Parks and Recreation

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) believes skillful use of vegetation in built environments is integral to quality of life, sustainability, and resiliency, including at schools. School grounds that include certain vegetation and other nature-based solutions can serve as extensions of the classroom by providing opportunities for hands-on learning, environmental education, physical activity, and social interaction, while strengthening community resilience.

School districts are one of the largest land managers in almost every city and town in the United States. The land management choices made by schools and districts directly impact students’ experiences and the well-being of the surrounding community. On-campus green space, including revitalized schoolyards, can provide hands-on learning experiences for students and have community-wide resilience benefits. Such benefits include stormwater management, rainwater collection, carbon sequestration, air quality improvement, wildlife habitat restoration, extreme heat mitigation, and ecological resiliency.

Revitalized schoolyards are park-like outdoor environments at elementary or secondary schools, which may include climate-appropriate trees, plants, cultivated gardens, outdoor meeting and gathering areas, natural playgrounds, and other elements designed for the students and surrounding community. 

Landscape architects have the technical knowledge and creative skills necessary to transform underused outdoor spaces into park-like environments and outdoor classrooms. From developing master plans, leading community engagement, creating designs, and assisting with outdoor education lesson plans, landscape architects are equipped to steward these projects through grant selection, design, construction, academic evaluation, and more.

The Revitalizing America's Schoolyards Act, introduced by Senator Martin Heinrich (NM) and Representative Summer Lee (PA), establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education to support the planning and implementation of revitalized schoolyards. Specifically, the bill will: 

• Create a Revitalizing America's Schoolyards Grant Program:
  • Establishes competitive planning and implementation grants for eligible schools, educational agencies, and nonprofit partners.
  • Awards grants through biennial cohorts with planning grants followed by implementation grants.
• Support Nature-Based Schoolyard Design:
  • Defines revitalized schoolyards as park-like outdoor learning environments that strengthen ecological systems, promote nature play, and improve health and well-being.
  • Encourages features such as trees, gardens, outdoor classrooms, gathering spaces, pollinator habitat, natural playgrounds, green infrastructure, and stormwater management.
• Support Planning and Implementation Projects:
  • Provides funding for planning, design, construction documents, community engagement, and implementation.
  • Supports educator professional development and long-term stewardship of revitalized schoolyards.
• Prioritize Underserved Communities:
  • Gives competitive priority to schools serving high percentages of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
  • Prioritizes investments in schools with low tree canopy and high vulnerability to extreme heat or flooding.
  • Reserves 5 percent of annual funding for schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education and Tribal schools.
• Promote Best Practices and Long-Term Success:
  • Requires projects to include long-term maintenance plans and community participation.
  • Establishes a national clearinghouse of best practices, design resources, lesson plans, partnership models, and technical assistance for outdoor learning environments.

On March 26, 2026, Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM) introduced the Revitalizing America's Schoolyards Act of 2026 (S. 4258) in the Senate. Companion legislation, H.R. 8303, was introduced in the House by Rep. Summer Lee (PA).

Senate: Senator Martin Heinrich (NM).

House: Representative Summer Lee (PA) and cosponsors.

Revitalizing America's Schoolyards Act: Talking Points | Leave Behind

Heinrich, Lee Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Help Schools Re-Envision & Build Vibrant Outdoor Learning Spaces

Supporting Organizations of the Revitalizing America’s Schoolyards Act of 2026.

Green Schoolyards America: Revitalizing America’s Schoolyards Act of 2026

ASLA: Professional Practice—Health Benefits of Nature.

ASLA Student Community Service Award of Excellence—Seeding Resilience: Celebrating Community, Education, and the Environment at Princeville Elementary School.

ASLA: Landscape Architecture Magazine—The Schoolyard Is Sick. June 25, 2019.

ASLA Student Community Service Honor Award—15 Weeks to Transform Colorado's Unique Ecosystem into a Learning Landscape. 

Designing Outdoor Environments for Children: Landscaping Schoolyards, Gardens and Playgrounds (2006), Lolly Tai, PhD, RLA, FASLA.

