Currently, around sixty percent of primary schools in the Netherlands have a dull, paved and unhealthy schoolyard, according to research by IVN. On summer days, these yards are often too hot for outdoor play, and during heavy rainfall, as has frequently been the case in recent months, flooding quickly occurs and the yards become waterlogged. This must change. While education itself and school facilities are regularly on the political agenda, the schoolyard remains a neglected issue. This is despite the fact that most schoolyards are far from climate-resilient.
Happier, healthier children
Research, including that conducted by Dr Jolanda Maas of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, has shown for years how important green schoolyards are. They lead to happier, healthier children and improved learning outcomes. In nature-rich schoolyards, children experience less stress and display less competitive behaviour. Teachers can also give enjoyable lessons outdoors there. Moreover, green schoolyards are highly important for biodiversity. Many species of birds, butterflies and other insects are under pressure, particularly in urban areas, and therefore benefit from a piece of nature in the paved city.
Major differences between provinces
For several years, IVN has been urging provincial authorities to make schoolyards greener, something that is urgently needed. Thanks in part to proactive provincial authorities, a substantial number of schoolyards have been renovated in North Brabant and Overijssel in particular over the past four years, but little has happened in most provinces. “Especially children growing up in heavily paved urban neighbourhoods – this could be in North Holland, but also in Limburg – spend their breaks day after day in unimaginative, almost entirely paved schoolyards. That is a great shame, because they already have very little contact with nature,” says IVN programme manager Vincent van der Veen. “This creates a form of inequality. For children who live with their parents in a small flat in a neighbourhood with hardly any greenery, a green schoolyard that is opened to the neighbourhood outside school hours really makes a difference. There are already several wonderful examples of this, and every child deserves that.”
National coordination
By presenting the petition, IVN hopes to convince the various parties in the House of Representatives that national coordination is needed when it comes to making schoolyards greener. For example, a green, healthy schoolyard should be included as a direct requirement for new construction projects.
Civil society organisations
The petition ‘All schoolyards healthy and green by 2030’ is supported by various civil society organisations. These include KRO-NCRV, Jantje Beton, Vogelbescherming Nederland, Natuur en Milieu and the Young Climate Movement.