Optimising Green Spaces in Specialist and Mainstream Primary Schools: The Green Schools Project Protocol

A co-designed school greening intervention involving the installation of indoor and/or outdoor green spaces (e.g. gardens, nature play areas, green walls, planted areas, shade trees) in specialist and mainstream primary schools. Interventions are tailored to each school and will be co-designed in Phase 1. This will include environmental audits, staff interviews, student focus groups, and co-design workshops with school communities and industry partners. Installation of the new greening at the intervention schools will occur after baseline data collection (T1), followed by maintenance planning and training. Focus groups: Selected children in Grades 3 to 6 at mainstream intervention schools will be invited to participate in one of two ~45-minute focus groups during school hours at T2 (3 months post installation completion) involving 6-8 students in each group. Participants will be selected by the principal or nominee, based on criteria such as grade level, interest in participating, and the ability to speak, read, and understand English and it is possible that they may include some children who participated in the focus groups in Phase 1. A researcher will facilitate the discussion using a focus group guide, with a second researcher present to assist and take notes. Staff interviews: Semi-structured interviews will be conducted online with approximately 2-3 school staff at each intervention school at T2 (3 months post installation completion) and T3 (12 months post installation completion). Each interview will last around 45 minutes. An interview schedule will guide participants in discussing their experiences of implementing greening at their school, the perceived impacts on staff and students, and any unintended consequences that may have arisen from the greening. Interviews will be audio-recorded via Zoom. Industry interviews: Semi-structured online interviews will be held at T2 with approximately 4-6 industry representatives from key industry partners and will take approximately 30-45 minutes. The purpose of these interviews is to gain an in-depth understanding of the barriers, challenges, or other key considerations they encountered during the process of greening implementation. Co-design workshops: Two co-design workshops will be held approximately two weeks apart at each intervention school, comprising staff, students in Grades 3 to 6 (mainstream schools only) and representatives from industry partners involved in the design and implementation of the greening intervention (Tract, ecoDynamics and Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria). Each workshop will run for up to 60 minutes and will be conducted in-person during school hours. Maintenance planning and training: Upon completion of the greening updates, a maintenance plan and training handover will occur with the school’s designated greening maintenance representatives. The Green Schools industry partners will draft the maintenance requirements and train the relevant staff regarding the maintenance program. Duration of the intervention: The greening interventions are expected to take approximately 2-4 weeks at each school and are permanent. We will be collecting data 3 and 12 months after the greening updates are complete. Non-randomised: Intervention schools were selected based on the exclusion/inclusion criteria and whether they were willing to participate, receive a greening update and ensure ongoing maintenance. Once the intervention schools were recruited, the control schools with similar characteristics to the intervention schools and that met the exclusion/inclusion criteria were identified and approached to participate.