‘It’s put the joy levels up’: the flood-prone London school with a climate-adapted playground

Flood-Prone London School Gets a Climate-Adapted Playground to Bring Back Joy

A primary school in north London has transformed its flood-prone playground into a green, climate-adapted space.

St John's Church of England school in Barnet used to suffer from serious flooding in its play area.

The grey tarmac surface could not absorb rainwater because the school sits on clay foundations in a low-lying area.

Water would pool on the ground and stay there for a long time, which meant children often could not play outside.

Macci Dobie, the school's headteacher, described how bad the situation was before the playground renovation.

"The flooding was so severe that parents had to step into puddles to collect their children," she said.

The school was sometimes forced to dismiss pupils from different exits because the main playground was completely underwater.

The environmental action plan began when a parent governor named Sarah Taggart took the lead.

Because St John's is located in a high flood-risk area, the school was able to receive government funding for school infrastructure improvements.

Taggart enlisted the help of Trees for Cities, a charity that plants green spaces in urban playgrounds.

The organisation helps schools adapt to the effects of the climate crisis.

Alfie Davies, a landscape architect at Trees for Cities, led the design work at St John's.

He explained that the new space had to be functional for children.

"You are taking space away from the children, so it has to be something they can use," Davies said.

"If children cannot use the space, they will not want to look after it."

With this idea in mind, Davies installed stepping logs that run through new rain gardens.

Now the children can enjoy jumping over soil beds that contain plants and help absorb rainwater.

The playground renovation has been welcomed by the whole school community.

The headteacher said the changes have put the joy levels up for everyone.

The project shows that environmental action in schools can solve practical problems while also creating happier spaces for children to learn and play.