Bearing nine different types of succulent plants, Salmon Creek Elementary’s new living wall is the culmination of months of hard work by the school’s Green Team. The team, led by teacher Jeff Stark, involved nearly every Salmon Creek class in planting the wall on May 16.

Stark; his fifth-grade class; and Green Team members Lydia Dewitt, Jake Graver and Sydney Potter contributed to the design, choosing succulents for their largely self-sustaining qualities. Dewitt and her father, Lance, built and donated the planter boxes, while Building Operator Dan Kendall constructed the metal frame. A $500 grant from the PTA helped fund the project.

The living wall, located on the back side of the school, is part of an effort to attain a new certification from the nonprofit Washington Green Schools. In previous years, the Salmon Creek Green Team received silver-level certification from Washington Green Schools.

(Pictured above: Jeff Stark’s fifth-grade class)