Green Schoolyard Network Launches National Campaign

The Green Schoolyard Network is launching a national campaign to encourage the creative and sustainable development of primary and secondary school grounds. Schoolyard activists from Boston, San Francisco, New York, Houston, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Washington DC and beyond are joining together to share best practices, foster collaborative projects and to provide technical assistance to start-up programs. The Network will also empower members to speak with a collective voice on policy issues that support green schoolyards. Membership recruitment will focus upon schools, national and community-based organizations, governmental agencies, design professionals, parents, teachers, students, and concerned citizens.

Our goal is to see green schoolyards and outdoor classrooms become an integral part of public education in America. There are over 100,000 K-12 schools and over 55 million students that will benefit from the re-vitalization of these important open spaces. Currently there are hundreds, if not thousands, of existing green schoolyards that are contributing to schools and communities across the country. We are already a Movement! Now it is time to organize ourselves as one.

Please look at some of the content on this blog to see how green schoolyards are already impacting public education. In particular, read the Green Schoolyard Network Concept Paper which outlines areas in which GSN will help define and expand this emerging field. Submit a membership form (it’s free) to join with colleagues in supporting the installation of green schoolyards everywhere. And send us a comment so we can begin to have a real conversation.

This blog will eventually be part of a larger website which will help us interact to a much greater degree. We will also be co-sponsoring regional conferences and symposia as we seek to have a significant presence, through our membership, in all fifty states. I might add that this is a global movement and the Green Schoolyard Network will stay in touch with our international colleagues.

So make yourself at home. This is your Network. Add a comment to a post or contact me if you’d like to write a post to share with others. Let’s work to make sure that a green schoolyard is part of every child’s educational ecosystem.

In Solidarity,

Kirk Meyer/Executive Director

Green Schoolyard Network