Only 6 percent of Newark, New Jersey, is used for parks and recreation. And with a population around 300,000 people, there’s a clear need to increase that percentage significantly. Trust for Public Land has worked on several projects across Newark, and one currently in the works goes by the name of Broadway Marin Park.

Trust for Public Land is working with the City of Newark and officials from the Luis Muñoz Marín Elementary School to revitalize the Marín schoolyard space. At its core, the goal of this project is to create a space for the community to gather, play, and feel safe doing so. Within that goal is a dream to build an outdoor classroom space and place for students to engage with nature.

The school is located next to an industrial site on one side of Broadway Park, but the schoolyard is separated from that green space. The school tapped TPL to help revitalize the space, as the vacant lots near the school have historically attracted unwanted activity in the neighborhood.

Trust for Public Land is increasingly focused on building and revitalizing schoolyards across America.