Nov. 6, 2025 8 AM PT
To the editor: Thanks a lot for the article about lack of shade on California’s Ok-12 campuses (“Most of California’s public K-12 students go to school on campuses with virtually no shade,” Oct. 29).
I reside in Santa Monica and our college board is busy chopping down faculty campus bushes and changing inexperienced grassy areas with synthetic turf. Total, they’re shrinking regenerative inexperienced out of doors areas in order that they will maintain constructing giant new buildings — the over-development agenda. It’s very troubling.
Despite the fact that Santa Monica is a rich metropolis total, we nonetheless have many youngsters on free and reduced-cost lunch in any respect of our college websites. As well as, Santa Monica is sort of 80% multifamily residences, which means that our parks and the college campus inexperienced areas and playgrounds operate as many, many households’ backyards.
No matter household sources, each child on the planet wants inexperienced out of doors house and cooling shade from bushes to thrive.
Our native elementary faculty PTA planted 18 bushes on the campus again in 2008 and practically all of them are slated for removing now by the college district — to get replaced with one other giant constructing and a small synthetic turf subject. I used to be a part of that planting crew and for 2 years afterward, every classroom was answerable for watering one of many bushes to assist it thrive and take root.
It’s all very unhappy and nonsensical so, once more, I respect workers author Tyrone Beason and the Los Angeles Instances shining a light-weight on this subject.
Ann Bowman, Santa Monica
