We are honored to have wonderful partners.
Green Schoolyards America’s work is highly interdisciplinary and sits at the intersection of the environmental, health, education, city planning, and public policy fields. The problems we are trying to solve are larger than any single organization can address alone. Therefore, our work relies on strong collaborations and a key part of our approach is to convene and lead large-scale, collective impact initiatives that align many organizations and institutions to work together toward robust, enduring systems change-level and paradigm shifts.
We are honored to work closely with the partners below on important field-building initiatives.
California Schoolyard Forest System℠
The California Schoolyard Forest System℠ seeks to create schoolyard forests across PK-12 public school grounds statewide to directly shade and protect students from extreme heat and rising temperatures due to climate change. The founding partners of this initiative are Green Schoolyards America, the California Department of Education (CDE), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Ten Strands.
National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative
The National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative was co-founded in May 2020 by Green Schoolyards America, The Lawrence Hall of Science, San Mateo County Office of Education, and Ten Strands. It grew to include more than 20 other partner organizations that collaborated to build a national movement, along with hundreds of participating volunteers, and foundation partners. Click here to see a full list of our partners on this initiative.
Social Entrepreneurship Partners
Ashoka
Ashoka is an international nonprofit organization that builds and cultivates a community of change leaders who see that the world now requires everyone to be a changemaker. Green Schoolyards America’s founder and CEO, Sharon Danks, is an Ashoka Fellow. Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs that Ashoka has recognized for their innovative solutions to social problems and their potential to change patterns across society.
Earth Island Institute
Green Schoolyards America is proud to be fiscally sponsored by Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a vibrant network of more than 75 groundbreaking activist projects working to protect the planet and all species that live on it. Earth Island Institute’s Board of Directors is Green Schoolyards America’s fiduciary board.
Golestan Education
The mission of Golestan Education is to support the development of curious, creative, and altruistic children through experiential and transdisciplinary learning. Golestan School (PreK-6), situated on an urban campus they transformed from asphalt to ecosystems, was Green Schoolyards America’s office/home for several years. The Golestan Colab offers a pro-bono consultancy and resources that help other schools in the U.S. and abroad to adopt hands-on and experiential learning practices and approaches, as well as language and cultural education.
International Partners
International School Grounds Alliance
The International School Grounds Alliance (ISGA) is a global network of organizations and professionals working to enrich children’s learning and play by improving the way school grounds are designed, used, and managed. Green Schoolyards America works closely with the ISGA to research international best practices in the green schoolyard field and contributes to an ongoing dialogue that informs our organization's work in the USA. We also collaborate closely on the global celebration of International School Grounds Month each year in May. Green Schoolyards America's CEO, Sharon Danks, and Advisory Board member Cam Collyer are two of the co-founders of ISGA. They served on ISGA's elected Executive Committee for four years.