Toronto Natural Schoolground Comparison Study

Project Overview

There is growing evidence that naturalizing schoolgrounds, by adding significant vegetation and shifting to more natural features and materials, will create conditions for more diverse and inclusive forms of play while keeping children safe from the ill effects of extreme heat, cold, wind and UV radiation. Our project takes advantage of a rare opportunity to examine the influence of a large-scale school ground naturalization project on children’s play and movement behaviors at an elementary school in Ontario. The influence of natural schoolground features will be assessed by comparing children’s play behaviors at two other schools without modified schoolgrounds.

In this natural experiment study, our primary aim is to discover the impact of a school ground naturalization intervention on children's outdoor play and movement behaviors, thermal conditions and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure. Our research has four core objectives:

1. To investigate whether naturalized school ground design, features and materials promote healthier outdoor play and movement behaviors for children than conventional school grounds

2. To determine whether the microclimatic conditions of naturalized play zones, shaped by design features and materials, better mediate seasonal and thermal influences on children’s play and movement behaviors than conventional play zones.

3. To explore whether naturalized play zones provide more hours (per day, week and season) of thermally comfortable and UV-protected play conditions than conventional play zones.

4. To communicate the connections between naturalized school ground design and children’s healthy and safe play behaviors through the dissemination of design insights.

Using observational protocols along with site- and zone-level environmental and climate data (e.g. UV radiation measures, ground and surface temps, wind and shade conditions, etc.) will allow us to pinpoint the key design features of school ground naturalization on children's outdoor play and movement behaviors, thermal conditions and exposure to UVR.

Where and with whom?

We will work with 3 schools in the same neighborhood in a Toronto (Canada) suburb city - the intervention school which received the naturalization intervention and 2 close comparator schools. All students between Grades 1-8 will participate in the study. Observational behavior mapping and environmental/climate measures will be conducted for one week at each school in both summer and winter seasons, across two years.

Expected Outcomes

This project offers a unique opportunity to revolutionize how we use evidence to design school grounds to promote children's health and well-being. Our project will support the creation of high-quality research evidence to create schoolground design guidelines and support investments in schoolgrounds that promote children’s healthy development. Our collaborator and knowledge user, Evergreen, is a not-for-profit and recognized leader in school ground design with over 30 years of experience and a successful track record for driving change. They bring valuable real-world experience to this project as designers of the school ground naturalization project under study, and will be key users and disseminators of findings.

Ultimately, the project will provide school boards, municipalities and other knowledge users with crucial information about how naturalizing schoolgrounds can contribute to supporting outdoor play and, ultimately, children's health and development. The project is also expected to generate guidance and tools to support naturalized schoolyard design.