Community of Practice for Schoolyard Forests #11: Vancouver, Washington

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR SCHOOLYARD FORESTS
Meeting #11 — April 17th, 2025

The Community of Practice for Schoolyard Forests is an open and welcoming monthly discussion forum for school districts, county offices of education, and public agencies in California and around the country to share information as they move forward with establishing schoolyard forests at scale. Our goal is to provide support and to build a collegial “community of practice” and national network to strengthen these efforts. We also welcome tree planting organizations, landscape architects, and others from anywhere in the world who support school districts in this work.

On April 17th, 2025, guest speakers Jessica George, from the City of Vancouver’s Urban Forestry team, and Jane Tesner-Kleiner, from the Lower Columbia Nature Network, shared how they are expanding schoolyard forest efforts at two school districts in Vancouver, Washington. They described how they are engaging a broad web of local and regional partnerships through tree planting, administering city codes and ordinances, outreach and community engagement, paid job training for youth, and more.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Jessica George, Urban Forestry Outreach Coordinator, City of Vancouver Public Works
Jane Tesner Kleiner, Program Manager, Lower Columbia Nature Network

MEETING HOSTS

Mikaela Randolph, MPP, Associate Director, Regional Programs
Lauren McKenna, MLA, Senior Program Manager
Allison Torres, Operations Manager
Jonathan Ocate, Regional Program Manager

WEBINAR TIMING

0:00 Welcome, introduction, and updates by Mikaela Randolph
05:08 Presentation by Jessica George
21:46 Presentation by Jane Tesner Kleiner
55:46 Closing by Mikaela Randolph

*Additional resources and links: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T...

RESOURCES

Resources
Green Schoolyards of America Schoolyard Forest Library: https://www.greenschoolyards.org/fore...

Green Schoolyards America 2023 + 2024 Impact Report: https://mcusercontent.com/8c994ee3026...

Links from Speakers:
City of Vancouver Urban Forestry Management Plan: https://www.cityofvancouver.us/wp-con...

RESOURCES FROM SPEAKERS
Youth Leadership Internship program: Lower Columbia Nature Network: https://www.lowercolumbianaturenetwor...

SW WA Green Schoolyards Action Plan: https://www.lowercolumbianaturenetwor...

Portland-Vancouver Canopy Collective: https://www.pvcanopycollective.org/

ProjectVOICE (ESD112 Climate Action initiative): https://fiddle-coyote-fd6s.squarespac...


FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GREENING SCHOOL GROUNDS AND CREATING LIVING SCHOOLYARDS, PLEASE SEE:

Green Schoolyards America
https://www.greenschoolyards.org/

Green Schoolyards America collaborates with school districts and public agencies to create Living Schoolyard Initiatives that transform asphalt-covered school grounds into park-like green spaces that improve children’s well-being, learning, and play while contributing to the ecological health and resilience of our cities. We are working to change the norm for school ground design, use, and management so that all children will have access to the natural world in the places they already visit on a daily basis.

Our programs support the living school ground movement, build relationships that help it succeed, and work to embed this perspective in our existing institutions and policy and regulatory frameworks.