Schoolyard revegetation as a dual mechanism for environmental education and overheat mitigation

Abstract

Current research gaps in environmental action guidelines that tackle urban heat island effects and improve environmental education to students are identified in order to address urban and environmental challenges. This research aims to promote revegetation patterns in schoolyards through a scientific-educational strategy of planting trees, thereby increasing the shaded area and promoting environmental activities in schools in warm climates. This study provides a standardised strategy in five phases for the diagnosis, decision-making, proposal, and monitoring of tree planting, which can be replicated in multiple climatic and urban contexts. This study presents a real-life pilot experience that tests and applies this strategy in Itaca secondary school, in Southern Spain, within an H2020-European research project, in which a diagnosis of the schoolyard and an in-situ tree-planting strategy is developed by researchers together with students. The collaborative methodology is based on a multidisciplinary evaluation involving a selection of tree species and their in-situ planting by the students, thereby filling the gap with an action strategy towards greener practices in schools and highlighting key outcomes for upcoming bioclimatic policies. The results confirm an increase in the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 0.15 to 0.74 in tree-planting areas, and 91.5% of the 142 participants in the educational community have perceived this tree-planting strategy as highly satisfactory for increasing outdoor comfort. The conclusions reveal multiple insights that contribute to sustainable development goals, based on the environmental education between researchers and students and on the advantages in mitigating the effects of overheating in schoolyards.