Everyone should have access to a quality park, yet 100 million people across the county today don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. The solution to our nation’s park equity gap and a tool for community resilience to climate change is sitting in plain sight: community schoolyards.

By redesigning schoolyards—and making them accessible to the community after school and on weekends—we can connect entire neighborhoods to the benefits of a close-to-home green space. Since 1972, Trust for Public Land has worked with communities nationwide, collaborating with thousands of students, parents, schools, and neighborhoods to create hundreds of nature-rich schoolyards designed to address climate, health, and educational inequities. And now, we’re excited to start this work in Minnesota.

Across the state, there are approximately 2,500 primary and secondary schools, each with the potential to improve health, address climate, and create more equitable communities. The land on which these schools sit accounts for tens of thousands of acres, the majority publicly-owned. Unfortunately, conventional schoolyard design leaves a significant amount of potential untapped. Through our Community Schoolyards™ program, we’ll reimagine and transform these spaces to make Minnesota a healthier, safer place for everyone.