On 22 May, Clara Lorente from CIRCE visited Colegio María Moliner (Zaragoza) to move forward with the renaturalization of its schoolyard under CARDIMED framework. As part of the CARDIMED sub-DEMO6.2, two schoolyards in two Zaragoza schools will be redesigned.
During the visit, Clara reviewed the results of the thermal comfort simulations for both the building and the playground together with the school’s management team. She also presented the latest progress on the web tool “Comfort Sentinel”, which will allow the school to easily visualize data from the sensors installed roughly a year ago. Teachers expressed strong interest in bringing the tool into the classroom with upper primary-school groups.
Aragón TV (local TV) developed a report on the impact of heatwaves in schools. Using a thermographic camera and an infrared thermometer, part of the equipment planned for the student workshops, the team highlighted the striking temperature differences between playground surfaces: the plastic slide reached a surface temperature of 52 °C.
Colegio María Moliner has been driving renaturalization efforts since 2018 with the active involvement of the parents’ association (AMPA), families and the school’s core working group, including a small open-air classroom, awnings over the early-years sandpit and a white-painted facade to reduce heat gain. Even so, direct sunlight, basic window frames and the lack of shade remain a daily challenge for pupils and staff alike.
Looking ahead to the next academic year, we will plan workshops to engage the whole school community in designing the upcoming interventions, with surveys distributed through the AMPA, families and teaching staff.
Watch the Aragón TV report: https://youtu.be/4zUtSKLN7nA
