By Des Hackett, Urban Forestry Manager

Scotland’s school grounds could be doing so much more for our children, our communities and for nature.

The latest Scottish School Grounds Survey 2025 shows how much potential is waiting to be unlocked. Across Scotland, school grounds cover an area the size of Dundee. Yet, 38% of that space has fewer than five trees.  

And that’s a missed opportunity.

A practical way to green our towns and cities

At Future Woodlands Scotland, we see school grounds as an effective way to help deliver the 3:30:300 vision for greener, healthier towns and cities. That means making sure that everyone can see 3 trees, live in neighbourhoods with 30% canopy cover and have quality greenspace with 300 metres.

In many urban areas, finding space for new trees can be a real challenge. But school grounds offer an exciting, ready-made solution. As Professor John McKendrick’s report shows, schools themselves want more natural areas too.

Why more trees belong in school grounds

Plenty of research shows that green spaces – especially those with trees – support better health, behaviour and academic achievement in children.  They also bring shade, shelter, and wildlife.

Planting more trees in school grounds will therefore directly benefit staff, children and young people as well as contribute to the wider neighbourhoods and communities by moving closer to that 3-30-300 target.

A project putting this in place

That’s why we were proud to support St Mark’s Primary School in Barrhead through the first round of our Urban Forestry Challenge Fund.  With support from Learning through Landscapes, the school will be planting more woodland.

It’s a brilliant example of how nature can help create  greener, healthier places for young people to learn and grow.   

A clear call to action

School grounds have huge potential to help green Scotland’s towns and cities. To see this happen at scale, we need more than good intentions.  We fully support Learning through Landscapes’ call for greater strategic direction from local authorities and government.

Collectively, we can ensure every school and community benefits from greener, healthier environments where trees take pride of place.  

At Future Woodlands Scotland, we’ll keep championing trees where they’re needed most,  including in the places children spend so much of their time.

Find out more about how the Urban Forestry Programme is helping to green Scotland’s towns and cities.