State promises improved schoolyards
Judging from the present image presented by schoolyards, the Organization for School Buildings (OSK) appears to be a great fan of concrete. Yet things are beginning to change, according to OSK’s Managing Director Panayiotis Patarias. «A program that began two-and-a-half years ago is starting to show results in creating ecologically sound schoolyards in new schools. We have already finished 30, another eight are in progress and as many more are about to be contracted out. We are also ready to sign a contract with the prefecture of Piraeus for 40 more schoolyards. The budget is 5.5 million euros and the average cost of a schoolyard is 130,000 euros,» he said. «We are carrying out a survey with the Agricultural University for roof gardens, expected to be finished in two to three months, when a pilot program will start in three to four schools.» OSK’s plans are for the prefecture of Attica, where there are 3,049 schools, too large a number to have rapid results. So it is the initiatives undertaken by pupils and their teachers within the framework of environmental programs which will actually transform the school landscape in the near future, using whatever means are available.
