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EvidentMENT és un pòdcast de divulgació científica en català realitzat per la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya i l’Institut d’Estudis Catalans, amb el suport del Departament de Recerca i Universitats de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
At a time of growing interest in the naturalizing of school playgrounds, it is important to ensure that these environments are properly designed and governed in order to reap the many benefits they can bring to schoolchildren and society in general. Researchers Filka Sekulova and Isabel Ruiz-Mallén from the Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA Lab) of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) have published an open access study that examines what goes into designing these environments in order to propose a governance solution that facilitates success at every level.
The study is based on an analysis of the design processes for green schoolyards in four cities: Barcelona (with the Transformem els patis [Transforming school playgrounds] programme), Paris, Brussels and Rotterdam. “In the four cities we’ve studied, we’ve seen that most efforts are aimed at encouraging involvement in the space design and preparation stages, but not so much during implementation and maintenance. But children tend to appreciate places more if they’ve been involved in building them, for example by doing small jobs,” said Sekulova, who led the study. “Effective collaboration between schoolchildren, parents, teachers, designers, architects, funders and local stakeholders at the different stages of a schoolyard’s creation is crucial.”
Another key factor is encouraging inclusive participation. In low-income, working-class neighbourhoods, families tend to be less involved than in more affluent areas. This is not because of a lack of interest, but because their jobs and socio-economic circumstances mean that they cannot afford to volunteer, as their main concern is often making ends meet.
“This low level of participation often leads to lower-quality green spaces in schools in these neighbourhoods. One way to address this is to offer real compensation for participation, such as a free meal or childcare services, as part of the participatory processes in these communities,” said Sekulova.
“We must dare to make wilder, unstructured spaces based on nature”
The profile of the architects and landscape designers involved is key when it comes to creating a successful space that meets the needs of both children and the community. They must be committed to education, pedagogy, landscape ecology and permaculture in general. The researchers found that “when these professionals are open to a horizontal co-creation process with experiential and artistic aspects, the outcomes are clearly better: schoolyards that are widely diverse, green and unique, places where schoolchildren can develop a sense of belonging. Conversely, when architects approach transformation processes as ‘just another urbanization project’, the resulting designs are less ambitious, more uniform and standardized, and do not encourage creative play or lead to a sense of belonging.”
When asked what green spaces should look like, Sekulova said that “we must dare to make wilder, unstructured spaces based on nature”. Science has shown (The Theory of Loose Parts, Simon Nicholson, 1972) that including loose items, such as natural and recycled materials, stimulates creativity and imagination. These green playgrounds can therefore include hills, bridges, paths and tunnels, as well as trees, shrubbery, woodchip floors or other items. As for play structures, it is advisable to install huts and climbing frames made of recycled wood (with tree trunks), amphitheatres, orchards and vegetable gardens, water and mud elements, as well as water collection infrastructure.
Such environments, which are more flexible and not over-organized, facilitate outdoor learning and foster more varied and creative play than paved playgrounds. “Studies have shown that young people who spend time in places with plant life can concentrate better and generally cope better with stressful life events, and show fewer symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity,” said Sekulova.
Despite all the benefits of children spending time in green spaces, the educational system is not currently set up to integrate the outdoors into the learning system. “Firstly, outdoor education is not part of the compulsory curriculum. What’s more, there is a general lack of training in outdoor education and it’s often seen as extra work that’s not even appreciated,” said Sekulova. The researchers suggest including outdoor learning and teaching modules in teacher training programmes, as well as providing training for current education professionals. They also say that pressure from families can be a lever for change.
In terms of next steps, Sekulova and Ruiz-Mallén -professor at the UOC’s Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences– of suggest conducting more studies on good practices, and on the factors that facilitate the use of outdoor spaces for teaching. More research is also needed on how outdoor learning improves socio-environmental awareness and general sustainability skills.
Filka Sekulova, Isabel Ruiz Mallén, The governance configurations of green schoolyards, Environmental Science & Policy, volume 156, 103752, ISSN 1462-9011 (2024): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103752
Author: Teresa Bau.
