Children’s participation in school ground greening planning influences functionality; participation in management phases results in student engagement and satisfactionThis study investigated the outcomes of children’s participation in school ground greening from the children’s own perspectives. The aim was to understand children’s meaning making during the process of planning, planting, management, and maintenance of vegetation on school grounds.
Two Swedish elementary schools participated in the study. Pavement dominated the grounds at one school (the Grey school), while grounds of the other school (the Green school) included both green and paved areas. Qualitative methods -- consisting of observations and short interviews with children and staff --were used to collect data over a four-year period. Participatory observations were conducted during planning meetings before the greening projects started. After that, observations and interviews were conducted on the school grounds during recess, usually close to newly-developed vegetation areas. A semi-structured, informal format was used for the small group interviews. Children were asked about their experiences relating to use of the vegetation areas, their participation in developing the school grounds, and rules relating to the new vegetation areas. Teacher interviews included questions about the use of the vegetation areas and attitudes about the areas.
The approaches to children’s participation and related pedagogy during the greening process differed between the schools. These differing approaches influenced the children’s use and experiences of their school grounds. The activities at the Grey school were adult initiated, yet the children were active participants in the planning and planting phases. Their involvement, however, did not continue during the maintenance and further development stages of the project; and this was frustrating to some of the children. Overall, the children seemed generally pleased with the newly-planted areas and used them on a frequent basis.
Children’s participation at the Green school was more limited. While the children provided some input through drawings during the planning process, their actual involvement during this phase was more ‘tokenism’ than actual participation. They were, however, more involved in both planting and maintenance, due primarily through the teachers’ initiatives. The children seemed proud of their school grounds even though the results did not correspond to what they had wanted or asked for. Additionally, the new vegetation was either too dispersed or did not have sufficient qualities to attract children’s attention and use during the first years of the project.
Children’s participation during the planning stage appears to be of specific importance for how children use school grounds during and after a greening project. Children’s long-term participation in management and maintenance can also affect children’s experiences and perspectives regarding school greening initiatives. These results highlight the importance of including children in all phases of school ground greening for them to fully appreciate and benefit from the experience. These results also confirm previous research findings indicating that green design in itself is not enough to promote participatory learning activities in primary school children. The role of adults and children’s relations to the adults are crucial.
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