Outdoor Education and Greening Committee
The San Rafael Outdoor Education and Greening Committee consists of parents, neighbors, educators, and public health professionals who share a passion for a greener, cooler, and healthier San Rafael Elementary. Research shows that green spaces offer numerous mental, physical, academic, and social developmental benefits. Our students live in urban environments, where access to fields, woodlands, and other green spaces has diminished. For some San Rafael students, school is the only place they spend time outdoors during the week. But rising temperatures and dangerous heat are increasingly limiting student access to the outdoor play spaces they need to thrive. In Fall 2023 Committee members measured campus temperatures on a 91 F afternoon and found that unshaded asphalt on the upper yard was an alarming 157 F degrees. A plastic slide on the lower yard registered 169 F. The coolest outdoor space measured on campus was natural turf under a mature oak tree in front of the school, which came in at 82 F. Join us to help create a greener, cooler San Rafael that will allow our students to enjoy active, enriching school days.
If you are interested in joining San Rafael's Outdoor Education and Greening Committee please fill out this form https://forms.gle/