Across the country, children of all ages attend school on grounds with acres of asphalt and grass, and very few trees to provide shade or protection from increasing heat and a shifting climate. It’s time to change that! 

We are embarking on a decades-long initiative to address this problem. In 2022, as a first piece of this bold vision, Green Schoolyards America, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the California Department of Education, and Ten Strands launched the California Schoolyard Forest System℠, a statewide initiative that seeks to create schoolyard forests across pre-K-12 public school grounds statewide to directly shade and protect students from extreme heat and rising temperatures due to climate change. In the future, we envision Schoolyard Forest Systems in every state, collaboratively established with local partner organizations and state agencies.

As part of this work, we are continuing to convene an open and welcoming monthly discussion forum for school districts, county offices of education, public agencies, landscape architects, tree planting organizations, and practitioners from across the country to share information as they move forward with establishing schoolyard forests at scale. Our goal is to to build a collegial “community of practice” and national network to strengthen these efforts. 

Meeting information

The Community of Practice will take place on the 3rd Thursday of the month, with some gaps for holidays, and will occur at 11am PT/2pm ET, unless otherwise noted.

Registration

Participation is free. Please register via Zoom below.

Format

These free, interactive online meetings feature engaging presentations from school district colleagues, invited guest speakers, and technical experts who share their work on schoolyard forests. We also include time for small group conversations to encourage networking, share best practices, ask questions, and build relationships among schoolyard forest practitioners.

Upcoming Dates and Speakers:

All meetings below are at 11am PT/2pm ET.

• September 18, 2025: Laura Duffey, School Forest Program Manager | Division of Forestry, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Minnesota)

• October 16, 2025: James Duncan, Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources

• November 20, 2025: New Hampshire Department of Natural & Cultural Resources (New Hampshire)

Community of Practice Survey

If you have attended one or more Community of Practice sessions, please take a few minutes to offer us some feedback to help us with future sessions. Thank you!

Accessibility

All meetings will occur online via Zoom. Attendees will have access to live captioning and a live transcript during the meeting. All meeting presentations will be recorded and available to the public on our website with the exception of the group discussions which will not be recorded. 

MEETING #12 — May 15, 2025

Maine TREE Foundation
Maine

Guest Speakers
– Lena Ives, Director of Education, Maine TREE
– Michele Charette, Middle School Math and Science Educator, Penobscot Community School

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, updates, and introductions by Mikaela Randolph
08:14 Presentation by Lena Ives
57:30 Closing by Mikaela Randolph

VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON
Washington

Guest Speakers
– Jessica George, Urban Forestry Outreach Coordinator, City of Vancouver Public Works
– Jane Tesner Kleiner, Program Manager, Lower Columbia Nature Network

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, updates, and introductions by Mikaela Randolph
05:34 Presentation by Jessica George
21:46 Presentation by Jane Tesner Kleiner
55:46 Closing by Mikaela Randolph

BIENENSTOCK NATURAL PLAYGROUNDS
United States and Canada

Guest Speakers
– Adam Bienenstock, Founder, Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds 
– Kristen Niemi, Director of Education, Renfrew County District School Board Ontario, Canada

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, updates, and introductions by Mikaela Randolph
05:34 Presentation by Adam Bienenstock
1:00:10 Questions and Discussion
1:08:29 Closing by Mikaela Randolph

ALABAMA FORESTRY FOUNDATION
Alabama

Guest Speakers
– Chris Erwin, Executive Vice President, Alabama Forestry Foundation 
– Lamar Dewberry, Agriscience Teacher (Retired), Community Champion 
– Levi Noles, Agriscience Teacher

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, updates, and speaker introductions by Mikaela Randolph
6:00 Presentation by Chris Erwin, Lamar Dewberry, and Levi Noles
27:56 Questions and discussion

PROJECT CANOPY
San Antonio, Texas

Guest Speakers
– Jaci Randel, Executive Director, Bexar Branches Alliance
– Isaac Esquivel, Environmental Science Teacher, Northside Independent School District
– Matt Elgin, San Antonio Field Coordinator, American Youthworks

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, introduction, and updates by Mikaela Randolph
5:30 Presentation by Isaac Esquivel, Jaci Randel, and Matt Elgin
42:48 Questions and discussion

GRÜN MACHT SCHULE
Berlin, Germany

Guest Speakers
– Ulrike Wolf, Coordinator, Grün macht Schule
– Katrin Herrmann

*This session was not recorded, but you can find more information about the inspiring educational and sustainable schoolyard projects and designs from Berlin on the Grün macht Schule website, and kindergarten specific examples on the Grün macht Schule - Kindergarten website.

GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA
Schoolyard Forest System℠ Resource Library Overview

Guest Speakers
– Ayesha Ercelawn, Education Specialist, Green Schoolyards America
– Rachel Pringle, Director of Operations and Strategy, Green Schoolyards America
– Sharon Danks, CEO and Founder, Green Schoolyards America

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, introduction, and updates by Erica Fine
7:45 Presentation by Rachel Pringle
14:10 Presentation by Ayesha Ercelawn
31:00 Presentation by Sharon Danks
49:00 Questions and discussion
56:50 Closing by Erica Fine

LAGUNITAS SCHOOL DISTRICT AND
HARMONY UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
Lagunitas, California and Occidental, California

Guest Speakers
– Laura Shain, Superintendent and Principal
Lagunitas School District
– Matthew Morga, Superintendent-Principal
Harmony Union School District

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome, introduction, and updates by Erica Fine
10:18 Panel discussion with guest speakers
46:35 Closing by Erica Fine

OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Oakland, California

Guest Speakers
– Kat Romo, School Gardens and Living Schoolyards Program
Manager, The Center Education and Community Programming Team,
Oakland Unified School District
– Roland Broach, Executive Director, Custodial Services and Grounds,
Oakland Unified School District
– Mark Cavalli, Coordinator, Buildings and Grounds, Oakland Unified
School District

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome by Lauren McKenna
5:51 Introduction of guest speakers by Alejandra Chiesa
7:58 Presentation by guest speakers
33:28 Questions and discussion
51:00 Closing by Alejandra Chiesa and Lauren McKenna

Resources

• Oakland Unified School District Central Kitchen, Education Center, and Instructional Garden/Farm

• Oakland Unified School District Living Schoolyards Design Guidelines

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Los Angeles, California

Guest Speakers
– Christos Chrysiliou, AIA, CCM, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Architecture
& Engineering, Los Angeles Unified School District
– Gerardo Salazar, Administrator for the Office of Outdoor and
Environmental Education, Los Angeles Unified School District

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome by Erica Fine, Green Schoolyards America
5:01 Introduction of guest speakers by Erica Fine
7:27 Presentation by guest speaker Gerardo Salazar
23:21 Presentation by guest speaker Christos Chrysiliou
42:36 Questions and discussion
55:21 Closing by Erica Fine

RIALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Rialto, California

Guest Speakers
– Juanita Chan-Roden, Agent of Science and Career Pathways,
Rialto Unified School District  
–   Brian Montez, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor,
Rialto Unified School District 

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome by Erica Fine, Green Schoolyards America
7:37 Introduction of speakers by Erica Fine
9:34 Presentation by Brian Montez and Juanita Chan-Roden
27:27 Questions and discussion
40:52 Closing by Erica Fine

Resources

• The Trees of Rialto Storymap - GIS Tree Data Collected by Students

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Berkeley, California

Guest Speakers
–   Stephen Collins, Facilities Maintenance Manager
Berkeley Unified School District 
– Sofia Peltz, Sustainability Coordinator
Berkeley Unified School District  

Webinar Timing
0:00 Welcome by Lauren McKenna, Green Schoolyards America
1:36 Introduction by Sharon Danks, Green Schoolyards America
15:10 Presentation by guest speakers Steve Collins and Sofia Peltz
36:07 Questions and discussion

Panelists

– Sharon Danks, Chief Executive Officer, Green Schoolyards America
– Alejandra Chiesa, California State Director, Green Schoolyards America
– Andra Yeghoian, Chief Innovation Officer, Ten Strands
– Juan Mireles, Director, School Facilities and Transportation Services
Division, California Department of Education (CDE)
– Lesley Taylor, Education Administrator, Facilities Planning Policy and
Standards, California Department of Education (CDE)
– Julia Gowin, PhD, Urban Forestry Supervisor, Northern Region,
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
– Walter Passmore, State Urban Forester, California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)

Webinar Timing

0:00 Welcome and introduction — Sharon Danks
13:35 Building a solid foundation — Alejandra Chiesa
20:20 Transforming schoolyards to support the whole child
— Juan Mireles and Lesley Taylor

27:35 Environmental and climate literacy and
climate resilient schools — Andra Yeghoian
30:30 Overview of the new CAL FIRE Green Schoolyards
Grant Program — Walter Passmore
37:05 Questions and discussion — Julia Gowin, PhD
with Alejandra Chiesa and Sharon Danks
55:52 What is next? — Alejandra Chiesa
58:13 Closing — Alejandra Chiesa and Sharon Danks