West High School

30 Ash St Madison, WI 53726

Total Enrollment: 2,300
TESTING PRIORITY: LOW
ABSTRACT: West High School was built in 1929 and has since experienced two additions to
the original building. The garden at West High is sandwiched between the brick walls of the
school and Regent Street. All things considered, due to the raised beds currently in use, testing is
a low priority.
GARDEN CHARACTERISTICS
The garden has a number of free standing trees, raised vegetable gardens, and small flower
gardens bordering the buildings near edge.. The school has taken measures to mitigate lead
concentrations in the gardens soil via planting grass to cover bare soil as well as create raised
beds which typically provides a buffer layer of soil in which the garden resides.

Garden type: Free standing trees, vegetable and flower gardens

Date Established: Information Unknown
Size: Roughly 32 x 78 ft
Location on school grounds: In a courtyard on the south side of the building
Soil type/soil origins: Information Unavailable
Mitigation used: Raised beds and the planting of grass to cover bare soil
Previous soil testing: Information Unknown

NEARBY LAND USE

Major Roads: Regent St, Monroe St, Campus Drive
According to an aerial photo provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society, as of 1937 these
roadways had already been created which leaves the space susceptible to gasoline based lead
aerosols to settle on the site prior to 1991.
PAST SITE USE
Before the school was built, the land was used for agricultural purposes.

CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATIONS

Initial Construction: West High School was built in 1929.

Renovations: There were two renovations; one of these additions took place in 1960, and the
other in 1972.
BUILDING MATERIALS
Paint: Albeit that the structure of West High is predominantly brick, it remains highly likely that
the paints used on the window sills and interior walls contained lead. Therefore, during the two
construction projects that took place at West High, lead based paint chips may have been
scattered across the school grounds, and likely remain today. Without official knowledge of
where the remnants and excavated soils traveled or were deposited, paint chips may have been
delivered to the garden site decades ago.