F E AT U R E By Mary Jackson
1
Bringing nature into school grounds Asphalt is the dominant material in many school grounds, but it doesn’t have to be that way
S
chool grounds make up a significant area of cities, with the average in the UK being over two hectares in size. They are spaces that children and young people spend large amounts of time in, spaces they learn from and play in, spaces that can bring communities together and spaces school pupils consider to be their own. We now know how important nature connection is for children and young people’s mental health yet many city schools still have asphalt-dominated grounds, whilst new schools are not required to have any school grounds at all.
48
For schools created in the 19th and 20th centuries sport and playground games were priorities and climate change had yet to take hold. In today’s schools, priorities have changed. As well as understanding the mental and physical health benefits of nature connection, more schools use their grounds for learning whilst naturebased play is rising in popularity and greater community use is being encouraged. They are places where complex scientific and mathematical problems can come alive through practical and hands-on lessons and where the arts can be taught creatively in an ever-changing environment. Yet
the design of school grounds often remains the same. And whilst it is true to say there are some excellent landscape architects designing creative, inspirational and nature-rich school environments, there are still far too many new city school grounds that are barren spaces, some with expansive areas of coloured asphalt or safety surfacing, or that incorporate large, expensive and low-value play or fitness structures, with few opportunities for pupils to experience the natural world. In the UK many primary and special schools are making moves towards more nature-friendly and consequently
SAN FRANCISCO 1. Sherman Elementary School, San Francisco has had a major transformation to its asphalt grounds. Like other schools in the city the objective is to bring the feel of a garden into the grounds.
