Ohio Community Schoolyards® Projects

What We’re Doing
Transforming schoolyards into community hubs and quality greenspaces where everyone is welcome, even after school hours.

Our Goal
Provide close-to-home community spaces where residents can play, connect, and experience the benefits of the outdoors.

Support Our Work in Ohio

A boy wearing a face mask in a playground.

Ohio Community Schoolyards by the Numbers

Pilot schoolyard in Ohio

20+

Years of transforming schoolyards across the country

Goodbye Gray, Hello Green

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: 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 working with Ohio communities to bring these benefits closer to home.

A group of children standing on stage in front of a projection screen.

Our first Community Schoolyard in Ohio

From Asphalt to Awesome

Caledonia Elementary Schoolyard in East Cleveland will be transformed into a green oasis for the whole community to enjoy. As our first Community Schoolyards® project in Ohio, the unveiled designs were created using direct input from students, teachers, and local residents. Once complete, this new green space will include a new basketball court, musical playground instruments, jungle gym, walking trails and an outdoor classroom, and provide room for everyone to play, gather, and learn.

A group of children playing on a swing at a playground.

What is a Community Schoolyards® project?

Community Schoolyards® projects transform asphalt schoolyards into vibrant, green spaces that improve the daily lives of students, educators, and the surrounding community. These spaces are designed with community at their cores, helping address health needs, park equity, and the effects of climate change like heat and flooding. These green spaces are:

Park-like Places
Packed with trees, fun play structures, gathering spaces, athletic facilities, public art, and climate-smart features, these schoolyards act as community hubs everyone can enjoy.

Designed by the Community
These schoolyards are designed by working hand-in-hand with residents, students, teachers, and administrators through a dynamic participatory design process.

Designed with Intention
Community schoolyards promote healthy lifestyle, reduce educational disparities, and improve educational outcomes, while making vulnerable communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Welcoming to Everyone
These green spaces stay open after school hours and are built to reflect the culture of the local community they serve, ensuring these spaces welcoming and well-loved by all.

Get in Touch with Our Ohio Team

Cleveland Office

1250 Old River Road
Suite 202
Cleveland, OH, 44113
(216) 928-7518
(216) 928-7519
ohio@tpl.org

Sean Terry

Associate Vice President, Ohio State Director

(216) 928-7518
sean.terry@tpl.org