Green Roofs and Walls at More Schools
We wanted to provide you with a link to a few articles (from late 2015, 2020, and 2022) regarding the ability for green roofs and walls in schools to directly benefit students, teachers, staff, communities, and the overall school brand. We mentioned these articles in our third blog. Here are our favourite excerpts from those articles too. Thanks for reading!
Green walls in schools - The potential well-being benefits - ScienceDirect
This paper explores the potential benefits of implementing interior green walls in schools on the anxiety, stress, mood and well-being of children.
The key findings indicate that nature elements do immediately reduce levels of stress, anxiety and increase well-being and mood.
This research highlights the benefits of introducing nature elements into the built environment in order to increase well-being for elementary school age children, however, further research is required to ensure these benefits are maximised.
The increase in mental health disorders in children highlights the need for further research to be conducted on child well-being and as children spend more time in school than any other indoor environment outside of the home.
Their findings suggest interior green walls may have the ability to help recuperate students stress levels.
Green walls could have the ability to involuntarily ‘distract’ students from complex academic work and allow them to reflect on the problem. Alternatively, the soft fascination of the green walls could be the ‘distraction’ required for students to reflect on personal problems.
green walls can be integrated into the curriculum to enhance education and behaviour.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether greenery and impervious surfaces surrounding schools are associated with student internalizing and externalizing problems.
Research indicates that natural features surrounding schools are associated with better academic achievement, enhanced focus, and reduced stress in students. However, few studies have examined the associations between school landscape elements and anxiety, depression, and behavioral concerns in students.
Conclusion: Increased impervious surfaces around schools in metropolitan areas were related to increased student externalizing behaviors. Further studies are necessary to understand the significance of the built environment, types of greenery, impact of greenery on student adjustment in nonmetropolitan settings, and varying areas surrounding schools. These results could inform initiatives to improve school landscapes.
Living Architecture at U of T | University of Toronto (utoronto.ca)
Jess Dawe of the Sustainability Office takes a tour of the green walls and roofs at U of T's downtown campus
“People need to experience green roofs and walls first-hand to understand why they're good for our health, environment and communities,”
Green roofs help with rainwater management by providing a permeable structure to absorb rain water, directing it away from overflowing sewers. They’re also great for pollinators because they increase vegetative space in the city; an otherwise lifeless concrete footprint can become a hotspot for pollinators if the right flowers are planted.
Canadians are estimated to spend upwards of 90 per cent of their time indoors
walls are biological systems whose main function is to improve air quality. They help filter out volatile organic compounds – chemicals found in homes and offices that can lead to short-term and long-term health problems.
Being near green and naturalized spaces is shown to enhance worker productivity, lower stress levels and contribute enhanced mental well-being.