National Wildlife Federation: Time Out: Using the Outdoors to Enhance Classroom Performance. September 2, 2009.

ASLA supports the permanent authorization of and full dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Permanent authorization was achieved through the passage of S. 47, the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, into law on March 12, 2019. ASLA has achieved full and dedicated funding through the Great American Outdoors Act, signed into law on August 4, 2020.

Since its creation in 1964, LWCF has been one of the most popular and bipartisan conservation programs that Congress has ever created. LWCF is utilized to preserve, protect, and provide access to America’s public lands, wildernesses, scenic areas, forests, and natural resources. Additionally, through its State and Local Assistance Program, LWCF is the only federal program that funds the design and construction of community parks.

LWCF is funded through the royalties paid by energy companies drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf. This funding mechanism is simple yet unique: use the revenues from the extraction of one natural resource to support the conservation of another. While LWCF is authorized to receive up to $900 million per year, Congress repeatedly diverts funds to other purposes. Rarely has LWCF been appropriated at even half the yearly amount allowed under law and full funding has only been met twice in over 50 years.

LWCF has broad support from a host of organizations that ASLA has joined with to form the LWCF Coalition, including the Trust for Public Land (TPL), National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), The Wilderness Society, the Pew Charitable Trusts (PEW), and the Land Trust Alliance. This coalition was successful in permanently authorizing LWCF so it would never expire again, as it had in September 30, 2018, and is now fighting for dedicated funding for LWCF.

To guarantee dedicated and full funding for LWCF, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate (S. 1081) and House of Representatives (H.R. 3195). This legislation would ensure that LWCF receives the $900 million annually it is promised by law.

Over LWCF’s 50-plus year existence, nearly $22 billion allocated for the program has been diverted from its intended purpose. This legislation would prevent this and fund conservation efforts on the local, state, and federal levels for generations to come.

On August 4, 2020, LWCF achieved permanent full funding as part of the Great American Outdoors Act.

On June 19, 2019, the House Committee on Natural Resources reported H.R. 3195 out of committee 21-13.

On November 19, 2019, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources reported S. 1081 out of committee 13-7.

Representative Jeff Van Drew (NJ) and cosponsors.

Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Cory Gardner (CO) and cosponsors.

NPS LWCF Home

LWCF Coalition

LWCF Past Projects Map

2021 Outdoor Recreation Economy Data Release

Bureau of Economic Analysis: Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2021

10 Year LWCF Investments by Program

LWCF State Funding Status

City Parks Alliance LWCF Economic Impact Report

Outdoor Industry Association's Outdoor Recreation Economy Report

• Reauthorization and Increased Funding:
  • Extends the LRF through 2033.
  • Increases authorized funding from $1.9 billion to $2 billion annually.
   
• Expanded Eligibility and Project Prioritization:
  • Makes all land administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service eligible for funding.
  • Prioritizes projects with at least a 15% financial match from stakeholders.
   
• Improved Planning and Implementation:
  • Requires agencies to submit a rolling two-year project list.
  • Authorizes continuation of project work under a Continuing Resolution.
   
• Enhanced Public Engagement:
  • Mandates public awareness campaigns to promote private donations.
  • Requires visible and accessible donation mechanisms, including at federal recreation pass points-of-sale.
   
• Asset Management and Reporting:
  • Directs agencies to identify and dispose of unneeded constructed assets.
  • Requires annual reports to Congress detailing progress on deferred maintenance reductions and plans for increasing routine maintenance.

On June 17, 2026, S. 1547 moved out of Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee with bipartisan unanimous support.

On May 1, 2025, Senators Steve Daines (MT) and Angus King (ME) introduced S. 1547, the America the Beautiful Act.

Senators Daines, King, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan “America the Beautiful Act,” Press Release, May 1, 2025.

NPS Deferred Maintenance Backlog Reports

PEW National Park Deferred Maintenance Needs

NPS Yearly Budgets from 2002-2020

NPS Infrastructure News

NPS LWCF Home

Outdoor Industry Association's Outdoor Recreation Economy Report

Report Website

Story Map