ELCA calls for nominations ELCA Green School Yard Award 2023

The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) calls its member associates to nominate a project that can compete for the ELCA Green Award 2023. With this award being presented every two years, ELCA wants to highlight the innovation in green projects made by professional gardeners and landscapers.

Besides that, it supports the ever-growing network of the ELCA Committee of Firms. In 2021 the Award was handed over for the first time. The theme of that year was Green Park. The Green Award was won by Brouwers Groenaannemers for their Spoorpark-project in Tilburg (The Netherlands). This year the theme is Green School Yards.

Greenery can no longer be considered decoration anymore. Today we are aware of its benefits for climate, biodiversity and the health of people. With these benefits in mind, professional gardeners and landscapers design, create and maintain private gardens, public parks and buildings with green roofs and facades.

Nowadays we see more and more interest in the creation of green schoolyards, where children can play with and learn about nature. Scientific research has shown that children, after playing at a green schoolyard, can concentrate better on their learnings in the classroom, are more creative, have better physical development and are more sociable towards other children.

Besides these positive effects, the green schoolyard is also a place where there is room for biodiversity and that contributes to social cohesion in the residential area where the schoolyard is located. ELCA wants to highlight these benefits by showcasing innovative and state-of-the-art projects. These projects are a good example of what greenery can do and what our professional gardeners and landscapers are able to deliver.

The ELCA member associates are asked to nominate one green schoolyard project for the competition. Members of the ELCA Committee of Firms can vote in September on their favourites, which will be presented then on the ELCA website. The ceremony of the announcement of the results and the hand-over of the trophy, in cooperation with the French association UNEP, will take place at Paysalia 2023 in Lyon.