Chicago’s Inspirational Blue-Green School Spaces
Space to Grow is a Chicago-based initiative that works with many of the city’s low-income communities to transform underutilized schoolyards into vibrant, inspirational multifunctional spaces that connect students with nature while helping address localized flooding issues.
With Chicago Public Schools schoolyards comprising more than 760 acres of impermeable surface in highly urbanized areas, Space to Grow prioritizes the transformation of these spaces into outdoor learning spaces that encourage physical activity all the while incorporating blue-green infrastructure features that capture a significant amount of rainfall, helping keep the city’s water resources clean and resulting in less neighborhood flooding. These features include rain gardens, native plantings and gardens, permeable asphalt, permeable pavers, water storage under parking lots and turf fields, and permeable rubber play surfaces.
A unique partnership
Space to Grow is a unique partnership between two organizations that focus on different priorities: Openland focuses on connecting people with nature where they live and Healthy Schools Campaign works on making schools healthier places for children to learn and thrive. The model brings together capital funds, expertise, and leadership from Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Department of Water Management, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Space to Grow maximizes its investment from these two water agencies by designing schoolyards with blue-green infrastructure features that absorb large amounts of water.
Community involvement in the planning
Space to Grow does not provide a one-size-fits-all model to every school. Instead, it engages the entire school community to create a schoolyard that meets specific needs and serves as a source of neighborhood pride. Each space involves school staff, students, parents, and other community members providing a vision of the schoolyard while a planning committee is established to facilitate open and engaged participation. This ensures the schoolyards are designed and constructed to meet the unique needs and visions of each community. To maximize the use of these unique spaces, each Space to Grow schoolyard remains open to the community after school and on the weekend.
Integrating the space into school culture and learning
After each Space to Grow Schoolyard is completed, Openlands and Healthy Schools Campaign support the school in fully integrating their schoolyards into the school culture and learning experience. This includes community events and workshops and professional development for teachers and school staff. The professional development aspect focuses on how and why to teach outdoors as well as blue-green infrastructure workshops where participants learn how to use the new features as teaching tools. To ensure these spaces serve the school and community for many years to come, even with changes in leadership and staffing, the partners also:
- Support the development of wellness teams to incorporate the new spaces into physical education and recess plans
- Facilitate the development of garden teams to take ownership of the various gardens
- Develop parent leadership at the schools
Rotterdam delegation touring new Space to Grow Schoolyard
Recently, a delegation from Rotterdam, including Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and Dutch General Council Louis Piët, toured the new Space to Grow schoolyard at James Wadsworth Elementary School, which has a new athletic field with artificial turf, a running track, a basketball court, a playground with a rubberized surface, and vegetable gardens. Because Wadsworth is a STEM school, the students participated in the design process by creating models and drawings for their new schoolyard. More than 50% of the new surface of the schoolyard is pervious compared to the nearly 100% impervious grounds prior to construction.
The campus features a cistern capturing roof runoff, a rain garden capturing runoff from the track, and a subsurface aggregate-filled storage area holding stormwater for gradual release to the combined sewer. Below the athletic field, rain garden, and playground, there is an underground storage area consisting of 276 cubic yards of aggregate, equivalent to 400 tons or 20 truckloads. More than 130,000 gallons of rainwater is stored temporarily in the pore space between the individual aggregate and is slowly released to the sewer or infiltrated into the subsoil. In addition, students, parents, and community members greened the surface area by planting 33 trees, 42 shrubs, and 1,788 perennials.
The take-out
Blue-Green Infrastructure is best served when it involves the community in planning, connects people with nature, and provides lifelong educational opportunities.
LinkedIn Groups
Our Future Water | Urban Water Security |Blue-Green Infrastructure
Mitidaption | Our Future Water | YoungH20Leader | Urban Water Security | Robert Brears
