The OASIS approach aimed to dedicate 20-30% of the total area to nature. To achieve this goal, a wide range of different solutions and materials have been used in the transformed schoolyards. Large portions of the existing asphalt have been removed from the schoolyards and substituted with natural materials such as soil, wood chips, sand, or vegetation.
Almost every schoolyard of the OASIS kindergartens and elementary schools has vegetable gardens for the pupils, and their teachers have accommodated their curriculum to include relevant classes for gardening and learning about biodiversity. In doing so, vegetated areas are maintained primarily by the pupils and the educators while also the schoolyard becomes a welcoming environment for urban flora and fauna. Moreover, low-cost nature-based solutions such as small rain gardens and swales for stormwater management and water tanks that collect stormwater for irrigation have been created in the schoolyards.
©Martin Hendel
Climate adaptation
