For many schools, heat in summer is having an impact on the indoor temperatures as well as the playground temperatures. The solutions are usually around using more planting to create both shade and reduced heat retention, particularly if the building and outdoor seating areas can be shaded. While we need to maintain some tarmac as a robust surface for winter and we need to maintain close mown sports pitches, we can look to the areas in between, on boundaries, and near social areas.

While across the UK temperatures are predicted to become on average slightly warmer, an important fact is to note that we will get more regular extreme cold events. Many of our schools find that during a cold event it is hard to stay warm, and the frozen aftermath can also be a challenge. By reducing exposure to wind and open sky, school grounds can be sheltered from the extremes. In addition, creating micro-climates around buildings can also help keep buildings warmer and less damage from frost will occur.

With more energy in the environment we will experience higher average and peak wind speeds. The usability of school grounds can be drastically increased by creating micro-climates which are more comfortable for users. These micro-climates can be very localised around seating or gathering spaces, or indeed to ‘insulate’ the building walls from heat-wicking wind. An increase in peak wind speeds will also bring with it more damage to buildings. This can be alleviated somewhat through careful planting of natural windbreaks designed for peak wind in storm events.

Changes do not have to be ‘wild’ to have a biodiversity benefit – food gardens and flower gardens for example can attract a range of wildlife. Robust shrubs or hedges which require minimal maintenance offer homes and food for wild life. Doubling up your perimeter fencing with a hedge or climbers is a simple change, and one which can also significantly improve air quality and reduce windspeed at the same time.

Some schools have found that simple changes to a mowing regime can also provide more opportunities for wildlife. If you want to go further, then planting wildflower and herb-rich meadows is a very valuable step. They do require some more maintenance, and you should read the ‘Polli:Nation Maintenance Guide’ if you are thinking of sowing them.

The areas of space needed can also be modest, with things like hedges or planters able to make significant impact even in a ‘concrete jungle’ of a school ground. Being creative with the planters and spaces you use is a good activity for children to lead on. Many schools have fenced off areas which pupils never really enter, or corners of sports fields which are unused save for fetching the ball. You can also consider using planters on hard surfaces. These can be permanent, or if needed they can be moved and ‘portable’ in the future, leaving clear tarmac again.

It is important that pupils understand that the system of drainage and waste water management are different systems. There are sewers for ‘black’ water, typically from toilets. This may be combined with ‘grey’ water from sinks and showers also. These are pipes and processes we should not change in any way, including diverting rainwater into this system.

Rainwater is treated separately, and increasingly we are looking to manage rainwater on site if possible. Over time this rainwater will permeate through the ground into streams and rivers, or evaporate from plants and surfaces. To slow or encourage rainwater run-off is therefore the water management we do want to consider. If your pupils decide that rainwater management is important for them, please read on.

Permanently wet or muddy areas in a grounds are not always caused by an issue at the place where water gathers. It may be that water permeates above or below ground to a particular place, or indeed cannot escape that place. If your pupils decide that flooding is an issue, more surveying and thought needs to be undertaken to work out the causes and possible solutions.

Some flooding issues do require artificial help as well as nature-based solutions, but this is a theme where pupils can be creative.

Below you will find some guides with ideas to manage rainwater which you may be able to implement more cheaply than larger scale artificial works such. These are typically rain beds, rain gardens and planting to take up water and dry the grounds through the root systems and transpiration from plants, shrubs and trees.

You may however decide that your grounds do need significant input, and that you should bring in a Landscape Architect to implement a larger scheme of water management on site.

The first thing to consider when aiming to retain water on site is how you might ‘catch’ the rainwater and store it so that plants can use it later. On school sites, simple features such as water butts, rain beds and rain gardens can do much to catch water early on and slow its release. These raised or ground level planted areas are straightforward for pupils to be involved in the design, creation and management of.

Larger measures such as swales and planted swales, even ponds and pools, can also be used. These though often require a larger project, with larger costs and more expertise needed. Many are used to slow water heading off the site, but designed well they can both reduce issues of flooding across a site and retain water for use by plants, play or learning later.

The second thing to consider is how you reduce evaporation and transpiration from surfaces and plants. Typically this water loss increases through heat (particularly direct sunshine) and through wind (particularly a constant wind). Your site survey will have shown where heat, sunlight and wind most affect your site. The buffer planting which is highlighted in cold, heat and wind stress section (LINK) has a dual benefit of reducing water loss. However, simple changes to surfaces so that bare earth is not exposed can also offer significant retention of moisture. This can be planted or it can be artificial through use of membranes covered in gravel or bark.

Creating an environment better suited to a changed climate reduces the need for watering. A cooler, in summer, slower windspeed site can help. But so can the plants, shrubs and trees we choose. Many varieties are drought resistant, and the way and places that we plant them also reduces the need for watering to keep plants alive through the driest months.

It is very easy to assume that trees are ‘the’ solution, however shows that smaller plants and shrubs are both faster and more effective at sequestrating and storing carbon in to the soil and plant structure. Bogland and ponds can also absorb carbon quickly. Tree’s of course long term also help, but our stating point should be a more varied landscape and planting scheme.

There is an argument that by not sheltering a building from heat, cold and wind stress we make the building energy services work harder, and in doing so emit more carbon. Therefore creating planting which also contributes to heat, cold and wind stress reduction can offer a significant co-benefit.

Typically, we would expect to plan nature-based solutions as close to the source as possible. This then may involve looking beyond the school grounds and onto adjoining verges and streets. The evidence on the Architecture & Design Scotland project page is clear that solutions are best when close to the source.

However, having a school boundary or barrier planting which can filter pollution in the school can have significant benefits too. In addition, these barriers can reduce windspeed, manage water and create shade too. The publications below can help pupils decide on the right solution for them, and indeed consider what other things within the school site can assist in reducing pollution.

Your school survey may not give enough detail about the pollution levels your school has, and so it may be worth undertaking more research and speaking to your local Air Quality officer at the council.