellott, Director of Green Infrastructure, TreePeople.
The result is a green schoolyard that reflects the people who use it every day. “This project is the result of years of close collaboration with the people who know this school best: its students, teachers, and families,” said Meagan Yellott, Director of Green Infrastructure, TreePeople.
The Wilmington Middle School transformation is part of TreePeople’s broader school greening work across the Los Angeles region. Many school campuses have large expanses of asphalt and limited tree canopy, conditions that can make hot days even more difficult for students and educators. TreePeople works with schools and districts to replace harsh, impermeable hardscapes with trees, native plants, outdoor learning spaces, and other nature-based solutions that support learning, recreation, biodiversity, and physical and mental well-being.
Wilmington Middle School is one of TreePeople’s largest school greening efforts, incorporating this approach and responding to the community’s longstanding environmental challenges. According to the California Air Resources Board, Wilmington, CA faces some of the heaviest cumulative air pollution and industrial exposure in the state. Through this project, a 3,660-square-foot stormwater capture system will infiltrate nearly 22,000 gallons of water. These green infrastructure improvements are designed to reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants while creating cooler, greener spaces that students can explore firsthand.
The project demonstrates how a school campus can do several jobs at once: provide students with inviting places to learn and gather, create shade, capture and filter rainwater, enhance local biodiversity, and give youth the opportunity to understand nature-based solutions in action.
Wilmington Middle School is one of TreePeople’s largest school greening efforts, incorporating this approach and responding to the community’s longstanding environmental challenges. According to the California Air Resources Board, Wilmington, CA faces some of the heaviest cumulative air pollution and industrial exposure in the state. Through this project, a 3,660-square-foot stormwater capture system will infiltrate nearly 22,000 gallons of water. These green infrastructure improvements are designed to reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants while creating cooler, greener spaces that students can explore firsthand.
The project demonstrates how a school campus can do several jobs at once: provide students with inviting places to learn and gather, create shade, capture and filter rainwater, enhance local biodiversity, and give youth the opportunity to understand nature-based solutions in action.
About TreePeople
Founded in 1973 from the vision of a teenager determined to restore Los Angeles’ forests, TreePeople has grown into a regional leader in landscape restoration and environmental stewardship. Guided by the belief that trees need people and people need trees, TreePeople brings communities together to plant and care for trees in mountains, neighborhoods, schools, and parks – creating cooler streets, healthier ecosystems, and resilient communities across the region. With hundreds of thousands of volunteers engaged and millions of trees planted, TreePeople continues to grow solutions that help people and nature thrive together. Learn more at treepeople.org.
For more information, contact:
Kai McDaniel
Public Relations Specialist, TreePeople
kmcdaniel@treepeople.org
Founded in 1973 from the vision of a teenager determined to restore Los Angeles’ forests, TreePeople has grown into a regional leader in landscape restoration and environmental stewardship. Guided by the belief that trees need people and people need trees, TreePeople brings communities together to plant and care for trees in mountains, neighborhoods, schools, and parks – creating cooler streets, healthier ecosystems, and resilient communities across the region. With hundreds of thousands of volunteers engaged and millions of trees planted, TreePeople continues to grow solutions that help people and nature thrive together. Learn more at treepeople.org.
For more information, contact:
Kai McDaniel
Public Relations Specialist, TreePeople
kmcdaniel@treepeople.org
