Since 2016 Austin has been part of the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative, a partnership initiative of the National League of Cities and the Children and Nature Network working towards more equitable access to nature for the children of Austin. One of the strategies CCCN Austin has incorporated is green school parks, using joint use agreements between the city and Austin ISD to place nature-rich green spaces in under-served communities. As part of this initiative, Austin has developed a unique assessment tool that has been used by the City of Austin Green School Parks CCCN subcommittee to get baseline information on all of our joint-use school properties. Participants will learn how the Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, and the Austin Parks Foundation are trying to scale the Green School Parks initiative with other community partners. The comprehensive assessment of green schoolyard features, school/community activation and vision for the schoolyards, and professional development needs are creating a baseline for scaling the program. Hear lessons learned in our process and how we have identified challenges and successes at our schools that help to determine their “nature scoreâ€.
