Transforming playgrounds, cultivating futures

VBS Sint-Paulus, a state-funded faith-based kindergarten through primary school in Kortrijk, Belgium, has transformed its schoolyard into a climate-adaptive space, boosting biodiversity, air quality, and CO2 storage through its innovative and ecocentric educational model. Established in 1899, the school now serves 485 students, fostering resilience, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship.

Faced with the effects of climate change, urban heat islands, and biodiversity loss, VBS Sint-Paulus launched the “Climate Playground” project in 2016. This initiative not only addresses the urban heat island effect but also enhances biodiversity, improves air quality, and increases CO2 storage through intelligent design and community involvement.

The playground features over 40 trees and 150 bushes, a rainwater collection system that significantly reduces water bills, and bird boxes that have increased local bird diversity. These efforts have transformed a former concrete space into a thriving green environment.

The leadership at VBS Sint-Paulus, guided by dedicated directors and a team of policy officers, promotes a culture of innovation and collaboration. They have garnered multiple recognitions, including the European Innovative Teaching Award and the New European Bauhaus Award.

Student engagement is a key aspect of the Climate Playground. The project has enhanced education by integrating STEAM projects, promoting social-emotional learning, and fostering curiosity through hands-on experiences. Collaborations with universities and international schools have enriched the curriculum and provided students with real-world environmental challenges and solutions. The school is also the roots of the new organisation BLES, which in two years has already helped more than 45 schools in Flanders to transform their concrete playgrounds into climate-adaptive school grounds. BLES is creating sustainable change for more than 20,000 children and youngsters.

Should VBS Sint-Paulus win the World's Best School Prize for Environmental Action, it plans to expand its vegetable garden and bee project, further integrating nature into everyday learning, and continuing to develop sustainable practices that benefit both students, teachers and the wider community.