Greening School Playgrounds: Lambeth Council's Initiative to Combat Air Pollution

Lambeth Council has installed living green screens of ivy in schools where the playground borders a main road with high traffic emissions and air pollution. 

This work contributes to Lambeth’s broader goal of breaking the association between inner London living and poor air quality while creating a safer, healthier, and more natural playground environment. 

The Challenge

A study by Impact on Urban Health (opens in a new window) identified that air pollution can have short and long-term effects on children's health. It showed that children are more vulnerable to air pollution due to their developing organs, faster breathing rate, and closer proximity to highly concentrated pollutants. Studies have also shown (opens in a new window) that children attending schools with higher traffic-related air pollution show slower improvement in development compared to children in lower air pollution areas. 

In 2017, the Mayor of London published a report assessing the air quality in and around London’s schools. The report offered recommendations to tackle air quality in London and to protect students from exposure to the poor air quality around their schools. It highlighted that 38 Lambeth schools were exposed to high nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels at the time.

The Lambeth Air Quality Action Plan, published in 2023, committed to investing in green screens and other physical barriers at Lambeth schools most exposed to roadside pollution to mitigate this hazard.

The project also contributes to the Lambeth Climate Action Plan goal of increasing the amount of resilient, green coverage in Lambeth by 15% by 2028, ensuring that everyone lives within 400m of high-quality green infrastructure, with wildlife networks throughout the borough. 

Action Taken

Lambeth Council has partnered with schools across the borough to install and maintain living green screens in playgrounds. A green screen is a planter of foliage that can grow around a purpose-made metal-framed lattice. It acts as a natural barrier around the edges of school playgrounds and estates, helping to capture and block particulate pollution from nearby roads. As a result of this partnership, the Council has installed roughly 1,048m of living green screens in 32 schools across Lambeth.

Lambeth Council has also worked with school communities to promote education and learning about the value of living green screens, from improving air quality to creating habitats for insects, bees, butterflies and birds.

The Results

The living green screens are grown from ivy, which acts as a pollution sink, filtering up to 20% of nitrogen dioxide from the air (opens in a new window) and increasing biodiversity by attracting wildlife, such as insects, bees, butterflies, and birds. In addition to filtering air pollutants from busy roads around schools, the living green screens also offer added privacy for the school. 

We absolutely love them – they’re really lifting everyone’s spirits. As well as the difference they will make to the air quality, they give the children so much more privacy, and a much more enjoyable environment as well. 

Vauxhall Primary School 

Fantastic project that not only aims to reduce pollution but also creates privacy for school

Sunnyhill Primary School

 Hugely grateful. It’s transformed a learning space in addition to providing cleaner air for our community.

Heathbrook Primary School 

Following the success of the Green Screens programme in schools, the Council will explore how a similar approach can benefit other locations, such as play areas, care homes, and doctor’s surgeries.  

Green Screens installed at Dunraven Sixth Form School