New Green Schoolyard Opens at Cook Academy

Share:

On Tuesday, September 5, Cook Academy in Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood celebrated the start of the school year by opening their brand new Space to Grow © campus. “We were in desperate need of a playground,” said Cook Principal Dr. El Roy Estes, “but we also gained a park.”

Space to Grow is an innovative partnership led by Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands to transform Chicago schoolyards into vibrant spaces to play, learn, and be outside, while helping neighborhoods reduce urban flooding. Cook is now the 12th schoolyard transformed through Space to Grow.

The new campus at Cook utilizes green infrastructure to reduce local flooding in the community and to create new opportunities for environmental education and outdoor learning. The schoolyard, once an expansive asphalt lot, now includes gardens, native plants, new trees, walkways and seating areas, two half-court basketball courts, a turf field, a running track, and playgrounds for younger students as well as for middle school students.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson returned to Cook, her own grade school alma mater, for the ceremony. “I remember when I used to walk down the halls as a Cook Elementary student. I’m excited to see students enjoy their new space to learn and play,” said Dr. Jackson. “I want to acknowledge the importance of these projects: they pick schools that need extra support and transform the schoolyards from asphalt to what we see now, making the schools safer.”

We are excited to see how the school community will grow with a new place to gather, learn, and steward. Openlands wants to thank all the partners involved in helping complete this vision for Cook: Chicago Public Schools, Metropolitan Water Reclamation of Greater Chicago, Chicago Department of Water Management, Alderman Howard Brookins Jr, the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, GCM Grosvenor, and certainly the students, parents, faculty, and staff of Cook Academy.

Take a look at our photos from the day below!


For more information on Space to Grow, please visit SpaceToGrowChicago.org.

Related Posts

Scroll to Top