Greenbuild 2023 Legacy Project
The Greenbuild Legacy Project is a yearly project initiative that leaves a lasting impact on the host city of the Greenbuild International Conference + Expo.
Greenbuild's 2023 Legacy Project was focused on Gensler's Roots to Success initiative at Kelly Miller Middle School.
Inside the Greenbuild 2023 Legacy Project
The Greenbuild Legacy Project is an initiative that leaves a lasting impact on the host city of each Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year’s project selected by our local host committee was the Gensler’s “Roots to Success” initiative at Kelly Miller Middle School.
Located in the heart of Ward 7 of Washington, D.C., Kelly Miller Middle School is an institution with a rich cultural history and legacy. The school serves a diverse population of students, many of whom come from families with limited resources. The school is also situated in a food desert, where access to fresh, healthy food is limited.
The project aims to address these issues by making impactful improvements to two of the school’s existing spaces.
Roots to Success
Gensler's Roots to Success initiative at Kelly Miller Middle School is one such project that is set to make a significant impact on the community. Located in the heart of Washington, DC’s Ward 7, Kelly Miller Middle School is an institution with a rich cultural history and legacy.
The school serves a diverse population of students, many of whom come from families with limited resources. The school is also situated in a food desert, where access to fresh, healthy food is limited.
About the Project
The project aims to address these issues by making impactful improvements to two of the school’s existing spaces. The first component is the school’s on-site student urban farm, in which Gensler and their partner HITT will install raised garden beds, a shed, and a beautifully designed outdoor pergola with seating. The space will provide a hands-on learning experience, educating students about the benefits of sustainable farming and organic gardening practices and enriching the science curriculum across all academic levels. An emphasis on the life cycle of food from seed to soil to shelf will educate and inspire students on critical topics of environmental justice, carbon reduction, net-zero waste, and sustainable design.
In addition to the outdoor farm, the project also includes a refreshed school cafeteria with new composting and recycling facilities, integrated food sustainability education, a mural painted by local artists No Kings Collective using paint donated by Benjamin Moore, and sustainably sourced or upcycled furniture by Price Modern and Haworth. The relationship between the farm and cafeteria provides tangible and hands-on education of the farm-to-table food cycle and awareness of healthy and sustainable food choices. Through this project, Gensler and Kelly Miller Middle School aim to encourage lifelong skills, hunger relief, and lasting impact for generations of residents in Washington, DC.
Kelly Miller Middle School is seeking additional financial contributions of $500-$5,000 to help with additional project needs such as a building energy audit, FSC-lumber for building garden features and structure, 25 cafeteria tables, and 150 cafeteria chairs. The school has an additional fundraising goal of $90,000 and is seeking in-kind donations of the mentioned products and services to reach a total impact of $100,000.
The Ward 7 Community Health and Equity project is set to have a significant impact on the students and surrounding areas, providing them with access to fresh, healthy food and promoting sustainable practices. The project will also serve as a model for other schools and communities to follow, inspiring lasting change for generations to come.
The entire Legacy Subcommittee is looking forward to sharing progress and updates about this wonderful project on social media and online and encourage others to get involved and support this important initiative.
2022 Legacy Project
Greenbuild's 2022 Legacy Project: Oakland Neighborhood Resiliency Hub Solar Battery Installation
This project addresses the Greenbuild Legacy project criteria through assisting socially-and economically-marginalized communities in safeguarding their health and wellbeing during dangerous situations like power outages and natural disasters. The Havenscourt/Millsmont community is predominantly Black, but the members of the community who will most benefit from this project are those with pre-existing health conditions, children and senior citizens.
This resilience project also addresses the need to reduce carbon emissions within the community through activities such as using solar, and it engages the broader local community in discussions and activities that raise awareness around environmental sustainability and carbon reduction.
2020-2021 Legacy Project
Greenbuild's 2020-2021 Legacy Project: Olivewood Gardens
In collaboration with the San Diego Green Building Council, Greenbuild's 2021 Legacy Project focused on helping Olivewood Gardens provide fresh food to surrounding communities located in a food desert around National City, California.
Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center's historic 7.85-acre property in National City, California serves as an inclusive and interactive, indoor-outdoor classroom for San Diegans of South Bay. They are driven to build healthy families in their local environment. This year's work included terracing land within the master plan created last year, installing new raised beds including soil on the new site, mulching, and painting a mural on the storage shed in Olivewood Garden's current production farm. The garden master plan includes a community mural, outdoor spaces for lounging and learning, a food forest and blueberry patch, a rainwater catchment system, and raised garden beds.