1

18 February 2020

Scott Heinze
Central Administration Building
P.O. Box 1357
Tacoma, WA 98401-1357

Green Space Proposal for Mann Elementary

Dear Mr. Heinze,

I write this as a friend of the school board and a member of the community of
Tacoma, WA. Mann Elementary School does not have an acceptable outdoor green
space that the students, faculty, or the surrounding community can enjoy. Within
the community of Tacoma and Mann Elementary, green space can affect all
members surrounding the park area. According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, green space can be defined as “land that is partly or completely
covered with grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation” (“What is Open/Green
Space?”, n.d.). For many years, the South End neighborhood has been ranked among
the worst neighborhoods for its low-value income and opportunities (Sparkes,
2020). Because of this, it has created a large equitable disparity between that and
richer neighborhoods. The schools in the higher income areas have community
gardens, large playgrounds, and entire parks in conjunction with their schools. This
mentality can be blamed for the greater gap between higher income and lower
income schools and their access to a suitable green space. The positive effects of
having a type of green space outweigh the negatives and you should consider what
to do to help this school (and all future schools in the area). President Scott Heinze
should help develop a green space for the students and the community
surrounding Mann Elementary because a green space is so essential and beneficial
to the parties involved.

A proposed alternate solution to a green space was to create a sort of outdoor

classroom. With this method, teachers were allowed to bring students outdoors
during class time, utilizing the parking area as their learning space. This solution is
not very ideal. An annual Washington State weather report shows that this is not a
very suitable “year round” solution because the weather in Washington is extremely
bipolar and very dismal. This weather report states, “Western Washington
experiences frequent cloud cover, fog and drizzle.” (“Washington State Weather…”
n.d.). Therefore, this method is not an effective enough solution to rely on year
round. In addition, the nicer Western Washington weather is in the summertime,
during the students summer breaks.
 2

Another solution yet to be implemented in any of the low income areas of Tacoma,
which has the potential to solve this problem is the implementation of a community
garden to the existing school grounds. A community garden would allow the
students to learn and the faculty to teach about the benefits of the outdoors as well
as allowing them to have hands-on experience with growing and taking care of
something. This is a very education based solution and also allows the community
to get involved and have their own spaces to grow their own food. However,
without buying more land around the current school property, there simply isn't
enough space to create something so big and a school yard is not the place for
something so large. Berle and Westerfield standardized the size of a community
garden and the size of each individual raised garden bed within the space being 2 to
3 feet wide and as much as 12 feet in length (2013). As you can see, this is not
feasible for the land that is available to the school already and Mann Elementary
cannot sustain something that big without taking the kids’ playground away.
Although a community garden is a great idea for a community and school, there
simply is not enough space or resources to make it an effective solution for this
problem at Mann Elementary School. Something must be done to include everyone
in this community as a whole for it to truly be effective.

Consequently, the best solution to give Mann Elementary a green space and give
the South End neighborhood a common ground is to create a public space for
everyone. Presently, all there is available to the students at the school is a large
area full of dead grass and a patch of asphalt with a small basketball court and a less
than desirable playground. If we were able to standardize a plan to renovate this
outdoor area, what’s to say we cannot use it to improve other schools or use it as a
baseline for future schools. Only when someone takes initiative to change a
standard will there be change everywhere. For now, the fastest way to start a
movement is to start here, to start with the low income schools and educate those
who can make a change about the importance of the problem. The first step in
creating a great green space that includes everyone in the community from the
students to the members of the neighborhood is through a partnership with the
Tacoma Parks and Recreation Board and the creation of a plan for this school and
future school restorations. The best solution is to use the already existing campus
grounds and transform the dead grass and open space into a suitable green space.
This plan is logical and feasible because it is turning already existing property and
adding landscaping. There is room in the plan to expand if the community/school
would like to in the future. The existing space will be turned into a park that will be
accessible all year round to students and the community. The playground will be
upgraded and moved closer to the school and the existing green space will be
turned into a school garden and a park. Overall, there is still a very large place for
the students to play, to learn, and to enjoy a break from classes and learning as well
 3

as a desirable space for people in the community to enjoy, walk their dogs in, and to
relax.

This solution is bound to be effective, primarily because it requires little legal issues
and has been successful before. Firstly, the proposed solution does not ask or
require any change of laws or policies. Something like that would add additional
work to many people and is often a very lengthy process. My solution simply asks
you, the President of the School Board and director over Mann Elementary, to
agree to renovate the current space and approve a standardized plan for future
changes. Though changing the landscape would require time and effort, it’s effects
would go a long way; already many members of the community and members of the
staff are on board for a change in the local area. I sent out a survey to the faculty at
Mann Elementary and the results were overwhelmingly supportive. From the
reaction to the survey Brittany Grelson (a teacher at Mann Elementary) states “I
think a greenspace would add to the intrinsic value of going to school and beautify
the neighborhood. … Our students see minimal greenspace in their every-day life
because we are a neighborhood school and don’t have shared space.” (see appendix
for survey). Her reaction, as well as many others at the school, shows the support
from the staff for an added green space to Mann Elementary.

