Webinar with Janice Haggerman

Green schoolyards are invaluable campus assets that can improve students' physical and mental health, academic outcomes, social-emotional learning benchmarks, and access to nature. However, the existence of a green schoolyard itself does not guarantee that the space is accessible, or that school community members uses it. This presentation's research explores students, teachers, parents, and community members' personal experiences and opinions of two green schoolyards within the Austin Independent School District (AISD). The case study qualitatively identifies how end-users interact with and conceptualize their greenspaces on campus, providing quality improvement data for other green schoolyards within AISD, and offering suggestions for other districts. Findings include the ways in which socioeconomic contexts, campus-level policies, and urban development trends can negatively impacts on users' experiences on green schoolyard sites.

The presentation will illustrate current green schoolyard processes by describing an existing green schoolyard network in AISD, including its context and implementation strategy. AISD is considered a flagship in the green schoolyard field due to its early adoption of nature-based amenities on school campuses, partnership with the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative to grow and support green schoolyards, and innovations in campus sustainability. AISD’s varied socioeconomic service area provides a useful framework for comparing green schoolyards’ functionalities across unique campuses. The presentation will end with a series of practical recommendations for current and future green schoolyard managers that can help ensure that green schoolyards can equitably deliver all possible benefits.

Registration $10. Members can always register for FREE - learn more about membership: https://www.texaschildreninnature.org/give/membership

If you are a member, please refer to your Membership Information Email to see instructions for registering

Webinar offered at 2:00 Central on February 18, 2026

Ticket Sales will end on February 17, 2026

Webinar will be recorded and available for members and registrants

A Zoom link will be emailed from a TCiNN Staff Member to registrants prior to the event

Please note - no AI meeting takers will be allowed into the webinars

Registration: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/texaschildreninnaturenetwork/accessible-to-whom-recommendations-for-equitable-green-schoolyards