Originally published in UOC News
1. Welcome
2. Projects presentation
2.1 Urban Design and Planning for Autism. Valentina Talu, Università di Sassari – Dipartimento di Architettura, Design e Urbanistica (DADU). www.tamalaca.com
2.2 Autism Spectrum Disorder, a singular perception of the city. Marie Pieron, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Université de Paris – CNRS. www.incc-paris.fr
2.3 Play and public space….reflections from Wales. Marianne Mannello, Play Wales. www.playwales.org.uk
2.4 AutSPACEs: co-creating a citizen science platform. Georgia Aitkenhead, Helen Duncan, Bastian Greshake Tzovaras and Otis Smith, The Alan Turing Institute. www.turing.ac.uk
2.5 Activating Spaces with neuroDiverse Publics. Blanca Calvo Coixet and Raquel Colacios. Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA lab), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.
3. Discussion.
Event chaired by Ramon Ribera-Fumaz. Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA lab), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Note: Discussion was not recorded.
Agenda info: https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/agenda/2023/agenda_010.html
Project info: https://asdpublics.eu/
EIT Community New European Bauhaus ASD Publics is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
Authorship
© Authors
© CC by-sa-nc ASD Publics | BCNeuroinclusiva consortium.
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
The consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly frequent and alarming, especially in regions like the Mediterranean. This has led to an increase in the risks arising from phenomena such as heat waves, droughts, and rising temperatures in cities.
The European COOLSCHOOLS project has been launched to design possible social strategies that can contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change and improving the quality of life of citizens and of children, in particular. The three-year study is being coordinated by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), and it examines the transformative potential of nature-based solutions in European school environments by launching various actions based on developing climate shelters in schools. In total, 16 partners are involved in this project, including European municipal councils, universities, research centres, social associations and cooperatives, and international organizations.
“COOLSCHOOLS aims to investigate the kind of opportunities provided by the projects being carried out in playgrounds and school environments in Barcelona, Brussels, Paris and Rotterdam,” said Isabel Ruiz Mallén, leader of this project and a Ramón y Cajal researcher in the UOC’s Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA). The lab focuses on studying socio-environmental and technological urban changes from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective.
The actions taking place within the framework of this pioneering project aim to understand the factors and potential of these interventions for driving socio-ecological changes towards urban sustainability, climate resilience, social justice and quality education, and to make the educational community a driving force in municipal districts.
The cornerstone of these interventions is nature-based solutions. They make the most of services provided by ecosystems to meet the challenges we currently face, including climate change or pollution. For example, they look to increase green and shaded areas, use more sustainable and environmentally friendly materials or provide greater access to water.
In the specific case of Barcelona, which is located in the Mediterranean, one of the areas most affected by climate change, actions to deal with the effects of rising temperatures and increasingly frequent heatwaves will be studied with the expansion of green areas and shaded areas, and the installation of water fountains in school playgrounds and premises.
“The solutions that are being adopted aim to protect children against these and other risks arising from climate change, and to improve the schools’ adaptation to this new situation,” said Ruiz Mallén, who emphasized that the idea is to consolidate spaces in which students can “learn and feel comfortable” in a context of rising temperatures, and to minimize the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on these educational environments.
Other types of initiatives are also being carried out, such as improvements to play areas, more access to water and more sustainable furniture from various perspectives, including the gender perspective. “What we want to see based on the actions that are being carried out in these four cities is the impact that these interventions are having in terms of urban sustainability, resilience to climate change, social justice and the promotion of high-quality education,” she said.
The researchers are going to study the combination of all these interventions from a multidisciplinary approach. As a result, they will take into account the impact on biodiversity of changes in land use, and also consider health, safety, and governance. “Starting this research will enable us to evaluate aspects such as the relationship between greening spaces in playgrounds and the students’ cognitive development, the increase in pollinating insects, and the access to and use of these climate shelters by the community, among many other issues,” said Ruiz Mallén. “We are also going to investigate the potential of changes in education. With all the knowledge that is generated from the different perspectives, we will be able to produce guides and applications to make the most of its potential both in terms of inclusiveness and improved wellbeing, and take advantage of learning opportunities in terms of climate resilience.”
