WHYY
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Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary Principal Aliya Catanch-Bradley stands in front of trees planted in Fall 2020. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Aliya Catanch-Bradley, the principal of Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, knew she wanted more green space for her North Philadelphia school soon after hearing the news of George Floyd’s murder last May.
As the video of his murder circulated and prompted protests across the world, she knew she wanted to do something for her students.
“I just felt like I could not breathe,” she said. “I was thinking perhaps a garden, something to bring new life into the environment was going to be one of the ways that collectively, we could breathe again.”