Grounds and Outdoors Campus Resources

Grounds and Outdoors Initiatives Goals, Mandates, and Strategies: An overview to what a living schoolyard initiative is. 

Sustainable Campus and Operations Plan (SCOP): This is an example of a Sustainable Campus and Operations Plan (SCOP), which is a comprehensive overview to all green facilities initiatives. 

• • • EXAMPLE: San Mateo County Office of Education SCOP

    • TEMPLATE: Blank Outlined SCOP 

    • EXAMPLE for SCOP in an Awards Program Context: SMCOE Green Ribbon Awards Program Summary

• EXAMPLE: 

• TEMPLATE: Site Level Plan

• SUPPORT RESOURCE: 

SMCOE Whole School Sustainability Audit: Comprehensive audit for campus, curriculum, and community for built environment and grounds management practices. 

• Most districts and sites will need to make an investment to infrastructure to make an outdoor classroom, or other grounds project. Below are recommendations for outdoor classroom infrastructure: 

• Local Vendor List

• COVID-19 Outdoor Classroom Infrastructure Considerations & Costs 

• Living Schoolyard Plant Selection

SMCOE Resources

• • SMCOE Created and Curated Curriculum Resources

  • San Mateo County Weather Considerations for Outdoor Learning

It is important that school communities track and monitor success over the course of the first year and beyond. Check out the following digital tools for examples of how to make that data transparent: 

• EXAMPLE: SMCOE Dashboard

• EXAMPLE: SCSD Dashboard

• Examples Questions from Awards Applications: GROUNDS & OUTDOORS

• Local Award Programs

  • • San Mateo County Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools Challenge  - Possible Financial Award!

    • SMCOOS Green Star Schools

• Statewide Award Programs

  • • Green Ribbon (ED-GRS & CA-GRS)

    • CA Green Business Award

Eco-Schools USA: Part of The National Wildlife Federation offers resources to assess the current state of the environment at your school location. Explore their "Conduct an Audit" Page for several audits that assess different aspects of your school campus. 

• • Biodiversity Audit

EPA Green Infrastructure: The Environmental Protection Agency has resources about green infrastructure, on how to build it, and organizations to partner with. Access the tools and planning resources to create more sustainable infrastructure at your school.

Green Schoolyards America: Green Schoolyards America inspires and enables communities to enrich their school grounds and use them to improve children’s well-being, learning and play while contributing to the ecological health and resilience of their cities. Explore their website and resources library for ideas on how to strengthen ecological systems on your grounds.

A Guide to Stormwater Management on School Campuses: Explore this brochure that provides tools your school can use to improve the health of your watershed and local biodiversity.

The Royal Horticultural Society Compaign for School Gardening: This information sheet provides resources on how to develop a school garden and maintain features that enhance the natural environment and encourage wildlife.