City Springs Selected as Maryland Green School

Throughout his career in education, Mr. Summers believes students understand the importance and joy of caring for nature intuitively in a way that some grown-up people have forgotten. “Students’ passion, ideas, and commitment to environmental stewardship is critical to ensuring a healthy and happy natural world around us going forward,” he adds. “It actually inspires a lot of adults to get involved as well.”

Elizabeth Bartholme, a 15-year City Springs’ veteran who teaches 6th Grade Science, oversaw the grant application and leads a schoolwide Green Action Committee. Her lifelong passion for the environment and experience teaching science for various grade levels made her a natural and enthusiastic choice. 

“I’ve always just been interested in all things green,” she says. “I was a girl scout for my entire elementary years and joke that my mom was doing green stuff before it was cool and popular. I wanted to do this because I wanted the students and teachers at City Springs to have a basic understanding of being more environmentally friendly.” 

The school’s green efforts are particularly important for a community of kids growing up in an urban landscape. “We don’t have any trees [the school grounds],” she adds. “It’s important that our students experience environmental ideas and concepts because it’s not part of their everyday life. Our science curriculum does a great job with this.”

What she and her committee discovered while creating the Green Schools application was a depth and breadth of efforts despite not having green space at school or an environmentally friendly building.”The fact that we still managed to become a green school is something that I’m very, very proud of because the kids really worked really hard here. We’re moving in the right direction!”

A benefit to City Springs as an urban school is actually very green, Ms. Bartholme notes: “We have a privilege over most schools because we are in downtown Baltimore and can walk everywhere. Our kids can go on field trips and can walk to  the National Aquarium, Patterson Park, Camden Yards, and other places.” This expands into classroom lessons on carbon monoxide and air quality.

City Springs’ Sustainability Lessons in and out of the Classroom

In compiling the grant, City Springs showcased the breadth of lessons occurring in and beyond the classrooms, which embrace various local resources and regional partners to expand the students’ environmental awareness.

• Pre-K language and science: Students learn the parts of trees in their language time and in science class, learn how plants help people breathe and clean the air.
• Kindergarten science: Students learn about animal habitats through field trips to Patterson Park to see plants and animals at the pond and on the trails .
• 1st grade science: Students learn about keeping trash out of sewers, which lead directly to the Inner Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, and Atlantic Ocean. They pick up trash on school grounds, learn about wider beach clean-up efforts, and sign their own petition to keep our oceans clean.
• 2nd grade science: Students focus on Earth Day and recycling efforts in City Springs. They spend April learning about recycling via read-alouds, videos, art projects, and in class practice.
• 3rd grade science: Students go on a field trip to Masonville Cove to learn about water quality and solve the mystery of who or what killed the rockfish. Students went through stations and learned about how people can have a negative impact on water quality, especially in the Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Bay.
• 4th grade science: Middle School students working in partnership with the state’s Terrapins in the Classroom program visit the 4th grade classroom to teach about turtles and their habitat through the Diamondback turtle that the Middle School cares for. Students learn about the importance of good water quality and keeping habitats and ecosystems clean so plants and animals can thrive in them. Read more about the City Springs’ 2026-26 Terrapin experience.