For years, schoolyards were primarily functional: a paved area with a few play structures. And that is still what more than 60 percent of Dutch schoolyards look like. But times are changing. More and more people are realizing that a schoolyard can be so much more: a green living room for the neighborhood, a lively meeting place where children can play, learn and feel connected to nature during and after school hours.
An opportunity for health and development 600 m away
The urgency is great. 4 in 10 children between the ages of 4 and 12 do not meet the physical activity guidelines. In a society where screen addiction is ever-present and stress is already visible at a young age, playing outside is not a luxury but an investment in our children's physical and mental health. Being outdoors stimulates movement, reduces stress and engages the senses. Touching soil, seeing plants grow and playing in a natural environment literally gives children room to breathe and a boost to their immune systems.
A green schoolyard offers a daily opportunity to achieve this—in the middle of the school week, in the middle of the city. In the Netherlands, a child has a schoolyard on average just 600 meters from home. In our densely built-up country, this offers enormous potential to create green oases within walking distance for the entire neighborhood.
Especially in vulnerable neighborhoods
This is especially valuable for children growing up in vulnerable urban neighborhoods. In Amsterdam, 16% of children grow up in poverty, and in Rotterdam the figure is as high as 20%. For these families, a trip to the woods or the beach is often beyond their budget. The schoolyard is then the ideal place for nature adventures. Ironically, green schoolyards are more often the exception than the rule in precisely these neighborhoods. A painful form of inequality in access to green spaces.
KC De Vlinder in Rotterdam proves that things can be different. In the middle of a disadvantaged neighborhood, the school transformed its paved yard into a nature experience garden. Where drug dealers used to hang around, there is now a lively place for play and learning with natural elements, where children are happy to come even outside school hours. The yard has grown into a living room for the neighborhood and an international example of how nature, education and social connection can come together in the city. The municipal government is also taking on an exemplary role for other municipalities. For example, it has structurally incorporated healthy schoolyards into its housing policy for new-build schools and provides subsidies for existing yards. A smart investment, because a green yard also contributes to better air quality, cooling in hot cities and preventing flooding.
Let us begin this school year with a clear ambition: every child, regardless of postcode or income, deserves a green and healthy schoolyard. A place where children and nature alike are given room to grow.
Source: IVN/AD