[CPEO-BIF] Involving students in BF reuse discussions

[bobh@np.craigslist.org]

Educational program involves students in brownfields discussions
NWI.com
BY CAROLYN THOMPSON
4/22/07

HAMMOND, Indiana
Toxic, abandoned brownfields could become community green lands if developers
follow the design plans of some local students.

A brownfield is described as an abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial
property that could have environmental contamination, according to Indiana statute.
About 450,000 sites exist nationally.

Just in time for Earth Day, more than 150 students in fourth grade through high
school from the School City of Hammond brainstormed about how brownfields could be
most beneficial.

On Wednesday, the public can view students' identified brownfield site assessments,
and health and economic redevelopment proposals from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. at the
Administration Center, 41 Williams St.

"They came up with some great ideas and were quick to recognize how one change
could have a huge impact on a community," said Julie Pearson, a fourth-grade
teacher at Orchard Drive Elementary School.

Pearson's class is part of Purdue University's Our Town partnership with the
Hammond schools, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The 2004 pilot program yields grants of $150,000 per year and is to be launched
nationally in 10 schools, said Daniel Somerville, Our Town program coordinator at
Purdue University.

"We provide curriculum and resources to learn about the history of their
communities and work out proposals for reuse options based on economic factors from
students' points of view," Somerville said. "I see brownfields as a way to make it
environmentally aesthetical and reuse an old property in preserving green space."

For the entire article, see:
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/lake_county/docde7f6fb09cce1c4e862572c40080789d.txt

Bob Hersh
CPEO

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