Greening schoolyards

Four years ago, the research team behind the Healthy Primary School of the Future expanded this project with an aspect that has been encouraged in Flanders for some time: greening schoolyards. Together with scientists from Hasselt University, researchers from the Maastricht-based CAPHRI institute (Care and Public Health Research Institute) investigated whether greening schoolyards also results in healthier children. Does the greenery encourage them to exercise more? What effect does a green environment have on their learning ability? What effect does it have on their understanding of nature? And, of course, the key question: what happens when you combine green and healthy primary schools?

Improved academic performance

UM researcher Bo van Engelen: “Our research shows that greening schoolyards not only gets children moving more, but also benefits their attention and social behavior. In addition, based on a cost-benefit analysis, greening schoolyards appears to be a sound investment for promoting children’s health and well-being: at considerably lower costs, we achieve almost a doubling of the amount of time children engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity.”

Researcher Lore Verheyen from Hasselt University also points to the improved academic performance at schools with a green schoolyard. “Our results can encourage schools and policymakers to create greener school environments, which will have a beneficial effect on children’s mental performance and well-being.”

Collaboration

The Green Healthy Primary School of the Future project is not only a collaboration between two universities on either side of the Dutch-Belgian border, but is also supported by both provincial governments and the Provincial Nature Centre Limburg. “This research once again confirms that we are on the right track with the Healthy Primary School of the Future,” says Marc van Caldenberg, a member of the provincial executive of Dutch Limburg. “Greening schoolyards not only appears to promote children’s well-being, but also provides measurable benefits for their concentration and social behavior. I am pleased with the constructive collaboration between the two Provinces of Limburg, in Belgium and the Netherlands. The interaction between all partners was very good, and together we are taking important steps to improve the health of our children.”

You can find a summary of the research here.