School—and, by extension, the schoolyard—is where children spend a large part of their time. Multiple studies show that a green schoolyard is important for the healthy development of children. Just like nature, children literally flourish there. IVN therefore advocates that by 2030 all primary schools in the Netherlands should have a healthy, green outdoor space for playing and learning that also helps nature.
School report
Unfortunately, we are not there yet. IVN has mapped out the state of the urgently needed greening of schoolyards in the Netherlands and, based on this, produced a school report for all provinces.
Only 15 percent of primary schools receive the maximum five stars from parents and teachers for the amount of nature on the schoolyard, while 63 percent receive no more than two stars. The poor score of schools in the Randstad urban region is striking, with many primary schools receiving just one star when it comes to their schoolyard. “A real shame, because more greenery is especially important in these provinces. We therefore call on the provinces to really get to work on this over the next four years,” says programme manager Vincent van der Veen.
Leading by example
Over the past four years, several provinces have worked to make schoolyards greener, and around a thousand primary schools have gained a healthy, nature-rich playground with support from their province. Noord-Brabant is the frontrunner, with 340 green schoolyards, and has the ambition to make all schoolyards in Noord-Brabant greener.
Overijssel is in second place with 183 schoolyards that were renovated. Gelderland comes third. There, 266 playgrounds were made greener, but this province has significantly more primary schools than its northern neighbour. IVN hopes that the other provinces will follow this example in the coming years, because in addition to the provinces in the Randstad, the report scores for Friesland, Groningen and Flevoland, among others, are also seriously disappointing. Van der Veen says: “Many provinces share the ambition to make schoolyards greener, but in reality, too little is happening at present. What a shame, because a green schoolyard also serves an important community function. Children also love playing there in their free time. In the interests of our children, the provinces must therefore take much more decisive action.”