You probably remember the tiled playground at your primary school. If you were lucky, there was a climbing frame or a swing somewhere. But there were a lot of tiles. The province is now making 1 million euros available to green playgrounds. “It costs more maintenance, but it is completely worth it,” says director Hilda Delacourt of De Wegwijzer in Teteringen.
According to the province, playing outside in green areas is good for the development of children. And this is confirmed by development pedagogue Jael Nouhet from Tilburg. “Research has proven that it really matters how green a children’s playing environment is.”
As a Nature Pedagogue, Jael provides advice to schools about the added value of a green play environment and how they can apply it educationally. “When people see plants and nature, it calms them down.” According to him, removing quite a few tiles on the playground is very important.
“Children have more opportunities to play.”
“More nature also means more playfulness. It even means less arguing on the playground,” Jael continues. But just planting a few trees here and there is not enough. Variation in playground equipment also has a positive effect on children. “Variation in high and low gives children more play options. Just think of climbing or hide and seek.”
In recent years, the province has often made money available for ‘greening’. One of the schools that used the subsidy is De Wegwijzer primary school from Teteringen.
“There is now something for everyone, children play more and are less bored,” says director Hilda Delacourt. “We have divided the schoolyard into different zones. For example, there is a mess zone and a sports zone. All classes also have their own vegetable garden.”
“The maintenance is completely worth it.”
The only disadvantage to such a green playground, according to Hilda, is maintenance. “With a tile playground you never have to maintain it. For example, we now have to replenish our play area with wood chips every year. But the maintenance is completely worth it.”
A school that applies for a subsidy must have a plan for the schoolyard and can then receive a maximum of 10,000 euros. Jael Nouhet thinks it is good that the province is making so much money available. “There is a lot of progress in this area. In Tilburg, a large part of the schoolyards are already green.”
Sometimes it’s not just a matter of money. “The director of a school has to want to do it,” says Jael. “They sometimes don’t like it in terms of safety or dirtiness.” And he thinks that’s a shame because not only the school, but also nature benefits from a green schoolyard. “A green environment allows water to be better absorbed into the soil. The greenery also means it is less warm on the playground.”
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