In addition, a green space has many health and psychological benefits to having a
green space. I have shown many health, mental, and ecological benefits to having
access to a green space. In the case of the children at Mann Elementary, we want to
give them a space where they can truly de-stress and get recharged for the next
half of their day. According to an article written by Peschart and Stigsdotter,
studies show that people use green spaces to rest and restore their energies as a
means to de-stress (2012). Given the results of their studies, if we were to
implement a park that is usable by the community and the school, we would be able
to help with creating a place where people really come together and we would see a
significant amount of stress and negative emotions in the community and the
students.

Given the mission of the proposal, I expect there to be a few logical concerns
regarding this solution such as how it will be funded, where we would put such a
space, and would this actually give good results. You may be wondering how we
would come up with the money to fund such a project. Money is always a main
concern, and rightly so. However, the Tacoma Parks and Recreation office has
recently put out a plan to create more open space within the community and help
fund it (Pierce County Parks, 2019). Being that they are so eager to create functional
spaces and willing to help fund, there is more than enough money between the
school board and the Parks and Recreation board to put a small park into
 4

renovation. The plan shows that there is initiative to create more open space and to
support communities like ours to create more open space. The money is there.

Secondly, having a large enough space to accommodate such a project and support
the community is another reasonable concern. Instead of thinking about having a
large park like Central Park or Hyde Park, this plan is to create a small place where
people can gather and enjoy a small piece of nature. Needles talks about this in the
local Tacoma, WA newspaper The News Tribune. Her article outlines the struggles it
took to revamp this tiny local park (2019). It took them years to get 6 parking spaces
removed and turned into a grassy area. Locals were fighting for this space that was
originally an old gas station. Yet, they love it and it is a common gathering place for
them. This shows that the city is fighting for parks right now, and this one in the
article is smaller than the space we currently have at Mann Elementary. When we
think of parks, we don't need to think of central Park or areas of that magnitude.
We are asking for a place that kids can play around in and get out of the school that
they feel so trapped in and enjoy 30mins outside when they can. In short, the
proposal is to change what we already have into something usable for everyone. It
has been done.

In conclusion, President Scott Heinze should help develop a public green space for
the students and the community surrounding Mann Elementary because a green
space is so essential for the students and the community. Due to the low legality
and the many health and ecological benefits, this is bound to be a great solution.
Instead of letting this problem go on or dismissing it as a whole, I urge you to use
your voice and your power to start a change that could affect more than just this
one school but change the way we look at schools and how they are built. To begin,
I have included a public ad to present to you and the community focused on a
solution to this problem. As a board member dedicated to higher education and
love for his community, help us accomplish our goals. I urge you to support the
students and the community by adding a park to the grounds of Mann Elementary
school. Start a change in how we look at schools and their property. Change this big
starts with you.

Thank you,

Mann Elementary and South End community

Tacoma, WA.

Harley Bode
5
 6

References

Berle, D., & Westerfield, R. (2013, February). Raised Garden Bed Dimensions

Community and School Gardens. University of Georgia Extension. Retrieved

February 21, 2020. From

https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/C%201027-

4_1.PDF

Sparkes, Sam. (2020, January 12). THE 10 WORST Neighborhoods In Tacoma For

2020. RoadSnacks. https://www.roadsnacks.net/worst-neighborhoods-in-

tacoma-was/

Needles, A. (2019, December). One of Tacoma’s Tiniest Parks Gets a New Look in

2020. The News Tribune. Retrieved 24 February, 2020. From

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article237792904.html

Peschardt, K. K., & Stigsdotter, U. K. (2012). Associations Between Park

Characteristics and Perceived Restorativeness of Small Public Urban Green

Spaces. Science Direct. Vol 112, 26-39.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.12.013

Pierce County Parks. (December 2019). Parks, Recreation, & Open Space Plan 2020-

2030. Retrieved on 10 February 2020 from

https://www.co.pierce.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/86085/2020-02-11-

Adopted-PROS-Plan?bidId=
 7

Washington State Weather, climate and geography. (n.d.). World Travel Guide.

Retrieved February 21, 2020. From

https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/north-america/united-states-

of-america/washington-state/weather-climate-geography/

What is Open/Green Space?. (n.d). United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Retrieved February 20, 2020. From

https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/openspace.html#main-content
 8

Appendix

2020 Green Space Survey for Mann Elementary

These questions are meant to help us understand the outlook of a green space in
your area. All answers are open ended, with no wrong opinions. All questions may
be answered with “N/A” or “Do not wish to comment.” All answers will remain
anonymous if chosen, we will not try to contact anyone if that is the case.

The questions are as follows:

a. Would you like to see a change in the green space on campus and why?

b. How do you think a green space on campus would affect you and your

students?

c. What changes would you make to the already existing outdoor space on

Mann Elementary campus?

d. If you support adding a green space, what features would you like to see?

e. What problems/foreseeable issues could you see arising with adding a

green space?

Additional comments:

20 staff members participated.

5 responded with no opinion on the matter.

1 responded negatively.

14 responded with their support of the project.