Trust for Public Land Celebrates the Passage of California’s Proposition 2, Which Will Fund Green Schoolyards

SACRAMENTO, CA - Trust for Public Landapplauds the passage of California's Proposition 2, which will provide crucial funding for school renovations and repair, including the construction of green schoolyards across the state.

The passage of Proposition 2 and local bonds throughout California marks the largest investment in green schoolyards in the nation.

Proposition 2 will help local California schools update our kids' learning spaces including building green schoolyards, a simple yet revolutionary way to cool schools, improve educational outcomes, and revitalize communities. Greening schoolyards involves tearing down heat and pollution-amplifying asphalt blacktops and converting them into vibrant green spaces that significantly reduce temperatures and pollution for the local community and school.

"As California faces record heat temperatures, keeping kids cool and providing safe spaces to learn and thrive is more important than ever. We are proud to have led the fight to prioritize green schoolyards as a key strategy for improving student well-being and performance," said Vice President of the Pacific Region and California State Director Guillermo Rodriguez.

In addition to helping to keep students cool, schools that have implemented green schoolyards have seen improvements in attendance, discipline, test scores, and even higher graduation rates, but the benefits for local communities don't stop there. Greening schoolyards provide local parks for the neighboring residents and help us address the fact that one in three Californians do not live within a 10-minute walk of a park. They make communities more resilient to extreme heat and catastrophic flooding.

"Green schoolyards were critical in illustrating the value of Proposition 2 for voters from improving park access to significantly lowering temperatures compared to asphalt surfaces and improving student attendance, discipline, test scores and graduation rates."

For over fifty years, Trust for Public Land has built 350 green schoolyard projects across 23 states and continues to lead the movement to transform our nation's asphalt playgrounds into vibrant green spaces that are improving student education outcomes, community health, and climate resiliency.

In California, the Trust for Public Land has:

• Led a coalition of organizations and individuals to advocate for $1 billion for green schoolyards through this legislative session, which included Community Coalition, Green Schoolyards America, LA Neighborhood Land Trust, Latino Outdoors, Parks Now, Promesa Boyle Heights, Tree People, and parents.
• Worked with LAUSD and community partners to attain a $1.25 billion allocation for greening school infrastructure throughout Los Angeles County schools.
• Participated in the Proposition 2 coalition highlighting the positive benefits of green schoolyards to voters
• Completed green schoolyard renovations at Castellanos Elementary, Bridges Academy, Melrose Leadership Academy, Markham Elementary, and the César E. Chávez Campus.

More information on Trust for Public Land's community schoolyards program can be found here.

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About the 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 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org