BASSETT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
CAMPUS NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
At the invitation of the Superintendent and the School Board– we first completed Green infrastructure Review and Concept Plan for each of the BUSD Campuses .
This involved having members of our team scout each school campus, map all the existing drains leading to storm drain system and recording where existing trees, permeable and impermeable spaces were located.
This site reconnaissance information gathered from the principals of each school provided us the basis to develop implementation plans for Community Based Design of Green infrastructure Campuses.
Bassett High School
This is a huge 35 acre campus with a fantastic view of the San Gabriel Mountains, yet the campus itself and the transporation arteries of La Puente and unincorporated LA County did not have very many trees or a vibrant urban forest canopy.
Our first major undertaking was to start to transform the “all grass” field of the Bassett High School and area around the stadium into a series of bioswales, bio retention areas interlaced with a perimeter trail network on the outskirts of the sports fields.
With the support of the State Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Southern California Edison, So Cal Gas, California ReLeaf, Union Pacific Rail Road Foundation and now Cal Fire and Forestry we are bringing the vision of a Natural Infrastructure Campus for Bassett High School which serves 1,012 students (2017-2018) annually, to life.
Community Participation
So far we have held multiple Emerald Necklace Volunteer Stewardship Events: Pacific Asian Volunteer Association provided a huge amount of volunteer support, as did students from 14 regional, 5 colleges and universities, Boy Scouts and Circle K Members.
Community volunteers are a very important element to the successful implementation of greening infrastructure projects. Amigos de los Rios and our Key Partners would like to thank all our volunteers for their hard work!
Design Team Partners
Armstrong Walker Landscape Architects
Bassett Unified School District
California Conservation Corps
California Watershed Engineering – Civil Engineer
Los Angeles County Public Works
Amigos de los Rios
Natural Infrastructure Fellows
Sarah Abroff, Liz Mc Allister, Justin Freiglitsh, Bryce Luna, and Michael Felipe
Key partners in creating greener world
