Towards equitable nature-based outdoor activities in schools: Barriers, enablers and use patterns in Brussels

Schools play a central role in children’s daily lives and are well-positioned to foster direct interactions with nature and reduce inequities in residential green space access. School-related green and blue infrastructure, including green elements in schoolyards and green and blue spaces visited during school hours, offers various opportunities for children to engage with nature. However, school staff experience several barriers to organising outdoor, nature-based activities. Despite the growing literature on these challenges, enabling factors remain poorly understood and equity issues are often overlooked. This research examines how use patterns of school-related green and blue infrastructure, as well as barriers and enablers to organising nature-based outdoor activities, vary across schools with different socio-economic profiles and school types. We combine data from a map-based survey of 72 schools in the Brussels Capital Region with 10 semi-structured interviews with primary school directors and teachers. Our analysis reveals that use of green spaces outside school premises is not significantly associated with schools’ socio-economic profile. However, compared to public schools, charter schools tend to organise more frequent and diverse nature-based outdoor activities. As school staff increasingly rely on well-maintained nearby public green spaces, their scarcity remains a major barrier to organising nature-based activities, particularly in deprived schools. Effective strategies for ensuring greater equity in outdoor learning include upscaling schoolyard greening initiatives, improving access to nearby public green spaces - particularly near deprived schools -, and strengthening school staff training. • 76% of schools (47/62) run regular short outdoor activities in nearby green spaces. • Public green spaces should serve as outdoor classrooms via formal agreements. • Trees, gardens, and wooden play equipment are the most common schoolyard features. • Outdoor learning should be integrated into school staff education and training.