Making the Case
Why do green schoolyards matter and what are their benefits? These materials will help you align your future or current ways of thinking with new allies.
Health & Wellness Advocacy
Adequate & Equitable U.S. PK-12 Infrastructure: Priority Actions for Systemic Reform
Identifies 55 priority actions for systemic PK–12 infrastructure reform
- Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent
- The Center for Cities + Schools at University of California - Berkeley
- 2017
America After 3PM: How are kids spending their time after school?
This website shows data trends of after-school program participation
- Afterschool Alliance
Asphalt to ecosystems: Design ideas for schoolyard transformation
A guide for transforming ordinary asphalt and turf grass schoolyards into vibrant ecosystems
- Sharon Danks
- Green Schoolyards America
- 2010
Case Study: Increasing Physical Activity Opportunities in Mississippi
Shared use agreements help Mississippi communities increase physical activity on schoolyards.
- Voices for Healthy Kids
Collaborative Work
Why do children need green school grounds? This short, compelling video can help you make your case
- International School Grounds Alliance
- 2016
Creating & Retrofitting Play Environments: Best Practice Guidelines
A resource and training tool for integrating nature into traditional playgrounds
- PlayCore
- 2009
D.C. Healthy Schools Act
State law promotes student health and wellness
- Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia
- 2010
Developing Great Schoolyards: A Handbook for Elementary Schools - 1st Edition
Elements of healthy, safe and educationally-rich schoolyards in photos with concise text
- 21st Century School Fund
- 2011
Dig, Eat & Be Healthy: A Guide to Growing Food on Public Property
Understand potential partners and agreements when seeking access to public land for growing food.
- Ben Winig, Heather Wooten
- ChangeLab Solutions
- 2013
Eduation Equity Requires modern school faciltities
Including schools in federal infrastructure funding is essential for these community assets
- Filardo, Vincent, Sullivan
- September 2018
Fair Play: Advancing Health Equity through Shared Use
A fact sheet for advancing health equity through shared use
- ChangeLab Solutions
- July 2015
Green Schoolyards: A Growing Movement Supporting Health, Education and Connection with Nature
Case studies of systemic urban schoolyard transformation yield innovative and tangible approaches for replication.
- Healthy Schools Campaign & Openlands
- 2016
Green infrastructure & health guide
This thorough guide helps make the case that green infrastructure supports human health
- Oregon Public Health Institute
- Willamette Partnership
- July 2018
Growing a Healthier DC: Greening Our Schools
Issue brief about how green schoolyards can maximize social, economic and ecological benefits in America’s capitol
- Casey Trees
- 2008
Healthy Out-of-School Time Wellness Policy Implementation Guide for Parks and Recreation Agencies
A guide with real-life examples, best practices and steps to help agencies implement a wellness policy and create sustainable site changes
- National Park and Recreation Association
Healthy communities policy guide
American Planning Association's Healthy Communities Policy Guide identifies policy ideas aimed at improving community health and quality of living through planning
- American Planning Association
- October 2017
Heat Island Cooling Strategies
Green schoolyards can reduce negative environmental impacts caused by urban heat islands.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
High Performance Landscape Guidelines 21st Century Parks for NYC
New York’s comprehensive guidelines for sustainable 21st century parks
- Design Trust for Public Space
- 2010
Learning Landscapes
Voter-approved city bond funding pays for schoolyard transformation program
- Learning Landscapes
- 2013
New York City Playgrounds
Park walkability scores and green infrastructure are used as programmatic and funding strategies for schoolyard transformation.
- The Trust for Public Land
ParkScore
An interactive tool and index that ranks America’s 100 largest cities and their park systems
- The Trust for Public Land
- 2017
Pathways for Play: Best Practice Guidelines
Creating pathways for play throughout communities promotes children’s health.
