CHAPTER 2

Living Schoolyards and Climate Resilience

“Public school districts are one of the largest landowners in almost every city and town across the United States and around the world. In the United States alone, over 98,000* schools in more than 13,000 school districts serve more than 50 million pre-kindergarten to 12th grade students each year.*

Choices made by school districts about how they manage their landscapes profoundly impact their city and generations of local residents whose perspectives are shaped through daily, outdoor experiences at school. A movement to green school grounds and connect students to nature is gaining momentum in the United States and around the globe, weaving the ideas of urban sustainability and ecological design together with academic achievement, public health, children’s wellbeing, sense of place, and community engagement. 

Green schoolyards bring nature back to cities and suburbs by transforming barren asphalt and ordinary grass into vibrant environments for learning and play, set within the context of the rich, local ecosystems that nurture wildlife and the natural processes that underlie and sustain our urban infrastructure. Green schoolyards foster children’s social, physical, and intellectual growth and health by providing settings for curiosity, collaboration, imagination, exploration, adventure, and wonder. 

If, as a society, we can turn our attention and resources toward creating school district-wide, ecological systems-based improvements to school grounds, we will make significant progress in addressing complex inter-related problems.”

— Sharon Danks, The Power and Potential of Green Schoolyards, 2014. 
(*Citation: National Center for Education Statistics)

© GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA

Resources in this chapter

The links below provide an introduction to the very wide and deep topic of how to create living schoolyards and the rationale for why they are so centrally important to the lives of children and the health of ecosystems in our neighborhoods.

In 2022, Green Schoolyards America is launching a new, large scale project that will greatly expand this collection of ecologically-themed resources to include articles, books, and tools that will assist school districts in adding climate resilience to their PK-12 school grounds. We will write more about this work soon.

Please visit this page often for updates and new resources.

VISION FOR LIVING SCHOOLYARDS
— What are Living Schoolyards? (Definition)
— Green Schoolyards America’s Vision Statement
— A Vision for Green Schoolyards Across California (Green Technology Magazine, 2018)
— Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation (New Village Press, book)
— Getting from Here to There (Excerpt, Asphalt to Ecosystems)

SETTING THE STAGE
Exploring universal design, cultural inclusion, and disparities in school facility investment and maintenance

— Address School Infrastructure Inequity
— Inclusive Design for Outdoor Spaces
— Infrastructure Considerations for Culturally Inclusive Outdoor Learning (Coming soon!)

ECOLOGICAL DESIGN AND CLIMATE RESILIENT SCHOOLYARDS
— A Vision for Climate-Resilient Green Schoolyards Across California (article)
— Living Schoolyards for California: Introduction to Green Schoolyards (video)
— Creating Outdoor Spaces: The Infrastructure of Living Schoolyards (video with US Dept. of Education and partners, May 2022)
— Teach, Learn, Grow: The Value of Green Infrastructure in Schoolyards (video with US EPA)
— Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, United States Edition (See chapter on energy and climate, pages 171-183)
— International School Grounds Month Activity Guide (See chapter on energy and climate, pages 135-141)

WATERSHED STEWARDSHIP
— Introduction to the Stormwater Schoolyard Video Series
— Living Schoolyards for Stormwater Management (recorded seminar presentation at California State Water Resources Control Board)
— Living Schoolyards as Stormwater Infrastructure: Inspiring School Grounds of Berlin (Two-part training workshop with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and SFUSD; Video: Part 1 and Video: Part 2)
— Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, United States Edition (See chapter on watershed stewardship, pages 157-169)
— International School Grounds Month Activity Guide (See chapter on watershed stewardship, pages 125-133)

WILDLIFE HABITAT
— Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, United States Edition (See chapter on wildlife and habitat, pages 123-155)
— International School Grounds Month Activity Guide (See chapter on wildlife and habitat, pages 107-123)

THOUGHTFUL USE OF MATERIALS / SCHOOLYARD SUSTAINABILITY
— Ecologically Sensitive Materials for Schoolyard Landscapes (Excerpt, Asphalt to Ecosystems)
— Managing Food Waste Outside
— Living Willow Structures Enhance Children’s Play Environments
— Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, United States Edition (See chapter on thoughtful use of materials, pages 185-193)
— International School Grounds Month Activity Guide (See chapter on thoughtful use of materials, pages 143-157)

Credits

The resources and strategies in this chapter that pre-date the pandemic were developed by Sharon Danks, CEO and Founder of Green Schoolyards America. National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative’s partners and volunteers contributed to creating the resources above that were developed in 2020-21. We are thankful for the ideas, writing, and publishing opportunities contributed by so many of our colleagues who are tireless advocates for children and for outdoor learning, schoolyard ecology, green infrastructure, landscape design, and living schoolyards.

National Outdoor Learning Library

The National Outdoor Learning Library is an expansive set of resources for schools and districts created by the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative, which was founded in 2020 by Green Schoolyards America, The Lawrence Hall of Science, San Mateo County Office of Education, and Ten Strands. With the help of current partners, Green Schoolyards America is continuing to expand the library’s collection to support equitable access to outdoor learning and living schoolyards beyond the pandemic.