Two New Schoolyard Forests Point to a Greener Future for California’s Schools

This fall, two public school communities—one in Los Angeles and one in Sacramento—celebrated a transformation that is as joyful as it is significant: the completion of new schoolyard forests at 122nd Street Elementary and Parkway Elementary.

This marks an exciting milestone in Green Schoolyards America’s effort to reimagine California’s school grounds as places where students can learn, play, and thrive under the shade of trees. Each forest was designed with and for its community, and both are early models for the California Schoolyard Forest System®, our statewide initiative to green every public schoolyard and help children adapt to a changing climate.

From Asphalt to Ecosystem in South LA

At 122nd Street Elementary in South Los Angeles, the transformation came to life during a lively Community Planting Day at the end of October. More than 20 classrooms joined Green Schoolyards America staff and design/build partners from SLA, Inc. to help add finishing touches to the new 12,000 square foot schoolyard forest. Students learned about native plants, sowed wildflower seeds, and helped plant some of the final 120 shrubs—all while getting their hands dirty and their imaginations sparked.

122nd Street Elementary School’s forest, which includes 44 climate-adapted trees, an outdoor learning area with log seating, a pollinator garden, pathways for exploring, and educational signage, brings much-needed shade and greenery to a historically underserved neighborhood where high temperatures regularly impact students’ health and education. The new space will offer shade and protection, as well as daily opportunities for hands-on learning, social connection, and sensory play—and serve as a living laboratory for the school’s 600 K–5 students.

122nd street students prepare the ground for planting

students holding wildflower seeds for sowing

An overview of the new 12,000 sq. ft. forest at 122nd Street Elementary.

A Model for Central and Northern California

Several hundred miles north, Parkway Elementary in Sacramento has also now completed its schoolyard forest transformation! Once a dry turf field, the 15,000-square-foot area now features 55 climate-adapted trees, 44 shrubs, a pollinator garden, mulch pathways, an outdoor classroom, and nature play elements made from local redwood and eucalyptus logs.

The new seating circle and teaching shed—stocked with gardening tools and outdoor learning materials—have already changed how teachers and students interact with the space. Students can now explore nature, jump from log to log, or care for young plants during class.

Teachers, too, are discovering new ways to bring lessons outside. “The kids loved watering…I was shocked at how responsible they were with it!” one teacher shared. “In two weeks we’re starting our unit on seeds and gardening, so this is all just going to come together.”

Green Schoolyards America staff also worked closely with teachers and administrators to activate the new space—offering professional development, one-on-one support, and outdoor classroom resources. These efforts have already inspired a culture shift on campus. As one teacher put it: “The kids love it. I have a couple of kids with difficulties at home and when they get frustrated, they go inside the forest.”

Parkway students receiving instructions on planting day

students using their new gardening tools to care for their new trees

Students help add flowers to their forest

students using the new stump seating area for play!

Planting Seeds for Statewide Change

Both projects demonstrate what’s possible when school districts, communities, and funders come together to reimagine the role of the schoolyard. By turning underutilized, unshaded grounds into thriving ecosystems, schoolyard forests directly address some of California’s most pressing challenges: extreme heat, inequitable access to nature, and children’s access to education and health and well-being.

But the significance of these projects extends even further. As pilot projects within the California Schoolyard Forest System®, the 122nd Street and Parkway Elementary School forests are helping to build the knowledge and models needed for schoolyard greening to take hold at scale.

Green Schoolyards America staff have already shared lessons learned from these projects with other CAL FIRE grantees and school district leaders across the state. In Los Angeles, several other greening partners have visited the site to gain inspiration. In Sacramento, the contractor who helped install Parkway’s forest has begun saving tree logs and sharing the project’s success with other districts, in hopes of replicating Parkway’s nature play features elsewhere—a sign that these pilots are already having an impact beyond their local communities.

Green schoolyards america staff with staff from SLA, inc and CAL FIRE that supported the 122nd street project.

Looking Ahead

Green Schoolyards America will continue to support both Parkway Elementary and 122nd Street Elementary as their forests grow and evolve—and to work with their school districts to use these projects as models for other campuses.

The vision is bold: a living network of schoolyard forests across California, creating cooler, greener, and healthier environments for millions of children. With every new planting day, every log that becomes a play structure, and every teacher who brings students outside to learn, that vision comes more fully to life.

Because these are not just school projects—they’re blueprints for the resilient, equitable, and nature-rich future our children deserve.

Students experiencing the Joy that comes from having the freedom to play and explore in nature at their very own school