Berlin, Berlin (FUA), Germany
City population: 4186143
Duration: 2018 – 2021
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: 2850 m2
Type of area: Other
Last updated: November 2024

The schoolyard at Reginhard Primary School in Reinickendorf faced persistent challenges, often becoming unusable due to poor drainage. After rainfall, water would pool, leaving the yard submerged and inaccessible to the 400 primary school pupils. Even in dry weather, the schoolyard was far from ideal: a lack of play equipment made it uninviting, and in summer, the area became excessively hot, offering little comfort or shade. Both children and the school community, including teaching staff and parents, voiced a strong desire for improvement. Adding to the urgency for redesign, Berliner Wasserbetriebe imposed a discharge restriction, requiring rainwater to be managed on-site. This led to a comprehensive transformation of the school grounds. Large areas were unsealed, allowing water to seep naturally into the ground. Underground seepage systems were installed to enhance drainage, and the redesign introduced green spaces, a school garden, and near-natural play and exercise areas. These changes not only resolved the flooding issue but also created a more inviting and sustainable environment for students. The focus on ecological and sustainable design improved the microclimate, providing cooler surroundings and enabling outdoor breaks filled with activity and fresh air. The redesign transformed the schoolyard into a vibrant space that meets the needs of both children and the environment. This project was funded by the Berlin Programme for Sustainable Development (BENE Umwelt) and financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). (Ref. 3; Ref. 4)

View on to the newly designed schoolyard
The new schoolyard with trees and a new play ground
Keil Landschaftsarchitekten

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Green playgrounds and school grounds

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Water management (SDG 6)
  • Flood protection
  • Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Urban flooding (stormwater)
  • Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
  • Land use and Socio-economic change
  • Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
  • Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
  • Inadequate access to recreational opportunities

Key priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Creation of any other green urban spaces

Project objectives

To prevent flooding by installing infiltration systems. (Ref. 3) To improve the microclimate through unsealing the grounds and providing shade. (Ref. 3) To increase the greening of outdoor areas. (Ref. 3) To improve the play and recreational value of the space for children. (Ref. 3) To create areas where children can experience and learn about nature. (Ref. 3)

Implementation activities

The school yard experienced an eco-social upgrading and improvement of its rainwater management. The existing infiltration trench was renewed and enlarged, and trees, shrubs, flowering shrubs and a school garden were implemented, which constitute settings for a green classroom and spaces to encounter nature. Natural-based materials were used to construct and design play and exercise areas on the grounds. The degree of sealing was reduced. Of the total area of 2,850 square metres, 1,461 square metres were designed with water-permeable surfaces or unsealed. This corresponds to a degree of sealing of around 50% and a reduction in sealed surfaces of around 20% compared to the existing area. This measure has improved the microclimate and the groundwater recharge rate in the school playground. (Ref. 3) An important element in the nature-orientated redesign of the schoolyard was the involvement of the student parliament. Thanks to the children's' involvement, a boulder was given a new lease of life. (Ref. 4)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
  • Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater

Main beneficiaries

  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Public sector institution

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The project was financed by the regional government through the Berlin Programme for Sustainable Development (BENE Umwelt) and EU funding . The project was designed by a landscape architect and the school children participated in the implementation of the project. The school had to implement the project due to a discharge restriction imposed by the Berlin water company. (Ref. 3; Ref. 4)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Type of enablers

Support from transitional governance actors, Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)

Financing

Total cost

€500,000 - €2,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public regional budget
  • EU funds

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget
  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Achieved lowered local temperature
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved stormwater management
  • Achieved improved stormwater management
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Achieved increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
  • Achieved enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief

Type of reported impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Unknown

References

1.
Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (n.d.). Infoblättern zu Projekten. Accessed on September 23, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Butz, A. (n.d.). In Berlin erfolgreich für mehr Umweltgerechtigkeit – das Programm BENE Umwelt. Accessed on September 23, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Berliner Regenwasseragentur (n.d.). Reginhard-Grundschule Umgestaltung der Außenanlage. Accessed on September 23, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (n.d.). Europa macht Berlin – Fit für die Zukunft. Accessed on September 23, 2024,;
5.
Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (n.d.). Einwohnerstand in Berlin - Grunddaten. Accessed on September 23, 2024, [Source link];
naturescapes bannerInformation about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.