Heemstede schoolyard sunproof and heatproof within a year
Over the next fifteen years, ten schools in Heemstede have to undergo renovation work. Therefore the municipality has provided a school building to serve as a temporary location for these schools. In addition to being green and playful, the schoolyard next to the building was rendered sunproof and heatproof. This was co-funded by the ZonMw healthcare funding organisation and the GGD community health service, because heat and UV radiation resulting from climate change pose increasing risks, especially for children.
Photo: Temporary school location with shade cloths in the municipality of Heemstede. Photographer: Adapteo
What measures were taken?
The municipality planted trees and hung shade cloths, while the GGD Kennemerland community health service provided lesson kits and information:
- Trees and shade cloths
The schoolyard was planted with young trees, which still need to grow in order to provide shade. Until such time, shade cloths provide protection. - Lesson kit and information
The GGD Healthy School consultant introduced the Dutch Skin Fund lesson kit to the school currently occupying the temporary school building. Teachers were provided with posters, sunscreen application instructions and a set time for sunscreen application during the daily schedule. Parents received newsletters with tips to protect their children outside school hours. The strategy worked well. For example, school children now know that sunscreen is not just something to be used on holiday. - Showcase for ten schools
The temporary schoolyard is being used by a total of ten schools. Thus, they all experience the benefits of a sunproof and heatproof schoolyard. Upon their return to their own buildings and schoolyards, the schools will take this knowledge and experience with them.
A great deal accomplished collectively in a short period of time
It was striking that responsibility for the project was collectively borne by the municipality, the schools and the community health service, and that the project ran for less than a year but still accomplished a great deal. In part, this can be attributed to the support from the ZonMw healthcare funding organisation and an additional grant from the KWF Dutch Cancer Society. In addition, the initiators signed the Zonvenant declaration of intent to prevent skin cancer, which provided them with ready-made communication materials.
Lessons learned
Are you interested in setting up a similar project? The municipality, schools and community health service have the following tips:
- Fixing up schoolyards is not always covered by municipal budgets. Permanently keeping schoolyards sunproof and heatproof needs to be set down in policy, such as via a municipal Play Vision or Accommodation Plan.
- The municipality, the schools and the GGD community health service joining forces worked out well. However, the GGD did not join the project until its implementation. The efforts might have been even more effective if the GGD had been involved right from the start.
- The temporary schoolyard proves that a fully sun-safe schoolyard can be realised within a single school year. In order to have the schoolyard serve as a showcase, physical measures, education and policy need to be addressed concurrently. This will ensure that in the future, sun protection, rather than remaining limited to a single location, will be a standard feature of schoolyards in the municipality.
Contact
Jessica Jacobs
Municipality of Heemstede
j.jacobs@heemstede.nl
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