• Teachers plan lessons and supervise hands-on, outdoor projects so students learn about math, mindfulness, and sustainable urban food systems in our Johnson Controls Community Garden and Greenhouse.
• Community partners volunteer in our greenhouse.
• Nonprofit agencies provide gardening and cooking demonstrations and chart bikeable and walkable routes to school.
• Corporate and education partners share their expertise with us, and their employees volunteer here during service and action days.
• Neighbors help us harvest greenhouse produce and they volunteer for our Walking School Bus Program.

National and State Honors

Our environmental efforts are receiving federal and state honors. Browning School became a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools honoree in 2023. Green Ribbon Schools reduce their environmental impact and utility costs, improve school health and wellness, and integrate environmental education into academic programs.

Browning School is a Green and Healthy Schools Wisconsin Sugar Maple School. These schools integrate sustainability practices like recycling, water management, and low-carbon transportation into school operations and student lessons.

Healthy Partnerships

Community partnerships, renovation projects, and educator expertise are reshaping our campus and curriculum.

• We joined the Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership in 2015.
• We partnered with Silver Spring Neighborhood Center to replace an old playground with a 55,000-square-foot multi-sports complex with support from the Milwaukee Bucks and Johnson Controls. A stormwater vault under the old playground captures and holds up to 872,000 gallons of stormwater until it can be released for treatment.
• Water-bottle refilling stations keep athletes hydrated and reduce plastic use.
• Browning School and Silver Spring Neighborhood Center partnered with Johnson Controls, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and SHARP Literacy to renovate our old greenhouse in 2018. We donate a portion of the tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers we grow to the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center food pantry.
• We compost landscape and garden waste to reduce our environmental impact and teach students about soil health.
• Native plants in our garden attract pollinators to our school and teach scholars about the local ecosystem.