In this area, the UOC research group will be leading the analysis focusing on transformation of governance. Its goal is to study and determine the conditions under which climate shelters in school environments can enable governance that leads to urban transformation practices which guarantee inclusion and power sharing for the different stakeholders.
These socio-economic changes in school playgrounds aim to cause social changes in urban districts and act as catalysts for change in homes and neighbourhoods. Local governments, local cooperatives and other associations and social organizations are also involved in the project. “The participation of all these agents is necessary and crucial for achieving the objectives we are pursuing with COOLSCHOOLS,” said Ruiz Mallén.
COOLSCHOOLS has received funding of more than €1.5 million from the European JPI Urban Transformation Capacities (JPI Urban Europe) fund, in which the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) is participating. Project with reference PCI2022-132958, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union “NextGenerationEU/PRTR”.
Author: Pablo Ramos
Photo: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash
TURBA Lab, which is part of the UOC’s Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), and its researchers have inspired a group of year 5 students at the Lumen school in Terrassa to create a story about climate change and its effects. The story, which is called La Laura i en Joan lluiten contra el canvi climàtic (Laura and Joan Fight Against Climate Change), has won the Science Story competition organized by the Department of Universities and Research of the Government of Catalonia. Under the terms of the competition, participants had to get Laura and Joan, the main characters of the story, to research a topic chosen by the students.
A teacher from the school in Terrassa suggested that the children submit a story inspired by TURBA Lab. Once the winner had been announced, the Government of Catalonia asked the research group to revise the story from a scientific point of view and replace the characters’ names with those of real researchers. The work, which tells a story on how urban greenery helps reduce the effects of climate change in cities, will be illustrated and published in both printed and digital formats. In addition, a scientific education activity with researchers is scheduled to be held at the school in late April.
Mar Satorras, one of the TURBA Lab researchers involved in revising the story, explained that the initiative ties in well with the group’s aim to focus on “science for society and with society” and to try to ensure that the science they work on is “co-produced with other players” both in feedback sessions following results and by involving them in the entire research process. It is precisely along these lines that the group is planning to hold a workshop with TURBA researchers at the Terrassa school with the goal of bringing science to the classroom.
Thinking of “small actions” to do at school
These TURBA Lab researchers are also planning to work with Lumen school students on some of the effects of climate change that may affect them in Terrassa, such as higher temperatures, droughts and floods. The idea, as explained by Satorras, is to gather “small ideas” at school to help reduce the impact of climate change. These actions can range from trying to provide more shade in the playground to actions such as decorating classroom windows. The aim is to suggest ideas that are “possible based on children’s creativity, experience and imagination”.
This approach ties in with Rescities, a project coordinated by TURBA Lab and funded by the State Research Agency that focuses on urban resilience and community initiatives to fight the effects of climate change. Satorras said that the idea of working with the students in Terrassa is to “incorporate the perspective of how to empower them so they can play an active role when it comes to acting against climate change”. This shows how members of the public themselves respond to the effects of this phenomenon “and how imagination can be used to everyone’s benefit”.
New generations with greater awareness
Isabel Ruiz Mallén, head of co-creation research at TURBA Lab, sees the fact that a UOC research group working on environmental issues has been chosen by the school in Terrassa as positive and noted that, in recent years, issues such as climate change have “made a deep impression on young people” as a result of factors such as the media coverage of activist Greta Thunberg, and that this interest is also growing among younger children. As Ruiz Mallén explained, projects such as green schools “provide environmental education, teaching students from a very early age and making them more aware of the need to look after the environment”. The new generations are proving, with movements such as Fridays for Future, that they have taken on a “more activist role” in this field, she added.
Author: Joan Antoni Guerrero Vall (originallly published in UOC News)