Opération Ré-création

A tree-lined playground with tunnels and slides, a pond and an educational vegetable garden, varied flooring, a quiet green corner, an educational garden and climbing frames… Many schools in Brussels dream of having a playground like this in the heart of the city!
In 2021, Brussels Environment, in collaboration with perspective.brussels, successfully launched the Ré-création project to green school playgrounds, making them more user-friendly and of higher quality. Twenty schools were selected and will be supported over several years in all stages of the project. 2022 marked the end of the school playground design phase.

Buildings and infrastructures

• As little alteration of the initial landscape as possible /as much naturalness as possible to replace grey and concrete surfaces (e.g. green roofs and walls, greening the surroundings, incorporating the existing landscape into the infrastructure);
• Respect and/or improve the specific ecological characteristics of the area (e.g. the topography, the type of landscape, the local plant and animal life) to effectively replace the gray/concrete surface;
• Incorporate the amenities into the surrounding area and environment;
• Use native species/subspecies that are more resilient and resistant to climate change, if appropriate;
• Incorporate elements that are suitable for the local biodiversity (e.g. birdhouses suitable for the bird species on site, insect houses at an appropriate height, appropriate vegetation types);
• Provide amenities with sufficient space/length/thickness to ensure the creation of habitats, green-blue areas and veins.

Schools are supported in creating a participatory approach to maintaining their school grounds. They will receive maintenance sheets for each area and a schedule of tasks, as well as support in using the grounds as a learning tool (maintenance can be part of the learning process), and specific training depending on the facilities (vegetable garden, pond, fruit trees, etc.).