Schenk Elementary & Whitehorse Middle School Site History

230 Schenk St, Madison, WI 53714

Total students: Unknown
TESTING PRIORITY: Low
ABSTRACT: Schenk Elementary and Whitehorse Middle School share the same property on
Schenk St, just a few blocks northwest of Lake Monona. Schenk Elementary was constructed on
12 acres in 1954 and the Whitehorse Middle School addition was constructed sometime before
1968. Although the gardens are on the side of Schenk Elementary opposite of the building, lead
and other contaminants can move elsewhere on the property during the process of construction.
However, the schools are located in a residential neighborhood next to a park with a history of
farmland which decreases the likelihood of significant lead contamination.
GARDEN CHARACTERISTICS
The Schenk Elementary/Whitehorse Middle School gardens are ~15 ft away from the building
after examining aerial photographs and an on ground photograph on the MMSD website. The
gardens were added in 2009. These include raised bed gardens and it is not known if the soil was
imported or not. From these photos it was not clear what type of plants are grown in this space. It
is also not known if the soil there has been tested.
NEARBY LAND USE
2 Parking lots, one in the NE corner and touches some green while the other does not touch
any green space
Outside is brick
Olbrich Botanical Gardens to SW
Surrounded by residential homes and no major roads nearby. Closest one is 51/Stoughton Rd
which is 5 blocks away to the East
PAST LAND USE
Prior to the schools construction, the land was used for farmland and also had some trees on that
lot.