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CPS chief operating officer outlines Green Schoolyards plan to expand outdoor learning and sustainability on campuses
Summary
Christopher Burkhart of Cincinnati Public Schools described a multi-part sustainability plan—reducing mowing, transitioning landscape equipment to electric, establishing a tree care program, installing water-wise irrigation and rainwater capture, using organic mulch, and expanding outdoor classrooms and school gardens in partnership with Green Umbrella and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.
Christopher Burkhart, chief operating officer for Cincinnati Public Schools, told the council committee that CPS has embarked on an ambitious sustainability plan intended to make school campuses greener and to expand outdoor learning spaces across the district.
Burkhart said the plan focuses on several operational and instructional elements: reducing the amount of turf that is mowed (conservation mowing), purchasing electric alternatives when replacing combustion-powered mowers and other landscape equipment, cataloging trees and partnering with the Cincinnati Zoo on a new tree-care program, installing water-wise irrigation systems and harvesting rainwater where feasible, using organic mulch to retain soil moisture, and developing outdoor classrooms and natural play areas that connect gardening and nutrition with classroom curriculum. "We're making not only our campuses of CPS more green, but also the city as a whole," Burkhart said.
Kristen Braedmeier of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful introduced the partnership with Green Umbrella and said the collaboration will help design outdoor classrooms and school garden spaces that serve instruction and play. Braedmeier emphasized children as the priority for the initiative and noted that CPS leadership will proceed with procurement and campus-planning steps as equipment is replaced and sites are designed.
Burkhart said the effort will include a shift in procurement practices (favoring electric equipment when purchasing replacements), a formalized tree-care program rather than ad hoc cleanup, and an emphasis on drought-tolerant plantings where appropriate. He also noted that some measures—such as installing irrigation or larger outdoor classrooms—will be implemented where site conditions and budgets allow, and that partners will help with design and programmatic integration with curriculum.
The transcript records that Burkhart planned to leave for a concurrent budget meeting and that other presenters from Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and Green Umbrella would continue the presentation. The committee did not take formal action on the plan during the portion of the meeting recorded in the transcript.
