Since 2018, Paris’s Oasis Schoolyards programme has been transforming asphalt playgrounds into green, climate-resilient spaces and embedding outdoor learning into daily school life. Céleste Rouberol, International Projects Manager, and Léa Gratas, International and Outreach Project Officer, from the Paris Agency for Urban Ecology, explain how Paris is reconnecting an entire generation of Parisian children with nature. From asphalt to oasis Paris is one of Europe’s most densely populated cities, with 20,000 residents per square kilometre. For many of its youngest residents, the school playground is the closest thing to a green space they have. Céleste explains why they’re expanding the initiative beyond schoolyards: “It’s not enough to just build the infrastructure. That alone won’t change habits. Truly connecting kids to nature takes a comprehensive approach.” The result is a phased, city-wide strategy to fundamentally change how Parisian children relate to nature: starting inside the school gates, extending to the streets around them, then outward into parks, gardens and green spaces across the city. Truly connecting kids to nature takes a comprehensive approach It takes courage, Céleste acknowledges, to see it through. “Change is not easy. It takes political ambition and excellence in what you deliver.” Schoolyards and school streets The transformation of each schoolyard begins long before the first plant goes in the ground. The city and the CAUE (Conseil d’Architecture, d’Urbanisme et d’Environnement) developed a co-design methodology bringing together children, parents and teachers to reimagine their school grounds. The process is deliberately inclusive, addressing not just greenery but equity: who uses the space and how. “We are really keeping in mind the gendered aspect of playgrounds,” says Céleste. “We wanted to design a space that would ensure that the girls aren’t just standing in the corner.” The programme has already redesigned 208 schoolyards, with a target of all 770