School Tree Study: Evaluating tree benefits and care in California schoolyards for climate resilience

Photo Credit

USDA Forest Service photo by Natalie van Doorn

Trees provide shade adjacent to a play structure and blacktop in a California school.

Trees on school campuses can improve quality of life for students by providing shade on school grounds and reducing temperatures. This is especially important in a state like California, where school grounds often consist of extensive impervious surfaces, such as asphalt, which can absorb and re-radiate heat, thereby raising local temperatures and decreasing thermal comfort. It is particularly important to have tree shade in the schoolyards where children play.

This project, which will be carried out in collaboration with the US Forest Service, CAL FIRE, Green Schoolyards America, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Los Angeles, has multiple goals. First, this study aims to assess how schoolyard trees affect local microclimates in a variety of socioeconomic and ecological contexts. Second, we aim to understand the challenges associated with tree management and maintenance on these campuses. Third, we will assess the vulnerability of campus tree species to climate change. We will be selecting a subset of elementary schools in three districts across California.