{"id":26781,"date":"2025-05-05T14:33:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T18:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/?p=26781"},"modified":"2025-05-05T14:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T18:33:15","slug":"5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Why Green Schoolyards Earn an A+"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The TurfMutt Foundation\u2019s STEM-oriented lesson plans<\/span><\/strong><\/a> are teaching science in schoolyards and backyards. The foundation has advocated for the care and use of green spaces around us for over 15 years, and they say green schoolyards earn an A+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green schoolyards are park-like\u2014characterized by trees, grassy areas, flowering plants for pollinator support, other spaces for outdoor learning, and areas showcasing living plants and vegetation. Green schoolyards benefit the children who use them by improving mental health, physical health, and learning outcomes. But they are good for the environment as well because they capture rainwater, slow runoff, and clean the air that students breathe. They also help connect fragmented ecosystems within a community, providing habitat and food for local wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The TurfMutt Foundation is offering free lesson plans<\/span><\/strong><\/a> aligned to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) standards for Grades K\u20138. The program has reached more than 70 million kids, teachers, and families with its youth education materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the TurfMutt Foundation, here are five reasons why green schoolyards are at the head of the class:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Improved Learning Outcomes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Taking lessons outside can help students be more attentive to learning, and kids gain attention and working memory benefits when they are exposed to greenery. Children who have access to living landscapes are likely to perform better academically in science, math and language arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Better Mental Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A systematic review of six studies shows that even passive nature engagement (greenness around schools, for example) has the potential to positively impact children\u2019s attention capacity, mood, and memory. Additionally, views of green landscapes have been proven to help high schoolers recover from attention fatigue and stress.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3.<\/strong> Better \u201cSoft Skills\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Green schoolyards or schools with access to green spaces promote outdoor learning, which can help children develop important competencies for the future, including social and critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Reduced Behavior Issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Children who attend schools in greener areas are at lower risk of having attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Additionally, kindergarteners\u2014especially girls\u2014who spent more time in green schoolyards and in the outdoors in general showed higher gains in self-regulation than those who did not have as much exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n

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5. Community Benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Incorporating factors such as school attendance and academic scores, carbon sequestration and rainwater retention, and overall community health and public safety, a recent report estimated that communities can reap a more than $3 return for every $1 invested in green schoolyards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGreen spaces are healthier places for all of us, long known to relieve stress and anxiety, and we encourage educators and school administrators to lean into the value of these living landscapes,\u201d says Kris Kiser, President & CEO of The TurfMutt Foundation<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. \u201cWe have a number of resources to help them teach students to become environmental superheroes like TurfMutt, using their own schoolyards as outdoor learning labs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Green schoolyards benefit the children who use them by improving mental health, physical health, and learning outcomes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4129,3274,2997],"tags":[3008],"class_list":{"0":"post-26781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education-news","8":"category-environmental-education","9":"category-stem","10":"tag-teaching-resource"},"yoast_head":"\n5 Reasons Why Green Schoolyards Earn an A+ - TEACH Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Green schoolyards benefit the children who use them by improving mental health, physical health, and learning outcomes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons Why Green Schoolyards Earn an A+\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Green schoolyards benefit the children who use them by improving mental health, physical health, and learning outcomes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TEACH Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/teachmag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-05T18:33:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TurfMutt_Green_Schoolyards_Twitter.jpg?_t=1746469995\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"TEACH Mag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@teachmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@teachmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"TEACH Mag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"TEACH Mag\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a956cd84e1922ce6782c8f7e9a20b857\"},\"headline\":\"5 Reasons Why Green Schoolyards Earn an A+\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-05T18:33:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/\"},\"wordCount\":470,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TurfMutt_Green_Schoolyards.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Teaching Resource\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education News\",\"Environmental Education\",\"STEM\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/5-benefits-of-green-schoolyards\/\",\"name\":\"5 Reasons Why Green Schoolyards Earn an A+ - 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