The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
August 25, 2008
The Boston Schoolyard Initiative, which renovates school playgrounds to boost physical activity among students, is being touted as a national model for reducing childhood obesity, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Launched in 1995 by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to counter the shortage of open green space at Boston city schools, the program transforms paved schoolyards into safe, inviting outdoor settings for use by schools and communities. The renovated schoolyards, or “outdoor classrooms,” include mini wilderness zones, landscaped walking paths, climbing structures and gardening areas.