Second area being developed as playground
Project School students are all smiles with Mayor Greg Ballard (center) and principal teacher Tarrey Banks (right).
Officials of The Project School are moving forward with a plan to create an “edible school yard,” thanks to a $30,000 grant which will be used to test the 1.5-acre space behind the school to help determine soil conditions and create a clean-up strategy as part of the project.
The garden space pilot project, city officials said, will provide information which will help shape policy for future urban farms, picnic and recreational areas.
Funding for the project comes from a public-private partnership between the City of Indianapolis, which contributed $20,000, and the Local Initiatives Support Corp., which provided $10,000.
Mayor Greg Ballard visited the school, located at the corner of 22nd and Yandes Streets, on Nov. 5 to announce the award. The event was held in the newly reclaimed green space located across Yandes Street from the school. That space will be used as a recreational yard for students, and will also house raised-bed gardens made possible by contributions from Park Tudor School, Mark Fundenberger of Landscapes, Inc., several individual and family member contributions, and a $4,000 grant from Youth as Resources for the fence.
Currently, The Project School and Park Tudor are working together to seek funding to acquire one or two play structures.
Tarrey Banks, leader of The Project School, said the new green space is not only a place for the children to learn and play, but also as a gift to the neighborhood housing the school.
In further news, The Project School has also been awarded $4 million in federal bonds intended to refinance the school’s current facility debt and the renovation of the second floor of the school. The initial construction funding finished the renovation of the school’s first floor before it opened in 2008.
School officials are currently searching for commercial partners interested in purchasing the bonds to attain the financing needed to finish the building. “Our community is growing at an incredible rate,” Banks said. “Everyone here takes great pride in the progress we have made over the last year and a half.”
Second area being
developed as playground
Officials of The Project School are moving forward with a plan to create an “edible school yard,” thanks to a $30,000 grant which will be used to test the 1.5-acre space behind the school to help determine soil conditions and create a clean-up strategy as part of the project.
The garden space pilot project, city officials said, will provide information which will help shape policy for future urban farms, picnic and recreational areas.
Funding for the project comes from a public-private partnership between the City of Indianapolis, which contributed $20,000, and the Local Initiatives Support Corp., which provided $10,000.
Mayor Greg Ballard visited the school, located at the corner of 22nd and Yandes Streets, on Nov. 5 to announce the award. The event was held in the newly reclaimed green space located across Yandes Street from the school. That space will be used as a recreational yard for students, and will also house raised-bed gardens made possible by contributions from Park Tudor School, Mark Fundenberger of Landscapes, Inc., several individual and family member contributions, and a $4,000 grant from Youth as Resources for the fence.
Currently, The Project School and Park Tudor are working together to seek funding to acquire one or two play structures.
Tarrey Banks, leader of The Project School, said the new green space is not only a place for the children to learn and play, but also as a gift to the neighborhood housing the school.
In further news, The Project School has also been awarded $4 million in federal bonds intended to refinance the school’s current facility debt and the renovation of the second floor of the school. The initial construction funding finished the renovation of the school’s first floor before it opened in 2008.
School officials are currently searching for commercial partners interested in purchasing the bonds to attain the financing needed to finish the building. “Our community is growing at an incredible rate,” Banks said. “Everyone here takes great pride in the progress we have made over the last year and a half.”
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