- PlayCore
- 2010
Playgrounds for All
Community benefits of schoolyard joint use programs in San Francisco and New York City
- Gail Cornwall
- City Lab
- April 2016
Playing smart: maximizing the potential of school and community property through joint use agreements
Lessons learned, templates, and agreements for joint-use of school grounds in your community
- KaBOOM!
- Public Health Law & Policy
Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play
Concise scientific evidence about the benefits of outdoor and risky play
- Susan Herrington, Dr. William Pickett
- ParticipACTION
- 2015
Preventing Obesity by Design
Designing outdoor environments with children’s health and wellbeing in mind
- Natural Learning Initiative at the College of Design, North Carolina State University
- 2009
Providence Public Schools Health and Wellness Policy
A school district’s goals and guidelines for health and wellness of the entire school community
- Providence Public School District
- August 2017
Risk in Play and Learning Declaration
A call to action that school grounds should not be as safe as possible but as safe as necessary
- International School Grounds Alliance
- September 2017
School board advocacy toolkit
Get a better understanding of how to advocate about school sustainability to school boards
- Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council
- July 2018
School garden development guide
School garden design guidelines from the Palm Beach County School District
- Palm Beach County School District
- 2016
Shade for Kids - A Policy Primer for School Boards
Six steps school boards can take to safeguard children’s health by improving shade on schoolyards
- Evergreen
State farm to school legislative survey: 2002-2014
National inventory of state farm to school legislation that can support green schoolyards
- National Farm to School Network
- 2015
State memos on shared use liability
Analysis and examples of state liability laws provide guidance for designing shared use policies.
- ChangeLab Solutions
- 2014
Steps To A School Garden
Resources for every step of managing school gardens
- Collective School Garden Network
- 2015
Strategies for recess in schools
National guidance, considerations and strategies for recess advocacy in schools
- SHAPE America—Society of Health and Physical Educators
- 2017
Teaching in Your Garden
A collection of skills-building curricula to activate schoolyard gardens
- The Kitchen Community
The Case for Healthy Places - Improving Health Outcomes through Placemaking
Case studies exemplify ways of improving public health and equity through placemaking
- Project for Public Spaces
- 2016
The Power and Potential of Green Schoolyards
District-wide green schoolyard programs can address complex community problems.
- Sharon Danks
- Children & Nature Network
- 2014
The Whole-School Sustainability Framework: Guiding Principles for Integrating Sustainability Into All Aspects of a School Organization
The case for green schoolyards as part of a whole-school sustainability framework.
- Stephanie K. Barr, Jennifer E. Cross, Brian H. Dunbar
- The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council
- 2014
Tools of Engagement: A Toolkit for Engaging People in Conservation
Strategic steps in community design processes can increase stakeholder support.
- Audubon
- 2017
Transforming Outdoor Learning in Schools: Lessons from the Natural Connections Project
Champions the value and impact of well-planned, regular outdoor learning based on work with 125 schools
- Plymouth University
- 2016
Unlocking collaborative solutions to water challenges in the Los Angeles region: the power of schools
An exploration of a multi-agency partnership to collect stormwater on schoolyards
- Weinstein Bloome, Lipkis
- TreePeople
- January 2015
Unlocking the Doors to Healthier Kids and Communities
Data to build decision maker awareness of how shared use agreements promote physical activity for families
- American Heart Association
- Voices for Healthy Kids
Using State Laws and Regulations to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) in Afterschool Programs
This report focuses on the potential benefits and unintended consequences of state policies specifically focused on Out-of-School-Time (OST) programs.
- Jean Wiecha, PhD, Kristen Capogrossi, PhD
- National Park and Recreation Association
- November 2016
What is health equity? And what difference does a definition make?
Health equity may be a local lever for green schoolyard program development.
- Paula Braveman, Elaine Arkin, Tracy Orleans
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- 2017
Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child
The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model coordinates policy, process and practice to improve learning and health.
- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
- 2014
Wisconsin’s New Liability Law: Protecting schools that provide community recreational use of school grounds
Wisconsin law affords liability protection for school grounds open to community recreational use.
- Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
- 2013
