Executive Summary

Outdoor activity and time spent in nature are essential for physical, mental, and social development in early childhood. But across the United States., millions of children in Black, Brown, Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, and low-income communities lack access to great outdoor play-spaces.

Community Schoolyards™ are the solution. Trust for Public Land supports under-represented communities in transforming their schools’ unsafe, uninspiring, asphalt facilities into vibrant, nature-rich neighborhood parks designed by and for children, families, educators, and neighbors. Together, they will co-design and build Community Schoolyards that meet the needs of students during the day and are open to the neighborhood outside school hours.

Community Schoolyards improve academic and developmental outcomes for children and deliver measurable benefits for community connectivity, physical and mental health, socioeconomic equity, and the environment. TPL has convened an unprecedented coalition to expand this impact for millions of children nationwide through systematic research, advocacy, and policy change.

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