A Community-Campus Partnership to Assess Outdoor Learning Environments in Dearborn, MI

Abstract

All children deserve a healthy environment in which to learn and develop. Most children spend over 1000 hours per year at school. As children spend most of their developmental years in school, having a healthy indoor and outdoor school environment is essential to overall well-being. While at school, children’s health can be supported through efforts to reduce environmental exposures and ensure access to nature. These factors can vary between communities, contributing to variable educational, physical, and mental health outcomes in ways that are not always considered or addressed. In the fall of 2023, the Dearborn Green Schoolyards Initiative began partnering with the University of Michigan-Dearborn’s HHS 250: Introduction to Environmental Health students to conduct pilot assessments at 11 Dearborn Public Schools. Teams of 3-4 students visited their assigned school, completed a brief survey of the built environment, took pictures of built and natural landscapes, and interviewed the school principal (or staff member identified by the principal). They prepared a final report summarizing findings and recommendations based on the data. From this, another round of assessments was approved for 11 Dearborn Public Schools in partnership with HHS 250 to take place during the Fall 2024 semester.