Five more municipalities get to work on Healthy Schoolyards

This means that over the coming year they will make every effort to work across various policy areas to create green, stimulating and healthy schoolyards. The municipalities of Alkmaar, Alphen aan den Rijn, Enschede, Midden-Groningen and Purmerend form a new group of partner municipalities, which will be supported by IVN and Jantje Beton and will in turn share their ‘good practices’ with others. “We ensure that municipalities can exchange their knowledge and experiences extensively, so that ultimately as many schoolchildren as possible in the Netherlands can benefit,” says IVN project leader Ian Mostert.

This new component of the Healthy Schoolyards programme was launched three years ago with a subsidy from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. With the help of ambassador municipalities Rotterdam, Tilburg, Zaanstad, Roermond and Heusden, a great deal of inspiration and experience has been gathered and shared over the past few years. This forms the basis for cooperation with the five new municipalities. “Fortunately, municipalities are increasingly recognising the importance of creating healthy, stimulating, green schoolyards where children can play, learn, explore and develop to their full potential,” says Jantje Beton project leader Marlies Bouman. “At the same time, we see that there is still a great need for support, which we can provide again through this project.”

Immune system

Two weeks ago, Finnish research once again made clear how important nature is for children’s health. Frequent contact with nature appears to significantly improve the immune system: children who spend a lot of time in nature, for example by playing outdoors and working in vegetable gardens, suffer from asthma much less often and also experience fewer allergies.

“Investing in a nature-rich environment is therefore very important,” says Mostert. “And it is important that not every municipality or school has to reinvent the wheel. That is why we share all this expertise through Healthy Schoolyards. In this way, we hope to create as many nature-rich schoolyards as possible, where children can enjoy playing and exercising outside school hours as well.”

For more information, visit www.gezondeschoolpleinen.nl