A refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda has been introduced. This national framework is designed to align and accelerate a growing movement of communities reimagining schoolyards as nature-rich spaces that support learning, health, climate resilience and community connection.
Often referred to as “green schoolyards,” “community schoolyards” or “living schoolyards,” these spaces transform underused often asphalt school grounds into publicly accessible green infrastructure that serves children during the school day and neighborhoods during non-school hours—helping connect families to nearby park access where it is often limited.
The Green Schoolyards Action Agenda articulates a shared vision: by 2050, all U.S. communities offer access to green schoolyards that enhance children’s healthy development, strengthen community well-being and deliver positive environmental outcomes—particularly in communities most impacted by climate change, extreme heat, flooding and historic disinvestment.
“Nature-filled green schoolyards are a multi-solving solution that address urgent needs—supporting children’s well-being and academic success, while bolstering community resilience in the face of climate change,” said Priya Cook, Children & Nature Network’s director of Green Schoolyards and Communities. “When community members and cross-sector leaders work together to bring nature to schoolyards, these spaces provide students, families, educators and neighbors a place to decompress in nature, to be curious and active, and to gather.”
The Children & Nature Network provides technical assistance and field-building support to expand the number of schoolyards and leaders enabling children, educators and families to thrive in nature-filled, neighborhood public spaces. With dozens of community teams around the U.S. and the world, the Children & Nature Network supports visionary cross-sector teams in advancing policy, funding and partnership approaches that fundamentally change systems by integrating nature connection into children’s everyday lives.
The Green Schoolyards Action Agenda update was led by the Children & Nature Network in partnership with Trust for Public Land, KABOOM!, and more than 30 advisers, whose expertise spans diverse fields including children’s health, school district facilities, research, climate resilience and community organizing. Supported by more than 200 organizations and individual leaders, the refreshed Action Agenda builds on years of implementation and learning across the field, including large-scale community schoolyard efforts, shared-use policies, and integrated approaches spanning education, public health, climate resilience and park access. It draws on lessons and research from the original Green Schoolyards Action Agenda, which debuted in 2017.
Trust for Public Land has played a leading role in advancing community schoolyards nationwide, helping transform more than 350 schoolyards across 26 states, including in New York City, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Designed to remain open to the public during non-school hours, these schoolyards serve as essential neighborhood green spaces—connecting people to the outdoors, supporting physical and mental health, reducing extreme heat and helping cities expand park access.
“More than 100 million people—nearly 28 million of them children—still don’t have access to a park close to home, and community schoolyards are one of the most effective ways to close that gap,” said Danielle Denk, Trust for Public Land’s National Community Schoolyards senior director. “The refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda gives cities and partners a shared framework to scale this strategy nationwide—unlocking the full potential of schoolyards as essential infrastructure for health, climate resilience and equitable access to nature.”
For nearly three decades, KABOOM! has worked alongside communities to address playspace inequity and ensure kids have safe, inspiring places to play. Building on years of community-led design and construction of playgrounds, KABOOM! has been at the forefront of transforming dozens of traditional asphalt schoolyards into nature-rich playspaces that support physical activity, learning, and well-being in cities like Oakland and Atlanta.
“Access to nature should not be a privilege. It should be a promise we keep to every child,” said Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM!. “By reimagining schoolyards as vibrant green spaces, we’re unlocking opportunities for kids to learn, play, and grow while strengthening the resilience of entire communities. This is a call to action to come together and ensure every child, in every neighborhood, has daily access to the power of nature.”
The refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda offers a practical tool for alignment—helping practitioners, policymakers, funders and advocates connect local action to national momentum. As part of the launch, partners will explore what’s new in the agenda, how it reflects lessons from across the field, and how organizations and leaders can sign on and help advance green schoolyards at scale.
To learn more about the Green Schoolyards Action Agenda or to add your organization’s support, visit greenschoolyardsactionagenda.org.