The Pinewood Legacy Garden Project transformed a highly visible, barren expanse of dirt into a vibrant garden space to learn, play and enjoy. It fills 1,500 square feet adjacent to the Pinewood Elementary auditorium and school offices and abuts a high-traffic walkway, and cover a gentle slope to a seating area.
The new garden of bountiful native foliage, and the birds and butterflies it attracts, delight students as they leave the auditorium. There, two play-friendly, water-wise California native grasses border an existing walkway, allowing children to romp alongside the beaten path. They encounter subtle, new topography: a bioswale designed to direct and infiltrate water, and a deeply mulched slope framed by existing stairs on their way to a seating area cooled by fruit-bearing pomegranate, fuji apple and clementine trees.
The Pinewood Legacy Garden is designed to deliver more than beauty. It is intended to be a powerful tool that:
- Supports student health, wellness, and academic achievement
- Serves as an experiential learning tool for students, teachers, and community
- Mitigates food insecurity and hunger
- Cools the play space and community
- Saves water and reduces school operational costs
- Increases LA’s resilience in Tujunga
- Sparks pride in students, teachers, parents and community members
Pinewood Legacy Garden 