About Cool Schools Yolo County

The Cool Schools Program™ connects students and teachers to nature through expansive tree planting and the creation of fun, experiential outdoor learning and play areas.

The program is designed to highlight the importance of environmental stewardship and help teachers instill a life-long love of exploration and appreciation for nature in their students.

Program benefits include:

• Increasing tree canopy coverage to at least 30%, helping to cool schoolyards which tend to be some of the hottest, most treeless spaces in many urban areas.
• Hands-on outdoor learning, social emotional and play opportunities with nature-based educational resources provided for students and teachers.
• Improved academic performance as research shows that students who spend time outside are better able to concentrate, think critically and stay on-task

Each campus transformation will be unique and designed to meet the students’ specific educational needs with special attention to reducing extreme heat, provision of shade to students during recess and outdoor learning, air quality improvement, stormwater management, water quality, and improvement of public health and educational outcomes.

Design elements can include outdoor learning areas, natural playgrounds, nature trails, educational signage, nature-inspired art features, green infrastructure such as rain gardens, pocket forests, arboretums and much more.

Outdoor learning areas can include science elements (nature, taking measurements, or movement-based), presentation areas (large group gathering or pod seating), or social-emotional elements (labyrinth, sensory path, or musical instruments). Play or fitness areas can include heat-safe playgrounds, nature-play areas, nature trails, fitness stations, or active social areas for tween/older students.

Tree planting with a focus on native or drought tolerant trees and shrubs can be planted to address urban heat, be used as a carbon sink (micro forest), for screening or beautification, to attract wildlife (bird attraction tree groves) or as an educational area (arboretum or agroforest). Other greening efforts to address stormwater management or habitat areas could include infiltration gardens (bioswales), butterfly/pollinator garden, cactus garden, traditional garden beds, bird attraction areas, or mini prairies.

Landscaping, design and construction of the new outdoor learning and play areas will be managed by studioOutside, which has been partnering with TTF for the Cool Schools Program™ for eight years.

• Texas Trees Foundation (TTF) is a nationally recognized leader in developing urban forestry programs to improve the health and well-being of urban communities.
  • TTF has a proven track record with the Cool Schools Program™, which launched in 2015 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. To date, the program has been implemented in 25 schools with an additional 20 sites planned, serving more than 20,000 students.

We anticipate this will be a two-year process from launch to completion.

• Planning and design for the schoolyard transformations will span through 2024.
• Nature-based construction and expansive greening will span through 2025.
• Full implementation with students and teachers utilizing the space will be early 2026.
• The maintenance phase will begin in 2026 and continue until the end of 2028.

The schools were selected by qualifying in accordance with CAL-FIRE’s grant requirements, which center equity by prioritizing schools and districts in under-served communities with the highest socioeconomic need, fewest trees, and hottest climates.

Texas Trees Foundation built upon existing relationships to partner with the Washington Unified School District and Woodland Joint Unified School District.

Each district identified five campuses they considered most eligible for the program, considering:

• Aggregate score of 75 or more through CalEnviroScreen for pollution burden.
• More than 70% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
• Comprehensive campus tour.

• Research shows that access to nature and outdoor learning spaces can result in the following:
  • Students exhibit fewer symptoms of ADHD, depression and anxiety.
  • Students display better concentration and improved on-task behavior, providing teachers with enhanced instructional opportunities by minimizing the time spent re-engaging or reprimanding students.¹
  • Students’ personal development is enhanced through the cultivation of perseverance, critical thinking, leadership and communication skills.²
  • Natural environments in schools allow students to replenish their attention resources more effectively and experience reduced stress and fatigue, leading to a greater sense of restoration.³

¹Francis Norwood, M., Lakhani, A., & Kendall, E. (2021). Teaching traditional indoor school lessons in nature: The effects on student learning and behaviour. Landscape and Urban Planning, 206, 103963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103963

²Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do experiences with nature promote learning? Converging evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305

³Amicone, G., Petruccelli, I., De Dominicis, S., Gherardini, A., Costantino, V., Perucchini, P., & Bonaiuto, M. (2018). Green breaks: The restorative effect of the school environment’s green areas on children’s cognitive performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01579

• Texas Trees Foundation will work with urban forestry partners in Yolo County (Tree Davis and Woodland Tree Foundation) to ensure that the trees planted on school grounds are low-maintenance and of a species that are known to do well in the local environment.
• In addition, the urban forestry organizations will provide education to school maintenance staff on how to properly care for the trees.
• For three years after implementation, Texas Trees Foundation will work with the local urban forestry partners to monitor the health and irrigation of the trees, track canopy coverage and measure carbon sequestration.

• While green schoolyard programs are not new to California, the Cool Schools Program™ specifically is a first for California and one of the largest green schoolyard programs to launch in the state.
• Texas Trees Foundation, a nationally recognized leader in urban forestry, created the Cool Schools Program™, which launched in 2015 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This is the first time the Cool Schools Program™ is being expanded outside of Texas.

To date, Texas Trees Foundation has implemented the program in 25 schools with an additional 20 sites planned, serving more than 20,000 students.

• We are focused on implementing the Cool Schools Program™ in the 10 schools identified in Yolo County. We currently do not have plans for expansion outside of Yolo County, although that could be a consideration should additional funding become available.

Washington USD:

• Westmore Oaks Elementary
• Riverbank Elementary
• Yolo High School
• River City High School
• Alyce Norman Education Center/Bryte Campus

Woodland JUSD:

• Beamer Elementary School
• Freeman Elementary School
• Dingle Elementary School
• Prairie Elementary School
• Whitehead Elementary School