This blacktop playground at Froebel elementary is the pilot for the Green Schoolyard Initiative. © Kristy Stoyer/TNC Green Schoolyards
All too often, our students lack access to safe outdoor spaces where they can dream, explore and play. Green spaces play a key role in the development of sustainable, vibrant and livable communities, providing positive social, economic and environmental outcomes. Access to nature can also provide numerous health benefits, including lower stress levels, relief of ADHD-related symptoms and lower prevalence of asthma. In 2020, TNC partnered with the Saint Louis Public School District, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Dutchtown South Community Corporation, the Metropolitan Sewer District and other community stakeholders to launch a green schoolyard program. The first school in the program is Froebel Literacy Academy, located in the Gravois Park neighborhood in St. Louis. There, we’re helping convert asphalt and concrete surfaces into welcoming outdoor spaces that connect youth to nature while also absorbing and filtering rainwater.
Updates from 2023: As we approach groundbreaking in the Spring of 2024, the final pieces of this project are coming together. You can see the rendering of the submitted plans in the photo. This reimagined schoolyard will provide ample green space for the students to enjoy, while increasing much needed vegetation and habitat for wildlife and reducing the pressure on the already overstressed stormwater system. Additionally, plans for how we measure this project’s success were developed. Along with the conservation benefits that we’ll measure (increased birds, pollinators, decreased stormwater runoff), the school district has also created a scorecard to measure the academic, social and psychological well-being that this project will bring to their students.
Concept drawing of plans for Froebel elementary’s green schoolyard.
Similar to our other work taking place across the state, this project will serve as a demonstration. We will openly share our lessons learned and the outcomes from our tracked metrics. Our hope is that this project can inspire other schools to reimagine their spaces and introduce all or some aspects of this project on their own properties. TNC’s goal is to help with 10 green schoolyard conversions by 2030.
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