The 2023 Evergreen Conference explores the impact of the Climate Ready School pilot

In October of 2023, Evergreen hosted its annual national conference at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, bringing together industries, cultures and regions to examine the potential of public space to address the pressing social, ecological and economic challenges faced by cities and communities across the country.

School grounds are one such vital public space with enormous potential to positively impact student and community learning, health and wellbeing, and to mitigate the impacts of a changing environment by increasing climate resilience. To raise the bar on school ground design and management, community engagement, and outdoor play and learning in Canada, Irma Coulson Public School in Milton, Ontario, became Canada’s first ever Climate Ready School when it opened in October 2022. 

One year later, two panel discussions at the 2023 Evergreen Conference looked back and explored the importance, innovation and impact of the Irma Coulson Climate Ready School pilot on its students, educators and community.   

Climate Ready Schools: Insights From a School Ground Redevelopment 

Moderator 

Cam Collyer, Senior Advisor, Evergreen 

Panelists 

Matt Humphries, Associate Principal & Project Lead, Arup 

Ian Gaudet, Superintendent of Facility Services, Halton District School Board 

Heidi Campbell, Senior Program Manager, Evergreen 

This panel discussion began with an overview of the design and implementation of Evergreen’s Climate Ready School pilot at Irma Coulson Public School in Milton, Ontario. The Climate Ready Schools pilot’s objectives and outcomes were intentionally linked to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Ian Gaudet and the Halton Region tracked, measured and shared these goals and other key performance indicators in their Annual Sustainability Report.   

The pilot also integrated the Sponge School Ground Strategy, which removes impermeable surfaces and replaces them with extensive vegetation, allowing the site to act as a giant sponge. Matt Humphries shared that Arup is developing a tool to help identify public spaces that are appropriate investments in sponge infrastructure. Arup has also integrated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in how such projects are selected on a global scale to better inform and guide architects, landscape architects and engineers in their design decisions.   

The panelists highlighted that the success of any multi-solving, community-led project depends on strong, open and transparent partnerships. Maintaining open communication and professionalism helped to build a collaborative and inclusive environment for all to succeed, which played out seamlessly during Evergreen’s Climate Ready School pilot. Not only is a strong partnership valuable for the success of the project, but it can also help to foster knowledge-sharing networks for students, educators and community members to support any ongoing work. 

“It’s not going to be the best civil solution; it’s going to be the best overall solution. If you get all the stakeholders at a table talking about problems, you can get greater outcomes. The challenge is to have people curate design or who are looking at a project be willing to soften the boundaries of what’s acceptable and not stick too tightly to a defined program or a defined idea.” – Matt Humphries 

Near the end of the session, the panel opened to the audience for questions. The discussion focused on the challenges in thinking unconventionally. Panellists shared how the collaborative approach to the pilot led to not only technical solutions but social solutions as well. From fireside chats to podcast episodes, to the eagerness of students to share their ideas in design and implementation, the audience seemed curious about the multi-solving aspects of community projects. They were especially curious about the details of the community engagement, design and implementation processes at Irma Coulson Public School. The audience came away from the session with a greater understanding of the scalability and possibilities for the future of Climate Ready Schools in Canada.  

Climate Ready Schools: Exploring Community Impact   

Participants 

Cam Collyer, Senior Advisor, Evergreen 

Cheryl Hayles, Principal, Irma Coulson Public School 

This session took the form of an intimate fireside chat between Cam Collyer and Cheryl Hayles about the broad-ranging impacts of Evergreen’s Climate Ready School pilot. Throughout the conversation, the speakers touched on the positive impacts that the climate ready school is having on school culture, student wellbeing and community identity. 

As the pilot construction took place amid a global pandemic, the conversation also touched on post-pandemic mental health challenges, and how the transformed school grounds provided a refuge for connection that attracted students and community members alike.  

Through Evergreen’s child-friendly participatory design process, the students were able to play a key role in the design of the play structures at Irma Coulson Public School. Prior to construction, students shared their ideas on what they wished to do on their school grounds with Evergreen’s team. Once the school ground transformation was complete, Cheryl Hayles noted how their sense of ownership blossomed as they felt the place reflected and represented their needs and interests which boosted their sense of stewardship.  

Cheryl also observed that the diversity of play spaces and textural surfaces has greatly influenced how students play and respond to injuries. The many opportunities to climb, balance, play with water and sand, crawl and slide provide space for students to engage in appropriate risky outdoor play that supports their physical development. 

The conversation rounded out with Cheryl attributing the ongoing success of the transformed school ground to the eagerness of school staff to explore outdoor activations through sporting activities, gardening programs, theatre practice and hosting full learning periods outdoors.   

The school grounds at Irma Coulson Public School have truly transformed into a regenerative place where children and youth can learn, develop, and grow in their community while nature is free to restore and renew the land.  

Learn more about Climate Ready Schools!