Laurel Dell Elementary, San Rafael
Quilt Square #24
Fifth grade students at Laurel Dell High School in San Rafael have been making models of resilient homes and neighborhoods. A number of visitors have been to class to help them. One week Kate Hagemann and Walter Gonzalez from the City of San Rafael and the Canal Community Resilience Planning Project heard how the students were retrofitting their homes to be more water-wise and resource resilient. Each student was asked to add solar and wind power plus green and water-conservation strategies into their model homes — while also collaborating with their neighbors to maximize use of resources. Some students even talked to their neighbors about sharing land, gardens, sports courts and other resources.
Another week the 5th graders got a visit from students of the nearby Karen Madden Marin School of Environmental Leadership who shared their knowledge about strategies to mediate and adapt to climate change, while also offering suggestions for the children to enhance their resilient neighborhood. The high school students worked in teams with the elementary students on six environmental sustainability themes: Transportation, Gardening, Wildfire Safety, Renewal Energy, Waste Diversion and Green Buildings/Native Plants. The older students looked at the children’s models of their sustainable neighborhood and discussed how their homes and gardens can incorporate additional sustainable strategies.
