Cardiff launches climate-resilient school playground scheme 2026

Key Points

• Five Cardiff schools are being transformed with climate-adapted playgrounds as part of the Healthy Playground programme.
• The initiative is a partnership between Cardiff Council and environmental charity Trees for Cities, building on a five-year collaboration that has already delivered green spaces to 40 school playgrounds.
• Ysgol Mynydd Bychan in Cathays is the first completed transformation, featuring trees for shade, a Mediterranean garden, raised planting areas, wildlife habitats, a wormery and rainwater harvesting.
• Other selected schools include Gabalfa Primary, St Cadoc’s Catholic Primary, Glyncoed Primary and St Illtyd’s High School, with flood-prone sites receiving rain gardens for sustainable drainage.
• Local charity Grow Cardiff is delivering hands-on sessions at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan to teach pupils about food growing, biodiversity and climate action.
• Funding comes from Cardiff Council’s One Planet Cardiff Capital Fund, which supports innovative climate-related projects across the city.
• Council leaders and school staff say the project helps protect pupils from climate impacts while creating outdoor learning spaces and child-friendly environments.

Cardiff (Wales Times) July 30, 2026 – School playgrounds across uk/local/cardiff/">Cardiff are being redesigned to become greener, cooler and more resilient to the effects of climate change, with five schools initially selected for transformation under the Healthy Playground programme. The project, a partnership between Cardiff Council and environmental charity Trees for Cities, targets areas most vulnerable to overheating, flooding and biodiversity loss, aiming to create climate-adaptive learning spaces for pupils.

Which schools are included in Cardiff’s Healthy Playground programme?

The first phase of the Healthy Playground programme includes five schools: Ysgol Mynydd Bychan, Gabalfa Primary School, St Cadoc’s Catholic Primary School, Glyncoed Primary School and St Illtyd’s High School. As reported by Wales247, these sites were chosen because they are in areas most at risk from climate impacts such as extreme heat, surface water flooding and declining biodiversity.

Gabalfa Primary School and Glyncoed Primary School in Pentwyn are among the North Cardiff schools earmarked for the project, according to local reporting by Rhiwbina.info. The programme builds on a successful five-year partnership between Cardiff Council and Trees for Cities that has already seen transformative green spaces introduced to 40 school playgrounds across the city.

How has Ysgol Mynydd Bychan’s playground been transformed?

The first transformation has already been completed at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan in Cathays, where sections of traditional hard-surfaced playground have been replaced with a nature-rich, climate change-resilient environment. Features of the new space include trees to provide shade, a Mediterranean garden planted with species that will continue to thrive as the climate gets hotter, raised planting areas for growing herbs and vegetables, wildlife-friendly habitats, a wormery and a rainwater harvesting system.

Head Teacher at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan, Glesni Lloyd, said:

“It’s a fantastic addition to the school that benefits the children in so many different ways. At break times when it’s hot, you might find them simply enjoying the shade from the trees, but it’s also a great teaching aid.”

Lloyd added:

“The children love learning outdoors and it’s helping our staff deliver science lessons in new and exciting ways that get them really enthused and engaged. Plus, they love helping to plant and grow all the different vegetables and herbs – that’s a life skill that will stay with them forever.”

What climate-resilient features are being installed at other schools?

At other selected schools where playgrounds are prone to flooding, designs have been created that include ‘rain gardens’ to provide sustainable drainage solutions, according to reporting by Wales247. These rain gardens are intended to manage surface water more effectively while also creating biodiverse habitats within school grounds.

The climate-adaptive approach is designed to address multiple challenges simultaneously: reducing overheating through tree cover and shade, managing flood risk through sustainable drainage, and boosting biodiversity through wildlife-friendly planting and habitats.

Who is delivering the educational and engagement programme?

Following the transformation, local charity Grow Cardiff is using the space at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan to deliver regular hands-on sessions that help pupils learn about food growing, biodiversity and climate action. These sessions form part of a wider engagement programme that combines the physical improvements with workshops, teacher training and learning resources linked to the Welsh curriculum.

Grow Cardiff Schools Engagement Co-ordinator, Ruth Mumford, said:

“Grow Cardiff have loved seeing the transformation of this school playground into the busy growing space that it now is. The whole school has been involved and seeing the obvious joy of the pupils growing and picking their fresh vegetables and herbs means so much to our team.”

Mumford added:

“The children love being out in the space, and it’s great to see it being used for outdoor learning, with children learning new skills and understanding how important local food growing, nature and biodiversity is when taking their first steps towards climate action.”

What have Cardiff Council leaders said about the project?

Cardiff Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning and Transport, Cllr Dan De’Ath, who visited Ysgol Mynydd Bychan recently to see the transformation, said: “Our children and young people will experience the effects of climate change more than any previous generation, so it is vital that we help our schools adapt while giving pupils opportunities to learn about the challenges ahead and the practical steps they can take – like growing and eating more locally grown food – to reduce their carbon footprint and help create a One Planet Cardiff.”

Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Sarah Merry, added: “These climate-adaptive playgrounds can make a real difference. By creating greener, cooler and more biodiverse school environments, we’re also creating an even more Child Friendly Cardiff that helps protect pupils from the impact of climate change and provides them with fantastic new spaces to learn, play and connect with nature.”

What has Trees for Cities said about the Cardiff partnership?

Head of Programme Development at Trees for Cities, Carys Alder, said: “The transformation at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan shows what’s possible when strong partnerships turn ambition into action. Together with Cardiff Council, Grow Cardiff and the school community, we’ve transformed a tarmacked playground into a greener, climate-adapted space that inspires outdoor learning and strengthens children’s connection to nature.”

Alder continued: “We hope this builds momentum for more climate-adaptive playgrounds across Cardiff helping to deliver lasting change that will benefit today’s pupils and generations to come.”

How is the Healthy Playground programme funded?

Cardiff Council funding for the project comes from its One Planet Cardiff Capital Fund, which supports innovative climate-related projects across all areas of the Council’s work. Previous projects supported through the fund include a rainwater harvesting system for the greenhouses in Bute Park Nurseries, secure cycle parking facilities in the city centre, and making thermal imaging cameras available to borrow from Cardiff’s libraries so that residents can identify heat loss in their homes.

Background: How did Cardiff’s school greening programme develop?

The Healthy Playground programme builds on a five-year partnership between Cardiff Council and Trees for Cities that has already delivered green spaces to 40 school playgrounds across Cardiff. An earlier phase, the Edible Playgrounds scheme, was officially launched in March 2022 and has so far delivered 15 edible playgrounds to schools across the city, with plans at that time to expand to up to 40 schools over three years.

In November 2024, Trees for Cities announced that six Cardiff primary schools would receive new Tiny Forests, bringing elements of the Welsh National Forest into school playgrounds. The council’s One Planet Strategy has promoted a range of air quality, tree planting and holistic greening schemes to address climate change, with school grounds identified as key sites for intervention.

Prediction: How might this development affect Cardiff’s pupils and schools?

The expansion of climate-adapted playgrounds is likely to affect Cardiff’s pupils by providing safer, cooler and more biodiverse environments in which to learn and play, particularly as extreme heat and flooding become more frequent. Schools in the most vulnerable areas may see reduced disruption from weather events, improved outdoor learning opportunities and enhanced wellbeing for pupils who spend more time in green, shaded spaces.

Over time, the integration of food growing, biodiversity and climate education into playground design could strengthen pupils’ understanding of sustainability and local food systems, potentially influencing household behaviours and community attitudes towards climate action. For schools, the programme may also create new partnerships with local charities and environmental organisations, embedding climate resilience into the curriculum and school culture.