Perhaps one of the biggest lessons California’s schools have learned during the pandemic is to rethink how we build and maintain our schools. It is time to build more green schoolyards, and we can do it with support from the Legislature.

Far too many of our campuses are covered in asphalt and lack meaningful tree canopy. Before Covid, California was already experimenting with transforming our paved-over schoolyards into “green schoolyards” where nature is integrated into teaching. The pandemic showed us how unprepared we were for the next emergency. And yet, another emergency is already here when we think of climate change and its negative impacts on our children.

Public schools are community hubs. In fact, 1 in 5 Californians visit public schools each year, whether to attend school, to pick up or drop off a child or to engage with other services. Green schoolyards transform asphalt-covered spaces into green spaces. They fight climate change by reducing heat islands in urban areas. They aid health by providing more outside space for young people. And above all, they improve education with greater access to nature. Indeed, access to green space and time spent in nature are associated with a number of positive outcomes: reduced stress, less depression and anxiety, improved concentration, lower obesity rates, and reduced blood pressure.

Oakland Unified School District has 120 schools on about 500 urban acres. Converting our campuses into green schoolyards is a great opportunity to give people more access to nature. The Oakland Unified school board passed one of the country’s first green schoolyard policies and, partnering with the Trust for Public Land, we’ve now piloted green schoolyards in five public schools with more to come, one of which opens this month. We chose the sites by prioritizing equity based on demographics. The school communities had broad and meaningful engagement in the projects. People in the district have embraced the improvements. We have integrated the schoolyards into the curriculum. These projects are helping test approaches and inform system changes. Planning for the next pandemic should include investing in making our schools green.

Read the full article about green spaces in schools by Mónica García and Kyla Johnson-Trammell at EdSource.