Trust for Public Land Celebrates Groundbreaking of Four New Community Schoolyards, Increasing Green Space for Thousands of Minnesotans
MINNEAPOLIS – Today, Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced the start of construction on four new Community Schoolyard projects across Minnesota.
Newly renovated community schoolyards in Franklin Elementary in Rochester, The FAIR School in Crystal, Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School in Red Lake, and Maxfield Elementary in St. Paul are all underway – the first in the initial cohort of schools selected through TPL’s program.
“Today marks a significant step forward in our mission to ensure every Minnesotan has access to vibrant, welcoming green spaces,” said Sophie Vorhoff, Minnesota State Director at Trust for Public Land. “By transforming these four schoolyards into community hubs, we’re not only enhancing educational environments but also fostering healthier, more connected neighborhoods. These spaces will serve as vital resources for play, learning, and resilience, reflecting the unique needs and voices of each community.”
TPL officially launched the Minnesota Community Schoolyards program last year with the opening of Phase 1 at Brooklyn Center Elementary, announcing a partnership with five schools to transform their schoolyards into vibrant green spaces and social hubs that serve students and residents, including after school hours.
The four groundbreakings announced today will connect over 10,000 Minnesotans to green space within a 10-minute walk of home. The Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School serves as a cultural hub for the Red Lake community and will be TPL’s first tribal community schoolyards project in Minnesota. The school is focused on immersing youth in Ojibwe language and culture – providing holistic healing and mental health services after school hours, and hosting community events – and this space will include walking trails, a garden with medicinal plants, and more.
St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood was the center of the Twin Cities’ Black community for much of the 20th century until the planning of I-94 ripped through the heart of the neighborhood, displacing nearly 650 families, Black businesses, and community spaces. The new schoolyard at Maxfield Elementary will bring 8,000 people who live within a 10-minute walk to green space to play and learn and will reinvigorate the neighborhood’s spirit.
“The new Maxfield Elementary schoolyard is more than just a green space—it’s a symbol of the Rondo neighborhood’s resilience and renewal. This project brings healing and hope to a community long impacted by displacement, offering a vibrant and inclusive space for families to come together for a brighter future,” said Dr. Leslie Hitchens, Principal of Maxfield Elementary.
The FAIR School Crystal focuses on building skills in students like creativity and critical thinking, finding new ways for students to play, learn, and grow. Community schoolyards are an effective solution to park access that promotes a healthy lifestyle, while reducing educational disparities and improving educational outcomes. This renovated schoolyard will incorporate science, nature, and art into curriculums.
“At FAIR School Crystal, we’re committed to nurturing creativity and a sense of community and this new Schoolyard Garden is a powerful example of how community collaboration, creativity, and outdoor learning can come together,” said Jennifer Holtgrewe, Assistant Principal at FAIR. “It’s more than just a garden—it’s a living outdoor classroom that incorporates science, nature, and art into every child’s school day experience. This is a space to grow and is a legacy of community creativity. By opening our FAIR Crystal Community Schoolyard space to the neighborhood, we’re not only supporting student success but also creating a healthier, more equitable community for all.”
And Dr. Teri Staloch, Superintendent of Robbinsdale Area Schools stated: “This groundbreaking is a celebration of possibility—and a powerful reminder of what can happen when we engage deeply with our community. This schoolyard is for our students. It’s for our families. It’s for our neighbors. And it’s for the next generation of learners and leaders.”
Franklin Elementary serves nearly 700 K-5th grade students, who helped design the new schoolyard to include nature play, outdoor classroom, a play berm, and pollinator garden. The city of Rochester is lacking in park space with its growing population, and this new community schoolyard will be available to the whole neighborhood.
“Franklin Elementary and Montessori at Franklin is excited to announce the groundbreaking of our playground project with the Trust for Public Land,” said Sam Pearson, Principal of Franklin Elementary. “The construction this summer will add a much needed pollinator habitat along with a natural playscape to our playground. This project has been the culmination of ongoing student leadership development with the Trust for Public Land. During this experience, our students were guided through the planning and design process for our playground redesign. We are grateful for this opportunity for our school community.”
Funding for these projects was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). In addition, schoolyard renovations were made possible with public funding support from St Paul Public Schools, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Shingle Creek Watershed District, and the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry program, as well as local and national partners including the Hardenberg Foundation, St Paul and Minnesota Foundation, Donna Herzog Foundation for a Healthy Environment, and Xcel Energy Foundation.
Community Schoolyards hold endless potential to improve the daily lives of students, educators, and the surrounding community. Designed by students and neighbors, they improve learning, mitigate climate change impacts, and contribute to our physical and mental well-being.
Nationwide, 100 million people, including 28 million children, lack a park or green space within a 10-minute walk from home. It is low-income communities and communities of color that are most affected. TPL believes that transforming America’s schoolyards into shared public parks is a common-sense, cost-effective solution to the nation’s park equity problem. Opening all public schoolyards during non-school hours would put a park within a 10-minute walk of nearly 20 million people. Opening all public schoolyards during non-school hours would put a park within a 10-minute walk of nearly 20 million people.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $110 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
