Cross-School Collaboration to Develop and Implement Self-Construction Greening Systems for Schools

Abstract

The positive effects of green infrastructure in the urban environment are nowadays widely known and proven by research. Yet, greening, which serves to improve the indoor climate and people’s well-being, is integrated very limited in public facilities such as schools. Reasons for this are seen in a lack of knowledge and financing opportunities. A focus, among others, of the MehrGrüneSchulen research project is the interdisciplinary development of cost-effective greening solutions for schools. The designs were developed in close collaboration with students of a technical college (HTL) and a horticultural school. This study describes the development process and presents the results of the first implementations of greening systems at the HTL-building complex and at nine other schools in Austria.

Financing Green Infrastructure in Schools: A Case Study in Austria

“…It was shown that for almost all green infrastructure applications, the operation phase accounts for the highest percentage of costs. To minimize these costs, the maintenance should be performed by the students themselves, which is only possible with low-tech greening systems, as suggested in [36]. To guide interested school representatives to their individual financing options for a low-cost, low-tech greening system, this study proposes a three-step path: 1. define the greening project initiator; 2. clarify the desired green infrastructure; and 3. determine the amount of funding needed.…”

“…Instead, the attention was shifted to other greenery systems for schools that could be built and maintained at low costs and without demanding special horticultural or technical knowledge. For this reason, indoor and outdoor lowcost greening systems have been developed that can be built, maintained, and eventually be disposed of by students of secondary schools themselves, as shown in [36]. When calculating the life-cycle costs of the developed low-cost greening systems, two scenarios were used: 1. a minimum-cost scenario, assuming that the maintenance is performed by the students, for example, as part of the biology classes; and 2. a maximum-cost scenario, assuming a maintenance contract with a green care company.…”

“…To mitigate these risks, schools should integrate sustainability education into the school's curriculum to promote awareness and understanding among students and staff. For schools considering green infrastructure projects, this study proposes funding models for low-cost do-it-yourself greening systems, as presented in [36], that will provide them with the necessary information about the installation and follow-up costs of different greening systems, possible grants and incentives, relevant stakeholders, and the proper maintenance. Together with the do-it-yourself (DIY) construction manuals of these greening systems, schools are encouraged to use these funding models to initiate their own greening project and eventually involve one or more other schools in this process, thus spreading the idea and knowledge of school greening solutions.…”

Ornamental Plants and Urban Gardening

“…Teichmann et al [ 45 ] published work on the role of schools in the Special Issue. Their more specific topic was cooperation between schools for the development and implementation of schools’ self-constructed greening systems.…”