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Chula Vista, CA

Designing Green Spaces and Enhancing Zero Waste: An Inclusive Approach to Drawdown for BVHS Climate Action

Grant Amount

$18,263

Year Awarded

2025-2026

Project Coordinator

Jennifer Ekstein

Grant Type

Team

Local Association

Sweetwater Education Association

Focus Area

Environmental Justice

About the Project

This grant proposal focuses on creating green spaces and implementing zero-waste initiatives at BVHS to promote student engagement, climate action, and wellness. The planned green spaces, including Pollinator Gardens, Sensory Gardens, Farm-to-Table Gardens, and Wellness Green Spaces, will help reduce the effects of urban heat islands, which worsen health risks, raise energy costs, and contribute to climate change. Students will design these spaces through science classes and inclusive clubs, supporting climate change strategies and community service.
These green spaces will be used as educational tools to explore urban heat islands, connect students to food systems, agriculture, and cultures, including indigenous knowledge.

Meet the Project Coordinator

Jennifer Ekstein

With gratitude, my name is Jennifer Ekstein and I have been enthusiastically teaching for 26 years at Bonita Vista High School. I am currently teaching 9th grade on-level biology, but have taught AP Environmental Science, IB Environmental Systems and Societies, Accelerated Biology, as well as, AVID, Dance, Earth Science and Life and Chemical Processes. I am currently our Science Department Chair, as well as, a Science Literacy Resource Teacher. As an advisor for our Youth 4 a Sustainable Future/Green Team and Key Club, I help students develop healthy meaningful and long lasting relationships within their community. My inspiration for this grant to further develop that bond between ALL students and the land upon they live. As a paved over high school, students will design and build gardens that not only protect the Biodiversity Hotspot that live in, but also create green spaces that allow them to thrive socially and emotionally! This inclusive project will leave a legacy for our high school that encapsulates our deep-rooted Kumyaay landstewardship idea of reciprocity:

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