One L.A. school trades asphalt for trees and grass

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Set us as preferred Fourth-grader Landon Gonzalez and one of his classmates ran the 5K at the L.A.Chinatown Firecracker Run last year.

They plan to do it again in the spring — only this time, they have a new place to train at their school in Westlake.About 30,000 square feet of asphalt was removed, and 35 trees were planted at Esperanza Elementary School, increasing green space across the campus from 9% to 37%, according to the Los Angeles Unified School District.“Now we have this bright blue track to get in shape,” Gonzalez, a student council member, said recently.“Actually, all the students are healthier because we’ve been running on the track.”The track is one piece of a major greening project at the Westlake school that students, teachers and community leaders celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.The grass, native plants and trees are intended to provide shade and reduce heat on a schoolyard that was previously made up largely of asphalt.The school also has a new lawn for recreation and instruction, along with stormwater capture features and solar-reflective basketball and handball courts.“There is something calming for all of us — students and staff — about being surrounded by so much nature on campus,” Principal Brad Rumble said.Students are already playing kickball games on the lawn, walking on the track together and gathering beneath the new trees, Rumble said.

Younger students have been using the outdoor classroom areas to talk and play games, while others have been watching figeater beetles and butterflies visit flowering trees.“The low hills are a hit,” Rumble said.Gonzalez and other students have quickly taken to the new spaces.“I never thought our school would look like this,” he said.“The kids of Esperanza love rolling down the hills.

Think about it.We now have fields on Esp...