Turner Healthy School/Healthy Community

Kansas City, Kansas

Inspecting compost collected during lunch shift.

Students installing a metal storm drain marker.

Students tending to a raised garden bed.

How does this project advance the three pillars of sustainability — social equity, economic vitality and environmental stewardship?

The Turner Healthy School/Healthy Community project provides Turner High School (THS) students place-based, project-based, cross-curricular learning with an environmental education, citizen science focus. Students became change agents as they gathered and analyzed data about the overall health of the school and community they live, work and play in. They developed plans to mitigate environmental concerns in their home school and eventually across the district and community. Students act as citizen scientists as they monitor air and water quality within THS and evaluate the efficiency of the district’s energy consumption and waste disposal processes. Students created a sustainable green space and gardens on THS’ campus for all district stakeholders to enjoy. They developed, organized and implemented sustainability events that all district stakeholders can participate in.

Project Goals:

The goal of this project is place-based, environmental education that cuts across curricular boundaries with an expected outcome of raising academic achievement — as evidenced by an increase in ACT scores of participating students — and to increase the awareness of sustainability issues with students, faculty, staff and the Turner School District community.

Project Description:

This project provided THS students the opportunity to gather and analyze data from their school and community regarding environmental indicators including air and water quality; energy and water use; waste management; and food sources. They developed and proposed solutions to issues they perceived based on research and evidence. The students also created an outdoor learning laboratory available to the community, complete with gardens on campus to learn about sustainability, healthy eating and other ecological factors that affect their community.

The project has:

Reduced landfill waste from the lunchroom by more than 80 percent.
Built school gardens that are used across courses.
Monitored the indoor air and outdoor water quality at THS.
Delivered four hours of professional development to staff to increase integration of sustainable education across courses.
Labeled stormwater drains around the community.
Cleaned up the Kaw River Boat Ramp.
Demonstrated the work at a booth during Turner Days community celebration.

Community Benefits and Lessons Learned:

Nineteen students participated in the program in year one — this was the first time THS offered an Environmental Science course. Enrollment in the Environmental Science class has more than doubled this year and students from chemistry, the culinary arts and biology are also taking part.

Community benefits include establishment of a sustainable school that is a healthier place for people to work and learn with an environment that protects and encourages diverse plants and wildlife on the school grounds. This program is intended to be a model for other schools in the Turner School District, with follow-up programs planned. The community has been very supportive of the program and is benefiting from the school garden, education on stormwater management, and increased awareness of the air and water quality within the school and on the school grounds.

Students and teachers are assisting with the restoration of The Farm School at Gibbs Road, and its establishment of an urban farm learning space for students across Wyandotte County.

Funding Sources and Partnerships:

THS has received a Kauffman Foundation grant for its work around sustainability. This grant, which covers two years, includes funding for equipment and materials to build school gardens, conduct water quality and air quality testing, and hire two consultants to assist with developing the environmental science course. These funds will also be used to connect the school with community resources for field trips and other support, help set up the food waste recovery program in the school cafeteria and provide four hours of professional development for teaching staff and administrators. The school has received funding from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, for a stormwater education project that includes storm drain marking and sponsoring a booth for the annual Turner Days community festival, where students will educate the public about stormwater management. These funds will also purchase an Enviroscape unit — a model that simulates water flowing across the landscape — which will be shared by all schools in the Turner School District.

Other partners include The Farm School at Gibbs Road, Project Central, The Tellus Group, Kansas City Community Gardens, and The Giving Grove.