Challenge
Can the heavily paved surroundings of schools in the municipality of Zielonki near Kraków be transformed into a blue-green space that is more welcoming for students?
How can education be delivered in a way that engages children rather than bores them, while showing them that rainwater can be both a major opportunity and a serious threat?
How can parents and local residents be encouraged to take an interest in climate change issues in a way that effectively influences their approach to excessive surface sealing and prompts reflection on the future of sustainable water management in their immediate surroundings?
And how can all of this be achieved with only 20% of the project value financed from the municipal budget?
Solution
In cooperation with municipal officials and school management, we prepared site development designs for the school surroundings, including:
- a retention tank using rainwater for irrigation of a new school park;
- a play garden for children;
- green relaxation zones;
- planting, partial depaving of the parking area, landscape water retention, and blue-green infrastructure elements;
- a system for monitoring the flood situation in the municipality as part of education for children and residents, using the RainBrain application, rain gauges, and flow meters.
Benefits
The key benefit is securing more than PLN 4.5 million in funding (nearly 80% of the total project value) for the implementation of this ambitious and distinctive project.
Not only will the school surroundings be transformed into a more welcoming environment where children can spend time between classes, but the project will also reduce local flooding around buildings, introduce new trees, and direct runoff from sealed surfaces into green infiltration basins. And what about cars? They will finally be able to park in the shade of trees.
At the heart of the project will be a retention tank, whose plant room will become an educational space where real-time data on the municipality’s flood situation can be displayed. By controlling retention and irrigation, students will learn about the natural water cycle and assess the impacts of climate change.