Chicago Opens a Rare 'Green' School

Chicago Opens a Rare 'Green' School


Tuesday September 6, 2005 9:01 PM

By DON BABWIN

Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) - Youngsters at Tarkington elementary started their first day of classes Tuesday at a school where flowering plants grow on the roof. It's one of the nation's small but growing number of environmentally friendly schools, a stand-out because it sits in a major city better known for towers of steel and concrete.

Supporters hope Tarkington elementary will bring the idea of environmentally friendly urban buildings into the mainstream.

In contrast to other Chicago buildings, Tarkington has a living, green roof planted atop the gymnasium. It's a garden of short, self-sustaining flowering plants that don't need much water and can withstand Chicago's weather, said project manager Julie Chamlin.

``It looks extraordinarily better than other schools,'' said 12-year-old Dulce Vega, a seventh-grader excited at the thought of having science classes on the roof.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5259951,00.html