Advancing Green Schoolyards: Equity Leadership and Project Based Learning

Abstract

Green schoolyards are described as an intervention implemented at an educational facility designed to incorporate nature into a child’s environment to integrate natural elements that support local climate, ecology, and youth development (van den Bogerd, 2023). Despite the many benefi ts of green spaces to youth, development designs and approaches to this educational strategy are inconsistent. Implementation and integration barriers exist universally in both areas of the strategic planning (or leadership) of these eff orts and of the involvement of young people in the design and implementation of these initiatives. Tools and evaluations are available to assess the quality of greenspaces as pedagogies, such as the key components identifi ed in the Green Schoolyard Evaluation Tool (GSET). However, while these components are robust in many technical areas of a green school yard, the conceptualization lacks some context in terms of connections to classroom learning and school administrator leadership that can build and leverage green school yards for all. Bringing in project based learning (PBL), specifi cally the 4 Levers of Equity, elevates the impact of these schoolyards into students’ lived and shared experiences. Mapping Principles of Intentional Equity across PBL and green school yard components provide a context for school leadership to create and support the infrastructure as well as the curriculum of green school yards. An integrative model also enhances the likelihood of expanding green school yards to urban schools and populations.